Why Kauffman Fellows Program
Kauffman Fellows Program was launched in 1995. When I first connected with KF in 2009, participants were mostly entry-level VC associates or those who tried to break into VC. I had the impression that the program was set up to help both high-potential candidates break into the industry and junior investors advance their VC careers. I was quite interested in joining KF, which was warmly received by KF’s then-CEO Phil Wickham, Bill Tobin (who ran the curriculum development and coaching program) and fellows like Barry Zhang (Class 13) and Punit Chiniwalla (Class 13). However, I was unable to get sponsorship from VantagePoint, the firm I worked for at the time, and I could not afford to pay out of my pocket. As I just graduated from business school, I had a chunk of student loans to pay off, so the idea of KF was shelved.
A few years ago, I was delighted to learn that the program had advanced a lot since 2009. The class profile had evolved to comprise a pool of accomplished folks more advanced in their career of building companies and venture investing. Quite a few of my VC friends joined KF over time, so my interest in becoming a fellow was ignited again. Looking back, there were three reasons why I applied to the KFP, and I hope that this post can be a useful resource to those who are also interested in advancing their VC careers.
Reason #3: Networking
There is no doubt that KFP has a strong global network. Before I applied to KFP, I had already connected with about 20% of the fellows over my venture career, so I thought networking would be the least important reason for me to apply. Since becoming a Fellow, I have come to realize that it is not just about connecting with the other 80% of the fellows in terms of quality, but more about the depth of the relationship. I feel lucky to connect with my classmates so closely. Despite their accomplishments, they are authentic and humble. I have had the opportunity to know them and some of their families personally. The strong bond is something that I will cherish forever.
Reason #2: The “Known Unknowns”
I have learned a lot throughout my venture career. Both successes and failures have taught me a lot. Since I founded iFly.vc in 2016, I have been even more eager to learn than ever before. There are always topics I would love to explore with other investors. To me, both the challenge and fun part of early-stage investing is uncovering and seizing non-obviousness opportunities ahead of most other investors by one round. Being both contrarian and right at the same time brings great potential for outsized investment return. I enjoy learning from other fellows how they invest and operate.
A few months ago, Jason Green, KF Class 1 and Founding Partner of Emergence Capital, gave a talk and shared his venture career. Emergence has backed many amazing companies, such as Zoom where they invested $20 million in late 2014. (Santi Subotovsky, the lead partner, is also a Kauffman Fellow, Class 15.) It was truly inspiring and insightful to hear about Jason’s journey in venture.
Reason #1: The “Unknown Unknowns”
The top reason why I wanted to apply to KFP is to expose myself to the “unknown unknowns”. In other words, I wanted to go from “I don’t know what I don’t know” to identifying more blind spots to become more effective in what I do. Among all of the decisions I have made, regardless of their outcomes, I question whether I assigned too much or too little importance to specific factors. Even if an investment turned out to be successful, certain important factors could have been overlooked and ended up not feeding into one’s pattern recognition, which could be dangerous for future investment decisions.
Since becoming a Fellow, I have been delighted to explore a variety of topics with other fellows, many of which stay “Kauffman Confidential” and will not be shared publicly. Thanks to the conversation with other fellows, I have identified a few blind spots that I have worked on right away.
Conclusion
As a VC investor, if you want to constantly learn and bond with another 800+ incredible individuals, I would encourage you to apply for the Kauffman Fellows Program. If you consider it an investment opportunity, it will be a 10x deal!
