Three ways in. Pick yours.
If you're not sure which fits, start with a hackathon. That's how most of our fellows and founders began.
Hackathon
Build for 48 hours on an industry sponsor's hardest problem. Standouts pulled into Fellowship.
- Eligibility
- Any builder. Students, engineers, designers, ops.
- Timing
- Apply ~2 weeks before each event. Rolling.
- Response
- 5 business days
Fellowship
12 weeks in NYC. Mentorship, $25k stipend, desk, cohort, demo day. No equity taken.
- Eligibility
- Hackathon alumni preferred but not required. Have a thing.
- Timing
- Next cohort: Sep 2026. Applications open May 1.
- Response
- 3–4 weeks · interview rounds
Pitch the Fund
For builders who've already shipped. Pre-seed and seed. $250k–1.5M checks.
- Eligibility
- Working software or pilot. NYC-anchored preferred.
- Timing
- Always open. We respond to every cold pitch.
- Response
- 2 weeks · yes / no / not yet
Two partners review. No automated screening.
No interview prep needed. Just bring what you've built.
No ghosting. If it's a no, we tell you why.
Can I apply to more than one path?+
Yes — but pick the one that fits where you are right now. We see the full applicant pool across paths, so you don't need to game it.
Do I need to be in NYC?+
Hackathons and Fellowship are in-person in NYC. For the Fund, we strongly prefer NYC-anchored teams but will look at exceptional builders anywhere in the US.
Visa support?+
Fellowship offers O-1 / J-1 support for accepted fellows. Hackathon attendees are responsible for their own travel and status.
I've been rejected before — can I re-apply?+
Absolutely. Roughly 20% of our current fellows applied at least twice. Tell us what's changed since last time.