Ford Fund Fellowship ranks KC alongside Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas; opening applications to local entrepreneurs

For the first time, Kansas City entrepreneurs have an opportunity to apply for the Watson Institute’s Ford Fund Fellowship, Milena Kirillova shared.

The international venture and leadership development program — in its third year and supported by Ford Motor Company Fund — is a virtual, 16-week program designed to equip highly promising entrepreneurs and community leaders with the skills, resources, and experiences to grow the impactful ventures that they are building, explained Kirillova, search manager for the Watson Institute.

“Working within the Kansas City community this year has already demonstrated how many amazing entrepreneurs there are in Kansas City,” she continued, “and how many communities they are impacting through through their work.”

The Boulder, Colorado-based Watson Institute powers fellowships to support highly promising, historically disenfranchised rising entrepreneurs and leaders in partnership with leading corporations and foundations.

Applications for its fellowship close Jan. 15. Click here to apply.

Forty entrepreneurs — 20 from U.S. priority locations (Kansas City, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Louisville, Memphis) and 20 from international locations (China, Germany, Mexico, Romania, South Africa, United Kingdom) — will be chosen for the fellowship, which will run from March 4 to June 27.

“I’m really excited that this year we get to work within Kansas City, and hopefully it will continue to be one of our priority locations down the road,” said Kirillova.

“We’re looking for someone who is an entrepreneur or a community leader and who is deeply committed to creating sustainable and scalable impact within the Kansas City community,” she continued. “The ideal venture stage for this fellowship are those in the problem-solution fit or product market-fit phases, with engaged customers or beneficiaries and demonstrated outcomes in both impact and revenue.”

The expected time commitment for participants is about eight to 10 hours per week, spread across three days, she noted.

“It’s award-winning training that covers topics like foundations, data and metrics, go-to-market, funding, team management, pitch, and much more,” Kirillova said. “We also have a lot of opportunities for mentorship and opportunities for fellows to connect within the network of other entrepreneurs.”

In addition, the Ford Fund Fellowship program includes an impact series led by renowned leaders, entrepreneurs, and practitioners, basecamp workshops held by fellows in their own communities, and a summit event to conclude the fellowship, according to the institute.

Plus $40,000 in venture development stipends will be distributed among chosen fellows based on their progress and impact throughout the fellowship.

The program also offers dedicated support to alumni of the fellowship, Kirillova said. Past fellows include Luka Perkovic — founder of TopCourse, which provides STEM training and curriculum for middle school and high school students and educators across West Tennessee — and Kristin Calabria — founder of the BRIDGE Lab Foundation, which offers preventative and interventive mental health support to teachers, school administrators, students, and caregivers across San Diego and Los Angeles schools.

“We facilitate events where we connect current fellows with program alumni and we connect alumni with opportunities that they need to grow their projects,” Kirillova said. “We also have an alumni community where we share different opportunities that are specifically targeted toward Ford Ford Fellowship alumni.”

The Watson Institute’s Ford Fund Fellowship is the second entry into Kansas City’s entrepreneur company by the Ford Motor Company Fund. The not-for-profit corporation partnered with 1863 Ventures to bring the HERImpact pitch competition to Kansas City, most recently in March 2023.