Thank you for taking the time to consider sharing your vision and work with us. This webpage is a one-stop-shop for all you need to know before applying. We've included as much information as possible to empower you (to decide) to apply to the Camelback Ventures Fellowship.
<aside> 📣 The Cohort 14 Camelback Fellowship Application is closed. We will open another application window in winter 2025.
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📩 Sign up for updates on the next cycle at camelbackventures.org/apply.
❓Take our Alignment Quiz to determine if you should apply
💻 Watch our Cohort 14 Fellowship + Application Webinar hosted on 8/28.
📝 Start drafting your responses with these **application questions.**
<aside> 📣 Cohort 14 of the Camelback Fellowship will run between February - June of 2025 which includes:*
Outside of programming, Fellows are expected to spend 8-10 hours a week on their venture development.
*****Subject to change
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That’s the question! The Camelback team has dedicated extensive time to identifying our "sweet spot" in accelerating founders. We are committed to supporting early-stage entrepreneurs who are addressing socio-economic inequities, particularly in the fields of education and social impact technology. Our focus remains on those who are creating impactful solutions for underserved communities. If you are an entrepreneur passionate about these areas and looking to drive meaningful change, the Camelback Fellowship could be a great fit for you.
When it comes down to it, we believe answering this question is more of an art than a science. It’s rarely a binary conclusion. We invite you to break out your 🖌️ paint brushes and draw outside the lines of yes or no with us 🎨. To do this, we’re sharing our eligibility criteria, venture & founder profile, and portfolio make-up. Along the way, you’ll hear directly from Camelback team members and alumni about what we want to see. Additionally, you’ll have access to our selection process so you see the tools we have to understand how we evaluate fit. By doing so, we’ve called ourselves into the humble practice of transparency 🔍.
We also want to underline the 🖼️ frame to this question - we’re intentionally inviting you to assess whether we’re the partner for you. The resources to follow are meant to empower you in understanding who we are, what we’ve supported in the past, and where we’re going in the future. You’re the artists here 🧑🎨! We hope you’ll see us as a part of your masterpiece.
By the end of this application season, we’ll have identified a cohort of 15 ruthless founders.
To extend the metaphor here, you’ll see where we intentionally use colored emojis to clarify alignment.
KEY:
🟢 = Green means good to go! These are the definitive criteria to be a Camelback Fellow.
🟡 = Yellow means we may pause and to learn more OR have reservations about this criteria
🔴 = Red is a hard stop for us - meaning we can’t accept applicants with this criteria
💡 = We’re on the lookout for applicants that meet this criteria as a characteristic, sector, or strategy that we’re interested in supporting! These themes were identified by Camelback team members, alumni, and youth advocates through community design empathy building activities.
Here are the qualities of being a Camelback Fellow:
Founder:
🟢 Demonstrate a commitment to addressing systemic inequities through your venture.
🟢 Have a clear focus on creating impact in marginalized communities, particularly on issues that disproportionately affect people of color and women.
🟢 Demonstrate a deep connection to the community you serve and proximity to the problems your venture solves
🟢 Over the age of 18
🟢 Able to commit ~10 hours week for 16 weeks to Fellowship activities
🟢 Founder, co-founder, CEO or Executive Director of venture
🟢 Lives in the United States or U.S. Territory
🟢 English Proficiency
Venture:
🟢 Is mission-aligned to Camelback Ventures
🟢 Majority (>50%) of customers or beneficiaries live in the United States
🟢 Original idea of the founder and/or founding team
Ineligible:
🔴 Ventures that fall underneath an umbrella organization and/or associated with an established entity (e.g. if you’re starting a school within an existing network of schools)
You’ll notice that we use the singular in referring to applicants and Fellows. While ventures with co-founders are eligible, ultimately the application must be completed by a single representative who will be nominated to complete the Fellowship. Camelback only has funding for one leader from each venture; therefore, you must select one leader to be the Camelback Fellow (who will also complete the Fellowship programming.)
📹 For more color on what it means to be in the #camelback fam, listen to how our team describes the qualities of a Fellow.
<aside> 📣 Ready to apply? Learn how to draft and submit your application here.
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