The Engine Ventures is launching its inaugural cohort of Entrepreneurial Fellows, a program for graduate students and postdocs passionate about translating Tough Tech from discovery to scale. This is a paid, part-time position with the Engine Ventures team working on sourcing, diligencing, and building Tough Tech startups, and is a frontrow opportunity to see what it takes to build transformational companies. 

Engine Ventures invests in the next generation of Tough Tech founders to solve the world’s biggest problems. We provide capital, operational expertise, and a powerful academic, commercial, and governmental network to build and scale companies unlocking massive opportunities in climate change, human health, and advanced systems.

The Tough Tech Entrepreneurial Fellowship will enable graduate students and postdocs to build upon their academic entrepreneurial experiences with real-world skills and networks, along with firsthand exposure to the venture capital process. The fellowship is intended to jumpstart Fellows’ Tough Tech entrepreneurial endeavors by providing exposure to the capital community, helping fellows understand the fundraising process, and facilitating the initiation of a new entrepreneurial journey. It is specifically designed for those passionate about developing transformational technology into world-changing Tough Tech companies.

Over the course of five months, the Fellows will work with our investment team, Operating Partners, and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence on opportunities ranging across the venture capital process, which may include:  

- Sourcing new investment opportunities across the Tough Tech ecosystem

- Diligence reports and presentations on topic areas including: market opportunity sizing; competitive landscape analysis; and partnership or M&A opportunities

- Financial modeling

- Support on exit opportunity research projects 

- Portfolio company-relevant projects, including relating to fundraising efforts

- Planning and preparing materials for special events that engage key Tough Tech stakeholders

- Advancing the internal depth of knowledge for targeted technical areas of interest to the Engine Ventures investment team

- Postdocs, PhD students, or MBA students with strong technical background, who are in their final year

- Multidisciplinary backgrounds across Engineering, Chemistry, Material Science, Biology, Physics, Computation or Medicine

- Motivated by the Engine Venture’s mission to enable Tough Tech entrepreneurs to create world-changing companies

- Deep technical knowledge in an area of Tough Tech, with curiosity about a broader scope of technologies

- Have the ability to dedicate 8-10 hours per week to the Engine Ventures

- Several years of work experience, ideally in a startup environment or in a relevant industry

- A strong interest and passion for driving innovative and transformational research from the university toward real-world applications

- Read widely, stay curious, bring expertise, data, and insights.

- Are able to discern opportunity, shape that insight into a plan, and follow through.

- Strong verbal and written communication and presentation, along with outstanding analytical skills

- Detail-oriented with strong organization and interpersonal skills.

- Enjoy engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders

- Ability to work independently and on a self-directed basis, but also as a high-functioning and motivating member of a team.