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Mission Report is a bi-weekly newsletter brought to you by me, Uma Patel, Head of Content here at UndercoverVC. We’ll be bringing you the latest updates about our fellowship, events and partnerships, as well as a curated set of internships, jobs, reading, and resources for students aspiring to careers in venture. We’ll also be spotlighting the very best of our community, including our fellows, alumni, and team. Our goal is to provide you with a handbook of tools and resources so–regardless of school–the world of venture and startups is accessible.
🚀 Our Mission
What we do, and why we do it.
UndercoverVC is the largest student-run fellowship and community focused on building equity in student venture capital ecosystems. Our program intends to fill a gap in early-career venture experiences at campuses outside of the traditional “venture schools.”
Student founders raise millions every year, but the vast majority of capital goes to just five campuses, leaving many student founders without equitable access. We’re working to change that. By building a diverse network of scouts and founders on a larger subset of university campuses, we’re working to create mutually-beneficial relationships between investors and talented-but-overlooked student founders.
🤝 Meet the Team
Let's start with some introductions...
I asked each member of UndercoverVC HQ to share their major, college and how they got interested in venture and startups. Here’s what they said:
Wade Fletcher, Managing Director
Indiana University, Computer Science and Finance
I inherited my interest in startups from my dad, who brought me around to pitch competitions and founder networking nights when I was little, and my internship with URx cemented my desire for a career in startups and venture.
McKenna Raley, Director of Partnerships
Duke University, Economics and Finance
I was originally drawn towards entrepreneurship in high school and jumped at any opportunity to build something about which I was passionate. I hope to continue that practice as I get older.
Austin Koehler, Chief of Staff
Villanova University, Finance, Management & International Business
I started my first business (and received funding) back in my sophomore year of high school, and continued to explore my passion for VC after that great experience.
Jack Hoffman, Head of Recruiting
Northeastern University, Economics & Business
I’ve long been fascinated with how startups create such outsized impressions on the world. Working with brilliant founders and their groundbreaking companies is how I am able to channel this passion to make a large-scale and varied impact.
Rajit Khanna, Director of Marketing
Georgia Tech, Computer Science
One night I stayed up all night and read Paul Graham's essays. His ideas powerfully shaped how I view how to influence the world and increase prosperity.
Uma Patel, Head of Content
Drexel University, Chemistry & Computer Science
My interest in startups and VC all started during my sophomore year of college when I joined Twentyeight Health, a femtech company in Brooklyn, as a Brand Ambassador.
Billy Barlia, Head of Event Marketing
College of Charleston, Business Administration
My Interest in entrepreneurship first started my senior year of high school when I participated in a year-long capstone course, where I started my own company.
✏️ Applications for Cohort II are LIVE!
Want to join a diverse and talented community of students learning about VC?
In Cohort I, we had scouts across 25 campuses, many of which are accessed by no other student-focused fund or scout network. In our incoming cohort, we’re planning to accept twice the number of fellows and expand to even more campuses.
Our semester-long program features a speaker series of successful individuals in the venture capital industry, along with training and real work experience sourcing deals on your college campus.
We'll have two meetings a week, one on Sunday at 3PM ET and another on Wednesday at 8PM ET. Outside of that, you're welcome to take founder calls whenever it makes sense for you. We’re all students, so we’re extra accommodating towards exam weeks, breaks, and the like.
Fill out our short application by August 1st!
💼 Opportunities
Curating the latest fellowships, internships, and new-grad roles in venture.
Internships + Fellowships
Fellow @ UndercoverVC (Remote)
Fellow @ Susa Ventures (Remote)
Intern @ H Venture Partners (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Intern @ Titan Capital (Remote)
New-grad
Analyst @ AXA Venture Partners (New York, NY)
Analyst @ Red Sea Ventures (New York, NY)
Analyst @ PayPal Ventures (San Jose, CA)
Analyst @ The Foundry Group (Boulder, CO)
Analyst @ Stray Dog (Leawood, KS)
📚 Resources to Check Out
What we've been reading, watching, and listening to...
Check out the Republic startup investing masterclasses on YouTube.
Y Combinator's Startup Library contains 15 years of videos, podcasts and essays as free resources to startup founders.
Startup School is a free online platform and global community for founders by Y Combinator if you're looking for a more structure curriculum.
The How I Built This podcast by Guy Raz explores the origins of the world's best known companies and the innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists behind them.
YC cofounder Paul Graham writes about working hard and on important things in his recent essay, How to Work Hard.
Mario Gabriele of The Generalist breaks down the Robinhood S-1 from unit economics, to regulation, to competitors in Robinhood: Serious Fun.
Hustle Fund cofounder Elizabeth Yin asks the question, “Which is more important for a startup? Product or distribution?” in a valuable Twitter thread.
📆 Events
Mark your calendars!
Gen-Z Talks is a weekly event held by Entre every Tuesday at 8:00 PM EST. Each week features successful gen-z-ers building in startups, social impact, the creator economy, and more! Follow @sullydoesitall and @joinentre on Twitter for more.
Dorm Room Fund is hosting a NYC Summer Sunset Mixer on Tuesday July 27th from 6-8 PM EST.
Julian Rachman of Two Sigma VC is hosting Partytime 001, an exclusive happy hour tonight in SF. RSVPs are over capacity, so show up early if you want to get in!
Entre is hosting <NoCode> Virtual Summit on July 28th at 7PM EST, featuring Colum Obrien, cofounder of Modern Action and Ryan Myher, cofounder of Flowz.
The Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference is happening this weekend, featuring an impressive slew of speakers, including our very own alumnus Rahul Rana.
Thanks for reading!
Like what you just read? Join us in two weeks for a new addition of The Mission Report. Know a friend who is obsessed with venture and startups? Forward them this email and ask them to sign up, we'd love for them to join!
Got feedback for our team? You can reply to this email–it comes straight to our inbox.
Building something cool? Please reach out at team@undercover.vc or slide into our Twitter DMs. We'd love to meet you!