If it’s no strings attached, what’s in it for Human Capital?
We like to support ambitious builders to take a big swing without prematurely raising dilutive capital and committing to a specific idea. As we work with founders during the program, if we land on a specific idea that we’re both excited about, and we all enjoy working together the ideal outcome would be to discuss an investment. There’s no contractual obligation to take an equity investment from Human Capital as part of the fellowship program.

What are the terms for the $50k?
‍The $50k is awarded to you, without any direct equity investment tied to it, no strings attached. You can use the amount however you want—for living expenses, office supplies, compute costs, etc.

Human Capital doesn’t take a percentage of the company (if fellows have already started one), and won’t require a percentage of the company in the future (if fellows raise money during or after the program). 

Do I need a business idea or plan to apply? 
No, our primary focus will be assessing the team, and the potential market they’d like to build in. The big focus of our fellowship approach is to work with you to find the absolute biggest company we can build together with iterative feedback from customer calls.

 Are you looking for solo founders, co-founder pairs, or teams? 
All of the above. You can apply as a solo founder, but we’ve found most successful ventures are built by teams—so if you know someone exceptional you’d like to build with, mention them in the application and encourage them to apply.

Can I participate while working full-time?
Yes.

Do I have to drop out of college after the program?
No. You should do what you think is best—whether that means going back to college or not.

Can I participate in the program if I'm under 18?
Yes.

Can I apply if I'm not an engineer?
Yes, non-engineers can absolutely apply! That being said, we believe many impactful companies are built around complex technical challenges, so we require at least one technical person on each team.

Can I apply and participate as a non-US citizen or international student?
Yes. We hope you’ll apply, no matter what country you live in or your current immigration status. We’ll work with you to find the best way to have you participate.

Can I still apply if I’ve raised capital?
‍Yes.

Can I participate in the fellowship at the same time as another incubator or accelerator program?
‍Yes.

Do I need to be in San Francisco for the fellowship?
No, but we encourage it, and we believe you’ll get more out of the program if you are.

When are applications due?
‍11:59pm PST on Sunday, May 18th.

What’s the timeline for selection?
You should expect to hear back from us within a week of all of your team members submitting their application if you’ve been selected to interview. We’re happy to move quickly so just keep us informed of your timeline or constraints and we can expedite the process.

Fellows will be selected by June 1st at the latest.

Is there a cohort start and end date?
Once you are accepted, you can start as soon as possible as we don’t have an official start and end date. Our primary structured programming will happen in July and August.

How big is the cohort?
We want to deliver focused one-on-one support so we will be keeping the cohorts small (under 10 teams).

Do you have a demo-day?
No, we don’t believe in enforcing a fundraising date for a group of companies. Each company's fundraising timeline, amount, and approach should be different.

If Human Capital invests what do the standard terms look like?
For early rounds our preference is to lead.

Will Human Capital provide recruiting support?
During the program, we will provide advisory support to those looking to bring on founding team members. If we invest in the company at the end of the program, our team will provide more hands-on support to help you build an exceptional early team.

Reach out to fellowship@human.capital with any additional questions!