Venture for America abruptly closes; ending fellowship that matched talent with KC startups, VCs

A coast-to-coast fellowship program that sought to reinvigorate communities — including Kansas City — by pairing recent college graduates with emerging startups, investment firms, and nonprofits has unexpectedly ceased operations, leaders with Venture for America announced this week.

Carrie Murphy, Venture for America

“While this chapter for our national organization is closing, the spirit and impact of VFA will endure through our incredible community,” Carrie Murphy, CEO of Venture For America, told Startland News. “We remain optimistic about the future and are committed to exploring ways to continue our mission in new and innovative forms.”

The two-year fellowship program had partnered with a range of Kansas City tech companies and venture capital firms to give young talent an opportunity to gain entrepreneurial and startup experiences.

From the archives: Venture for America fellows bringing diversity of thought to KC tech, investment firms

Its sudden closure comes as VFA faced “economic headwinds and shifting priorities” that caused ongoing fundraising challenges, said Murphy, who took over the Detroit-based nonprofit as CEO in May.

“Venture For America has experienced many transitions in recent years, including a changing landscape for entrepreneurship and the nature of work,” she said in a statement to supporters. “Due to the challenging economic environment there has been a decline in venture funding for company partners impacting both revenue and fellow placements.” 

Six members of the 2023 VFA fellowship were placed with organizations in Kansas City, and are now impacted by the national nonprofit’s abrupt closure, Murphy said, noting those fellows are no longer bound by previous VFA requirements (like working for a partner company or living in a VFA city).

“We are still sharing resumes and sourcing job opportunities as best we can to support this group of fellows who are still in the job search,” she added, encouraging fellows to “reflect on their personal mission and the reasons they joined the organization.”

Statistics about VFA’s 2024 fellows; image courtesy of Venture for America

The national VFA operation’s summer bootcamp onboarded new fellows for 2024 as recently as mid-July, though Murphy said the majority had not yet been placed with companies and none of the new fellows were officially slated for Kansas City.

“Young aspiring entrepreneurs are losing key resources for starting their journey,” said Regina Sosa, a 2023 fellow now in Kansas City. “VFA is one of the few national organizations that provided programming, an accelerator, and funding opportunities to fellows and alumni.”

“More importantly, we are losing a community,” she continued. “Many fellows who have gone on to start successful companies met their co-founder(s) at VFA Training Camp or in their VFA city. That connection will be less likely to happen now.”

Craig Moore, who previously served as Kansas City director for VFA, and Kate Loar, who oversaw VFA for Kansas City and St. Louis (and was named vice president of development for VFA in April), declined to comment for this story, directing inquiries to Murphy and Betsye Park, chief operations officer.

Moore on Friday announced on LinkedIn he had accepted a new role as a partnerships and special projects manager for The DeBruce Foundation. He also remains executive director for Black Excellence KC.

Legacy of community

All staff positions at VFA were terminated, effective Tuesday, Murphy said in a message to VFA supporters. A team of 16 — including Murphy, Park, and Loar — had been listed as the nonprofit’s national office.

“In its 13 years, VFA has achieved much to be proud of,” Murphy said of the organization that was founded by American entrepreneur-turned-political candidate Andrew Yang in 2011. “We have contributed to the economic growth in over 20 cities and over 950 companies have benefited from hiring fellows.”

“Our fellows and alumni are four times more likely to start their own ventures than their peers,” she continued, noting, “The true magic of VFA has always been in our community. The legacy of Venture For America is the strong community it has built. The relationships, connections, and network created will continue to thrive beyond the organization’s operational existence.”

A transition team is expected to wrap shutdown tasks for the nonprofit by Oct. 31.

VFA’s board of directors will explore options for a strategic restructuring that might allow for ongoing support of the existing fellow community and perhaps a new chapter in the VFA journey, Murphy said. 

Losing connectivity

While Moore’s LinkedIn post indicated VFA’s closing announcement was in the works for weeks, fellows were caught off guard by the news, said Sosa, who serves as capital access manager for the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, and the KC BizCare Office.

Regina Sosa, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri

“The announcement came as a total surprise,” she said. “Fellows were aware that VFA had been struggling internally. The organization went through a lot of leadership and programming changes these past few months, which were communicated proactively with fellows. The decision to cease operations, however, was not. Fellows found out at the same time as stakeholders and the majority of the public.”

Sosa credits the organization for connecting her to the role at EDCKC, as well as validating her as a candidate for the job, she said. 

“Being a part of Venture for America added a level of credibility to resumes that employers liked to see,” Sosa said. “Additionally, having moved back to KC after a stint in Cleveland, Kansas City fellows were some of the first to welcome me, making the transition easier. It’s a great community to be part of.”

Losing that connectivity with incoming talent from across the country will mean fewer opportunities to attract and keep top-level young professionals in Kansas City, she added.

“Kansas City had already been struggling to retain fellows past the two-year fellowship, due to a lack of career growth and entrepreneurial resources (compared to San Francisco, Chicago, Austin and other major cities),” Sosa said. “I’m a big advocate of entrepreneurship as a tool of economic development. Without VFA, we are losing an avenue for that economic development.”

She hopes the community will rally behind alumni, recently placed fellows and those recent college graduates who completed the summer bootcamp before VFA shuttered its day-to-day operations.

“Many of these 2024 fellows still don’t have a role, and now, they do not have a platform to look for a role,” Sosa said. “If you are a startup, ESO, VC, etc. and are looking for young, motivated talent, please reach out!”