Consensys is thrilled to announce that applications to its first cohort of the Consensys Fellowship Program are now open. The Consensys Fellowship Program is a pre-accelerator program designed to support web3 startups and founders using the Consensys software suite including MetaMask SDK, MetaMask Snaps, and Linea.
The first cohort of the Consensys Fellowship Program will support 15 startups over a 12-week period, which will include hands-on exercises, interactive workshops, and case studies that address challenges faced by web3 builders. The program will bring in subject-matter experts such as Austin Griffith, co-founder of Buidl Guidl; Lindsey Winder, co-founder of Hedgey Finance; and Vanessa Grellet, managing partner at Aglae Ventures to mentor startup founders.
The Consensys Fellowship Program is a no-equity taken program, and provides the opportunity to receive up to $1.5M in potential investments from ConsenSys Mesh and its program, Tachyon. With this fellowship, Consensys aims to enable participating teams to develop new use cases that can significantly benefit the larger Ethereum community.
Why participate in the Consensys Fellowship Program?
The Consensys Fellowship Program aims to bring together the brightest web3 builders to unlock the collaborative power of communities, making web3 universally easy to use, access, and build on.
The chosen startups and founders will be able to learn from web3 industry leaders through speaker sessions and office hours; leverage the insights of subject-matter experts through invite-only workshops focused on product-market fit, business modeling, growth strategy, engineering strategy, and fundraising. Some speakers of the Fellowship program include Kevin Owocki, co-founder of Gitcoin; Mike Kriak, CEO of ConsenSys Mesh; Camila Russo, Chiefess at Defiant News; and Dennison Bertram, co-founder of Tally.xyz.
In addition, weekly peer-to-peer working groups will allow participants to share knowledge, resources, and experiences on related challenges, while supporting one another.
The program is a part-time program where founders are able to choose whether they want to keep their full-time jobs, or go full startup mode. This landmark event will provide a platform for fellows to showcase their innovative solutions to investors, mentors, and other stakeholders in a vibrant atmosphere conducive to networking and deal-making.
Key partners include SheFi, Bankless DAO, Open Zeppelin, SAFE, GitHub for Startups, Aave Companies, Polygon, Utopia Labs, Gitcoin, and more.
All You Need to Know About the Fellowship Applications
Applications for the first cohort of Consensys Fellowship have opened today, and will close on October 3rd, 2023 at 11:59pm EST. The selection process is aimed at choosing a diverse cohort of visionary founders and developers ready to embark on their web3 journey. Submit your application here. Projects will be considered across three verticals:
Extensibility - Consensys aims to support projects that leverage the capabilities of web3 technologies to drive extensibility within the web3 ecosystem via access layer (wallets), or the application layer.
Optimization - Projects that offer valuable tools, middleware, and other solutions that streamline the development process.
Scalability - Projects related to Layer 2 solutions and zero-knowledge proofs that contribute to scalability and performance of Ethereum and EVM chains.
The Consensys Fellowship Program team will choose the top 15 startups to be included in its first cohort, with an additional three startups being waitlisted. The program will officially commence on November 6th, 2023, leading up to an immersive in-real-life Demo Day on April 5, 2024.
The Consensys Fellowship Program represents an essential step in the evolution of the web3 ecosystem, uniting industry leaders, emerging talent, and forward-thinking partners to collectively drive the adoption and advancement of decentralized applications. This initiative reflects Consensys' unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the realm of blockchain technology.
For more information, please read the frequently asked questions here. To apply, please fill out the in-take form here.