THE CAMELBACK FELLOWSHIP
Camelback Ventures supports the growth and empowerment of livable communities; our tool of change is entrepreneurship. We provide a rigorous accelerator, known as the Camelback Fellowship, for untapped entrepreneurs. At this time, we are focused on tackling these two impact areas 1) Education and 2) Conscious Tech.
The Camelback Fellowship is a 15-week program that supports the development of both founder and venture. Since 2015, Camelback has supported 133+ entrepreneurs of color and women (many of whom have been recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30, received fellowships such as Echoing Green and Richards Draper Kaplan, and collectively gone on to raise over $50 million).
PROGRAM TRACKS
At this time, Camelback offers two fellowship tracks: 1) Education and 2) Conscious Tech. Camelback has created unique pathways for each track, and tailors curriculum and needs for each individual Fellow once they are accepted into our program. Education and Conscious Tech operate nationally and simultaneously.
PROGRAM OFFERINGS
We emphasize our support in five specific areas: coaching, capital, connections, community, and curriculum. Camelback invests time and energy into each Fellow through coaching, capital, and connections. We believe these pillars are critical to the evolution and success of any organization, and notably, there is a systemic lack of access to these for people of color and women. Years of work have told us how critical it is to build community leaders of color, and the experience is rooted in creating space for these relationships. The Camelback Fellowship focuses heavily on our carefully curated curriculum, an entrepreneurial growth program delivered through a series of in-person retreats, virtual programming, and coaching.*
The Fellowship is held two times per year as a hybrid experience featuring an in-person kick-off and graduation as well as weekly virtual sessions in between. In addition, Fellows and coaches meet weekly to make progress on venture specific goals. Outside of Fellowship programming, Fellows will dedicate time for independent venture development. Key dates will be announced for travel and programming prior to confirming Fellow selection.
To learn more, click on one of the “5 C’s” below or keep scrolling to learn about all aspects of the Fellowship.
Y'all see this alliteration? But seriously, these really are the tenets of our approach, and not just because they start with a c.
Camelback literally changed my life. The aha moment for me was at the first summit in New Orleans. I had this moment where I just looked around, and I got very emotional. I told myself, “Vince, man, you cannot cry. You just met these people yesterday.” I constantly had these waves of thoughts, “Am I really going to do this? Am I really trying to lead my own organization?”
READ MORE FROM FELLOWS IN OUR BLOG →
COACHING
Camelback gives each Fellow their own coach. This dedicated 1:1 coaching enables regular strategy, accountability, and thought partnership. Coaches can help with anything from listening to your pitch to making introductions to analyzing pricing strategies. Camelback also provides specialized coaching in key areas (such as developing measures of success or pitch deck design), and facilitates peer mentorship sessions within each purposefully chosen cohort.
CAPITAL
Since we began, we have found that the impact of unrestricted capital empowers entrepreneurs of color exponentially. So, we have fine-tuned a funding strategy to be able to support all of our Camelback Fellows in a “friends and family” stage with an investment of $40,000 in each venture. Fellows have used this money for a variety of things, such as running a pilot program, hiring an app developer, going full-time on their venture, traveling to high profile industry conferences, buying new equipment, and funding the development of new community spaces.
CONNECTIONS
Camelback facilitates the building of important relationships for Fellows in a number of ways, both during and after the Fellowship. There are opportunities to meet with investors and strategic partners throughout the program. Camelback also provides opportunities for attendance at notable conferences and gatherings in each sector.
COMMUNITY
The entrepreneurial journey can often be a lonely one, but it doesn’t have to be. For people of color, women and non-binary folx, the space to connect and learn from like-minded peers with similar struggles and successes is paramount. Whether it’s asking if someone has a recommendation for a developer studio or applauding your most recent win, the Camelback fam has got you covered. Camelback prioritizes the building of a close community whenever possible, and will connect Fellows through in-person gatherings and digital connections. We have begun to host Family Reunions and other initiatives to support alumni engagement and continued venture success. We think our Fellows tell it best; read their stories and explore their work.
> Byron Arthur (2018) reflects on what he learned from his cohort
> James Kim (2017) shares how he found his family with Camelback
> Jerelyn Rodriguez (2015) explains how the fam impacted her work
CURRICULUM
We prioritize the hustle over the hype. We studied the top reasons why startups fail, and we know entrepreneurs of color and women face additional hurdles. So, we’ve built an entrepreneurial curriculum to help our founders build a solid foundation for success. Our programming features our own content in combination with workshops with content experts, focusing primarily on how you might strengthen the internal structures of your ventures so that you’re better able to deliver to your communities and more ready to grow (if that’s what you want). At the end of the fellowship, our hope is that the foundations of your ventures are sturdier and you’re more confident to take up space as entrepreneurs.
The five Core Competencies we focus on include:
• Be Strategic
• Pitch Ready
• Stakeholder Development
• Project & Budget Management
• Hiring & Management Teams