Primary Ventures Teams Up With Leading New York City Startups and VCs to Launch Factor Fellowship

NEW YORK, April 23, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Primary Venture Partners, in collaboration with 25+ other VC firms and startups, this week announced the launch of the Factor Fellowship, a citywide initiative designed to connect exceptional talent from underrepresented groups to careers in New York’s leading homegrown startups. The 16-week part-time fellowship program will connect career changers with diverse backgrounds to in-demand roles at New York’s leading startups. Applications open in May; the inaugural fellowship will begin in September. 

Supporters include fellow VCs such as AlleyCorp, startups like Alloy and Spring Health, as well as Tech:NYC and the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s (NYCEDC) Venture Access Alliance. Primary Cofounder and General Partner Ben Sun, ranked by Forbes as one of the top VCs in the world, originated the idea alongside Lisa Lewin, formerly the CEO of General Assembly, and Tom Ogletree, who joined Factor from Schmidt Futures to be its inaugural executive director. 

“New York City is a magnet for culturally diverse talent. It’s one of the best things about living and working here, but when you walk through the physical or virtual hallways of most VC-backed startups, you don’t see that diversity reflected,” said Ben Sun. “The Factor Fellowship is a connector between VC-backed startups looking to find great talent and stellar talent from underrepresented groups ready to join great NY startups.”

Factor Fellows are diverse young professionals who’ve already demonstrated excellence in an area transferable to a typical startup environment—sales, operations, strategy, product—and passed a rigorous selection process. During the Fellowship, participants get an insider’s view on how to succeed at a startup, take part in networking and recruiting events, and receive robust mentorship. The fellowship is fully subsidized through the generous support of philanthropic funders and member companies. 

“We know that New York City is teeming with exceptional talent that currently exists outside the typical venture-backed startup social and professional circles, waiting to be discovered,” says Lisa Lewin. 

To date, a coalition of over 20 startups and VCs have signed on to advise the Factor program and have a first look at participating talent.

In addition to Sun and Lewin, Factor’s advisory board includes Kelvin Beachum, Jr., VC investor and NFL player with the Arizona Cardinals: Catie Brand, CHRO of Pontoon Solutions; McKeever Conwell II, Founder of RareBreed Ventures; Richard Odior, Investor at Zeal Capital Partners; Rebecca Price, Partner at Primary Venture Partners; Jordan Taylor, CEO and Cofounder, Medley; and Jarrid Tingle, Managing Partner at Harlem Capital. Factor is a fiscally sponsored project of the Digital Harbor Foundation. 

Learn more and apply: www.factornyc.org

Source: Primary Venture Partners