Future Builders Fellowship

Amplify your impact with the Future Builders Fellowship. Calling all Black and Latinx women and non-binary founders in the United States who are tackling pressing challenges in Health, Climate, and EquityTech. This fellowship offers more than support – it’s your launchpad for growth, impact, and a future shaped by you.

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Sectors

Climate

Solutions addressing climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience including but not limited to:

  • Renewable Energy Generation and Storage 
  • Green Building Technologies
  • Climate Data and Analytics
  • Climate Smart Agriculture and Food Systems
  • WaterTech

Health

Solutions leveraging technology to reduce barriers to quality, affordable healthcare and to improve physical and mental healthcare outcomes. Subsectors include but are not limited to:

  • Telemedicine, Remote Patient Monitoring, and Digital Therapeutics 
  • Healthcare Operations
  • Health Data Analytics and AI 
  • MedTech
  • FemTech
  • Preventative Medicine
  • Health Finance
  • AgeTech/Longevity Tech

Equitytech

Solutions leveraging technology to increase social and financial inclusion and closing equity gaps in wealth, education, and accessibility. Subsectors include but are not limited to:

  • FinTech 
  • Future of Work  
  • Assistive Tech 
  • EdTech

Program Structure

  • Cohort of up to 10 ventures founded by Black, African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and Afro-Latina women and nonbinary-identifying entrepreneurs. Ventures receive training in Halcyon’s methodology on business fundamentals, leadership, investment readiness, and impact.
  • Program is delivered in hybrid modality with participants engaging in both virtual and in-person sessions:
    • 1 Virtual Program Kickoff Meeting 
    • 4 Virtual Program Meeting Days
    • 1 week in-person residency in Washington, DC 
    • 1 week in-person residency in other U.S. city (specific location to be announced)

Timeline

  • October 20, 2023: Application closes
  • November/December 2023: Finalists invited to Virtual Pitch with Selection Committee
  • December 2023: Selected fellows will be notified
  • January 9, 2024: Virtual Program Kickoff 
  • January 22-26, 2024: In-person residency in Washington, DC
  • February 2024: Virtual Meeting #1 (specific date to be announced)
  • March 2024: Virtual Meeting #2 (specific date to be announced)
  • April 2024: Virtual Meeting #3 (specific date to be announced)
  • May 2024: Virtual Meeting #4 (specific date to be announced)
  • June 3-7, 2024: In-person residency in other U.S. city (specific location to be announced)

Benefits

Each program includes specific benefits to fellows. Fellows accepted into this program will receive the following:

  • $10,000 USD in Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing credits
  • Additional technical support from Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Access to a world-class network of mentors and advisors
  • Bespoke training on:
    • Business fundamentals
    • Investment readiness
    • Impact definition and measurement
    • Leadership
  • World-wide community of impact-driven entrepreneurs
  • Workshops with legal experts
  • $5,000 USD equity-free travel stipend per venture
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Eligibility

We’re looking for (for-profit) startups that are building scalable solutions that are tackling challenges related to Health, Climate, or EquityTech. 

  • Location: Must have operations in the U.S. or U.S. territories 
  • Stage: Must have a Minimum Viable Product that has the potential to scale 
  • Team: 
    • Must identify as Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latinx, Afro-Latina
    • Must identify as a woman or as non-binary
    • May apply with up to one co-founder
    • Applicant must be the CEO and/or hold primary decision-making power
    • Must be fluent in English
    • Must be at least 21 years of age by the start of the program
  • Program Engagement: Must be able to participate in all activities and programming sessions 
  • Impact: Must be developing a product and venture which contributes towards 1 or more of the UN’s 17 SDGs

In addition to eligibility, Halcyon scores each application based on 4 criteria: Impact, Scalability, Innovation, and Talent.

Selection Criteria

Impact

To what extent will the solution, if scaled, have a meaningful impact on society and/or the environment?

Scalability

Could this venture scale to reach hundreds of thousands or millions of users in a 5-10 year time horizon?

Innovation

Is the solution a novel approach to tackling the issue in their context?

Talent

Is the team uniquely qualified to tackle the challenges they’ve identified?

Application Deadline: October 20, 2023

Apply Now