Create Tech Ventures for Social Impact
Applications for the 2025 cohort will open soon!
Our impact
Our alumni say one of the biggest benefits of the program is the like-minded community.
Alumni
community partners
Americans Helped
Our criteria
We're looking for founders with big ideas, who are committed to starting a venture-scalable company or a non-profit that addresses the most pressing issues in low-income communities.
FOUNDER Fellowship alumni
We back bold founders because even the best vision means nothing without the right people to bring it to life.
PROGRAMMING PILLARS
Whether you are still building conviction in your idea or have some customers, we will help turn your vision into reality.
Shared vision
We source transformative ideas with the power to reshape the future. Founders who align with this vision work toward systemic change.
co-design
Through our Design Insight Group, you’ll participate in one-on-one sessions, drawing from data and the lived experiences of New Yorkers.
rapid testing
You'll have the resources, community, and real-world feedback needed to take your venture to market.
PROGRAM EXPLAINER
This 13-week program is designed to support early-stage tech founders who are committed to launching a venture-scale company. Whether you're refining your idea or building conviction, the Fellowship provides access to mentors, peers, and lived-experience experts who help you shape a product that truly makes a difference.
What we provide
Funding: $18,000 stipend.
Mentorship: Hands-on coaching to help you hypothesize, validate, and launch.
Peer Cohorts: Work in small groups, sharing ideas and insights with fellow founders.
Design Insight Group: Collaborate with DIG members, who bring lived experience of the challenges your solution addresses.
Who we’re looking for
We're looking for passionate founders who are committed to building tech ventures with the potential to make a big impact. Whether you're refining an early-stage idea or building conviction in your concept, you'll have access to expert mentorship, peer support, and real-world insights from our Design Insight Group (DIG)—people who have firsthand experience with the challenges you're aiming to solve. If you have a mix of technical know-how and lived experience, and you're eager to collaborate with like-minded innovators, this 13-week program will help you take your idea from concept to a scalable solution.
The impact areas
- Education
- Financial Access
- Health
- Housing
- Hunger & Jobs
Lived experience
We strongly value lived experience and encourage founders who have personally faced the issues their idea addresses to apply to the fellowship.
What is the fellowship relationship with the community?
Our fellowship is deeply rooted in community. We believe in building ventures that not only serve the community but are also shaped by it. The fellowship is a space where founders collaborate closely with individuals who have lived experience, ensuring their solutions are grounded in real-world challenges. Our community support is non-transactional—there are no fees or equity required. As founders build conviction in their ideas and move toward launching a company, we’re excited to continue partnering with them, including as pre-seed investors, through the Catalyst program, to help accelerate their journey.
Program portfolio
Meet the fellows and discover the ventures they’re building.
