Now deploying industry leading web3 founders

Applications open September 20, 2023.

Applications close Monday night, October 3rd, 2023 - 11:59 PM EST.

Consensys Fellowship is a free, no-capital provided, no equity-taken program.

You’re an early-stage, pre-seed, or idea-stage startup. Your team is comprised of experienced builders, and entrepreneurs, who have a passion for the “why” behind the product. The product is still refining product-market fit, is eager to work with Consensys product teams, is seeking further mentorship, increased traction, and could use help fundraising.

The Consensys fellowship application consists of three main parts:

• Part1: Basic information about you (3-5 mins)
• Part2: Information about your company (30-45 mins)
• Part3: Pitch deck and video

Startups will hear back no later than Tuesday, October 24th.

We look for early-stage teams that have no more than 5 team members. If you have raised angel or pre-seed capital you will be in good company. If you are seed stage, advise your investors if this program would be a good fit for you, but we’re open-minded. If you are a Series A or later-stage traditional company looking to build in web3 by entering a product into our program, please advise our leadership team.

We encourage you to apply no matter where you are in the world, however, we cannot help you with Visa or immigration issues.

A team/product video is a required part of the application, the video doesn’t need to be super polished. Be honest, demonstrate what you actually have, show us the team & product, and give us a simple walkthrough! We prefer a crappy product demo with an ugly UI 100x more than a marketing video.

We’re totally good with you each filming half the video and then putting them together. Or get on a Google Hangout together and hit record! There are definitely greater obstacles to overcome as a startup founder, so don’t let this stop you.

The Consensys Fellowship Application Judges will grade applications based on: Team, Startup Business Model & Strategy, Product Development, Startup's Finances, Vision & Awareness, and Pitch Deck and Product Video.

The Consensys Fellowship Application Judges will choose the top 36 startups to be interviewed. Interviews begin Tuesday, October 2nd. It’s important to be yourself in these interviews and communicate your passion, team strengths and qualifications. Make sure to clearly demonstrate how the Consensys Fellowship Program fits in your path towards successful growth, and why your Startup is well founded for success.

The Consensys Fellowship Interview Judges will choose the top 15 startups, with an additional 3 waitlisted startups.

The primary language that we use in verbal and written communications during all accelerator programs—is English.

We choose great founders proposing products that solve real problems or create meaningful innovations. For us, it’s about the team. For this reason, we’re less likely to accept single-founder companies (you’re less likely to have all the skills your company needs to succeed). The best things you can do to strengthen your application are: Round out your team with business, technical, and other necessary skills. Make progress on your prototype or product and reference it in the application. Show us you’ve really thought about your business and have gotten out there to do something about it. Last but not least, demonstrate early traction or provide data points to validate your core assumptions.

The Consensys Fellowship Application is a part-time 12-week program consisting of weekly workshops, community events, and 1:1 mentorship. The program kicks off on October 30 and until the end of Q1 2024. Between the end of November & middle of January, startups will be in a heads-down period working on goals established during the first 3 weeks and participating in additional optional workshops.

We’ve made the program part-time so you can balance other responsibilities (work or school), we fully expect you, as the company's senior management, to be present and engaged for most of the program.

The program calendar will be filled with components ranging from mentor chats, workshops, office hours, community events, and pitch practices. In general, though, you’ll be working on your product each day, just like all of the other founders in the program. We create an environment that is conducive to helping your startup every day. And we’ll make sure you have lots of experienced mentors around to help you.

No, the Fellowship is a virtual program with the opportunity to meet in person during special events.

Consensys does not make any financial investments in portfolio companies. The fellowship is partnered with ConsenSys Mesh and their program Tachyon along with other VCs that have set aside capital to potentially invest in the startups who complete the program and pitch during demo day. The fellowship provides its portfolio companies with knowledge, resources, and network so they can raise capital.

The Fellowship aims to facilitate partnerships, joint initiatives, and networking events that enable teams to build relationships with other innovative Startups, developers, investors, and potential users. Additionally, the Fellowship offers a platform for Startups to showcase their progress, share their achievements, and gain visibility within the broader web3 community. We’ll provide resources, guidance, and access to a network of professionals who can assist with finding the right talent for each team's needs. Whether it's connecting Startups with potential team members, offering advice on effective hiring strategies, or providing access to relevant job boards, the Fellowship aims to help startups attract and onboard top-notch talent.

• Market Intelligence
• Market Dynamics
• DAO Legal Map
• Token economics
• AI + Web3
• Wallet Innovation
• Analyzing Which Chain to Build On
• Growth Hacking Community development
• Business planning, KPIs, OKRs, and project management
• Product Development
• Product Market Fit
• Customer Acquisition: How to do Qualitative User Interviews
• Developer Relations, Dev Tools, Engineering strategy, & Building in Public
• Security: Audits, Ongoing monitoring, Code4Rena, and Diligence
• Pitch Practice & Talking to Investors

During the last week of the program, we’ll organize Founders Week where we’ll coach you so you’re as effective as possible, and do everything we can to help you perfect your pitch and get follow-on funding. On the last day, we’ll organize Demo Day where angel investors and venture capitalists will check out your technology and listen to your pitch.

Tachyon is an accelerator program organized by ConsenSys Mesh that has had a total of 6 cohorts with 190+ portfolio companies.

Fellowship is the very first “Pre-Accelerator”, no-capital program by Consensys Software Inc. and our products—MetaMask, Linea, and more. TachyonX is the newest program to come out of ConsenSys Mesh and their Tachyon vertical. TachyonX is tailored to the needs of ambitious founders by preparing them to be investor ready with $150,000 in capital and individualized access to the ConsenSys Mesh network.

Short answer— no. They’re different.

Consensys Fellowship is a Pre-Accelerator program inviting early-stage builders to work with Consensys products—primarily MetaMask SDK, Snaps, and Linea. We’re looking for pre-seed, and seed-stage companies with small teams that need mentorship, support with growth or product market fit, and are eager to work with Consensys products.

Consensys Startup Program is a community program built for Series A and later-stage companies that are looking to partner with Consensys products and services. These companies are more established, and require more official collaboration, and advanced content, content or resources.

If you’re a part of Consensys Fellowship, you will have a straightforward path to join our Startup Program. You will also benefit from a handful of resources from the program.

As a member of the Consensys Startup Program, you will have content, partnerships, and resources provided by Fellowship that could be beneficial to your teams.