RippleX Fellowship Program

Supporting the next generation of founders and investors.

Ready to join our kick a** community?

Looking to meet other like-minded students who are starting, joining, or investing in startups? You've come to the right place.

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About the Program

The RippleX Fellowship is a 12-week extracurricular program powered by Ripple Ventures that runs every school semester.

Throughout each cohort, students are coached and taught the intricacies of startup building and venture capital.

It is a remote program that connects students all across North America with a common interest of becoming better equipped as founders, VC’s, and employees at startups. It builds the skillset, knowledge, and network that otherwise are rare to acquire as a student.

12-week remote program
Content every week, discussions every two weeks.
~25 students per cohort
Getting a diverse group of half founders and half aspiring investors each cohort.
Hands-on learning through biweekly discussions
Hour-long discussions with other students, diving deep into startup and fundraising topics.
Workshops with industry leaders
Bringing in seasoned founders and investors to share their learnings and experiences with our fellows.
Practical projects to build skillsets
Applying concepts taught into practical projects that students can choose to do to test their skills
Strategic and hands-on guidance
The program leads are here to support students through their entire startup and investor journeys, and even with personal support like career advice to music recommendations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions about the program? We have answers for you here.
If I have already raised a small angel or VC round, should we still apply for funding?

Yes, please still apply as we will evaluate investments opportunistically.

What is your investment process?
  1. Apply online
  2. Ripple team reaches out to companies that are in-thesis
  3. Initial call with Ripple team + demo (if applicable) 
  4. Ripple team drafts overview memo
  5. Team meeting with founders + entire Ripple team
  6. Follow-up questions and due diligence
  7. Investment

We expect this process to take no longer than a few weeks.

What is your typical deal structure?

Ripple Ventures will invest in your company as a part of the Fellow Fund initiative with a $25-50K check. This will be on a standard SAFE note with a valuation cap, and side letters for pro-rata and information rights. The valuation depends on the stage of the company.

What makes you different from other student fellowship programs?

We're different because we put students first, and are not deal flow focused. We don't ask students to source companies (unless they want to), and our program is purely educational. Think of us as an online course that's fun, where you meet a ton of interesting and like-minded people, and get to learn about all the intracacies of startups and venture capital.

Is Ripple Ventures going to invest in Fellow Fund portfolio companies?

No, not every company that receives a Fellow Fund investment will receive a core fund investment from Ripple Ventures but we expect a good portion of the portfolio to. Companies will be evaluated on an individual basis to receive a core fund investment from Ripple Ventures.

Do you have to be from an underrepresented group to receive funding?

No, you do not need to be from an underrepresented group to receive funding but a minimum of 50% of our investments will be allocated toward founders who identify with underrepresented groups.

What are industries or types of companies you will NOT invest in?
  • Consumer / B2C / DTC 
  • Hardware
  • Lifesciences / Biotech
  • Marketplaces
  • Banking and Lending
If I don't get into the program, am I allowed to re-apply in future cohorts?

Yes, you are encouraged to re-apply! We've accepted students who have re-applied to the program before. Just make sure you take the feedback we provide in your initial application, showcase how you've applied it, and we'd love to have you a part of the program.

Alternatively, all of our content is open sourced on this website and the program has a community Slack that you can ask questions in. We're happy to support you in your journey in any way possible.

Do you only take undergraduate and graduate students from North America?

Yes, we typically only take undergraduate and graduate students attending a school in North America. We rarely make exceptions to this rule, but have done it a few times in the past where the student has a unique circumstance (i.e. dropped out of school to focus full-time on their company).

So, feel free to apply and we will review applications on a case-by-case basis.

What are the general investment criteria that you follow?
  • Student or first time founders
  • Based in North America
  • Company is building enterprise, developer, or web3 infra/tooling
  • Has not raised capital before
  • Has done a material volume of customer interviews and built an early MVP 
What do you look for in applicants?

We look for students that not only have an interest in technology and startups, but have also taken steps to do so. This can be anything from joining your schools entrepreneurship club, to doing your own research on a technology industry, to starting your own company.

Something we value is intellectual curiosity, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge and experience through networking and research.

Wall of Love

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Our Diverse Community
of Fellows and Alumni

Curating the most unique and inclusive ecosystems of founders and investors.

325+

Students and Alumni

60+

Schools Across North America

>50%

Gender Diversity in Each Cohort

>90%

BIPOC Representation
in Each Cohort

Meet the Students

Check out current cohort and alumni base of student founders,
VCs, and startup employees.
See All Alumni

Our Online Program for Everyone

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Join our community of student
founders and investors.

Follow us on socials, join our Slack channel, or apply to our program.