The PledgeLA VC Fellowship is Los Angeles’ flagship pathway for graduate students from backgrounds historically excluded from venture to gain real investing experience. Each cohort begins with a three‑month spring curriculum that mixes in‑person intensives in Downtown LA with virtual masterclasses delivered by partners at the city’s leading funds. Fellows learn the venture stack end‑to‑end—fund mechanics, thesis development, sourcing, diligence, cap‑table modeling and founder support—while building a tight peer cohort and receiving career coaching from PledgeLA mentors.

Following training, fellows join an 8‑week full‑time summer placement at a participating LA venture‑capital firm (previous hosts include Upfront Ventures, MaC VC, Greycroft, Slauson & Co., and Techstars LA). Placements are structured as real analyst roles: fellows screen inbound decks, book first meetings, sit in on partner calls, write investment memos and support portfolio founders. Host firms pay each fellow a US $10 000 stipend and provide weekly feedback loops with principals or partners.

Throughout the program, fellows have access to PledgeLA’s 250‑member investor coalition and to alumni now working at top funds, accelerators and portfolio companies. Quarterly community events—Demo‑Day style pitch reviews, talent mixers and fireside chats with visiting GPs—extend network reach long after the summer concludes. Since launching in 2019 the Fellowship has graduated more than 70 investors; over half are now employed in VC or VC‑backed tech roles, underscoring the program’s catalytic impact on LA’s talent pipeline.

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