The intent of the Summer Venture Immersion Fellowship is to provide Vanderbilt undergraduate students with the knowledge, experience, and networks that inspire and enable them to launch businesses.  Vanderbilt sophomores are eligible to apply for the Vanderbilt Venture Immersion; we have selected this window as it balances the time a student has attended Vanderbilt: enough time spent in the university setting to have discovered a career trajectory and taken meaningful coursework while also providing enough time upon return to Vanderbilt to build a company.

Through generous donors, the Summer Venture Immersion provides selected fellows a stipend to cover their living expenses over the summer.  During the summer, the student will rotate through a venture capital firm for half the summer and a high growth startup during the other half.  Prior to their first rotation, fellows complete a series of seminars so that they are grounded in entrepreneurship and venture capital principles. Throughout the summer, fellows attend virtual seminars, which comprehensively cover latest startup building strategies.  They also have access to an executive coach who helps them reflect on their experiences and prepare to launch their own startup.

The expectation is that fellows build a startup during their junior year and proceed to join the Vanderbilt Unicorn List over time.

"I’ve learned so much and gained invaluable insight into entrepreneurship. This experience has made me incredibly excited about a future in entrepreneurship."

- Broghan Rice, 2025 Fellow                     

Apply to be 2026 Fellow

The portal to apply for placements in the summer of 2026 is open throughout the fall academic semester.  Semi-finalists will be selected in early January and placements announced in early February. 

2026 Placement Opportunities:

Sponsor 

By underwriting the cost of hosting a student, donors remove a significant barrier for startups and venture funds to take on a student.  It also allows more opportunity for coaching and mentoring of the student versus the host optimizing the value the student can produce.   Contact Tony Viviano (tony.viviano@vanderbilt.edu) in Donor and Alumni Relations to learn more.

Host

Alumni and parents who invest their time in hosting a Venture Fellow are building the next generation of Vanderbilt Founders.  Letting them observe entrepreneurial leadership in action and providing a roadmap for launching their own venture.  Through our generous donors, we are able to cover student stipends.  The only cost to you is the investment of your time.  Email us at c4e@vanderbilt.edu to learn more.

Teach

As part of the fellowship, we recruit experts from the alumni network to teach topics relevant to company formation and building.  These virtual sessions happen on Wednesday late afternoon (PT)  / early evenings (ET) throughout the summer with all fellows joining remotely from their placement.  Email us at c4e@vanderbilt.edu to learn more.