Menlo Fellowship

Where Entrepreneurs Connect to Explore Big Ideas

Every founder dreams of building a truly great company. We designed the Menlo Fellowship program to help aspiring founders like you explore the path to entrepreneurship within a supportive community of peers who share your drive and ambition.

The Menlo Fellowship gives founders the confidence they need to take the crucial first steps to start a company. Our program attracts the best and brightest—expert operators and technical leaders already established in their careers but pulled to build something of their own. Within this collaborative community, Menlo Fellows gain access to invaluable connections, insights, and strategies to equip them on their journey.

The Menlo Fellowship offers:

• Community: Connect with fellow leaders who understand your challenges and aspirations. This is a collaborative community of peers with whom you can share insights, exchange feedback, and learn.
• Networking: The connections you make extend beyond the Fellows community. Founders will get to know the team at Menlo Ventures and leverage the broader network of the firm, building relationships with seasoned founders, experienced builders, and industry experts.
• Programming: Through a blend of in-person gatherings, virtual forums, and educational sessions, Fellows learn about the process of starting a business and go deep on early-stage topics like developing an idea, finding and vetting a co-founder, and how to collect and use customer feedback.
• Personalized feedback: Regular 1:1 mentorship sessions offer an opportunity to ask for advice, feedback, and introductions as you refine your vision.
• Flexibility: Menlo Fellows can participate in the program for up to one year. There’s no need to quit your day job and no formal commitment to join; make it work for your schedule and circumstances.
• Potential path to pre-seed funding: Select Fellows will have the opportunity to build their company with Menlo Labs, Menlo Ventures’ venture studio.

What Menlo Fellows say:

“Having founded a company before, it was important for me to build my next company with the right partners: both experts in their domain and high-quality people. When I joined the Menlo Fellowship, I had an idea of what I wanted to build, but during my time as a Fellow, my vision and strategy came into focus. As a Menlo Fellow, I started working closely with the Menlo Labs team, and within six months of joining, I had pre-seed funding and was building my company with Menlo Labs. This was the best way for me to build a transformational healthcare company.”

—Milan Thakor, Founder at Colla Health, Menlo Fellowship alumnus

“The Menlo Fellowship helped me understand what it would take to get a startup off the ground. Sure, you could read it in a book, but the Menlo Fellowship offers a rare opportunity to step into a well-known VC and learn from great investors and industry leaders. Starting a company is a lonely process, so having the support of the community has been amazing. My fellow Fellows really kept me focused, and the energy of the group brought out the best in me.”

—Dhruv Dhingra, Founder at Stealth, Menlo Fellowship alumnus

“Instead of asking why you should apply to be a Menlo Fellow, ask ‘Why not?’ The program is flexible, allowing you to engage as much as you choose. But the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Through the program, I’ve met smart people working on interesting challenges and built relationships that have been instrumental in advancing my entrepreneurial vision.”

—Emuye Reynolds, Menlo Fellowship alumnus