ISA Ventures announces Scout & Fellowship Programs

ISA Ventures (ISAV), a venture capital fund that invests in Iowa-based companies, announced last Friday that it is launching 3 year-long Scout and Fellowship programs in 2022.

These programs will give up to 8 highly qualified college students a unique opportunity to learn more about Venture Capital. The programs are each 12 months long and we have three tracks to choose from:

• Venture Scouts are focused on identifying and evaluating potential investment opportunities on and around college campuses in Iowa and surrounding states. 
• Venture Fellows work intensively with our staff on selected deals, performing due diligence, modelling, and analysis of potential investments.  
• Venture Legal Fellows will work with our team on legal matters such as securities work, due diligence and compliance.

The applications for the Scout and Fellowship programs will have a specific focus on university students and diverse candidates. 

“The venture capital industry in Iowa is a small one, with just a handful of funds and probably less than 100 consistently active angel investors. We’re aiming to change that,” wrote ISAV in a blog post announcing the new programs. “Additionally, In Iowa, the number of underrepresented founders who have raised over $1M can be counted on one hand. This is a problem that we also want to address. One way to get started is by bringing more diverse representation to the VC side of the table.”

Those accepted into the program will work part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer. ISAV says it plans to work with colleges to fund these positions and/or provide school credit. The announcement of ISAV 2022 Scouts and Fellows will take place in December. The program will begin in January 2022. Learn more about each of the three program tracks here.

Previous coverage

Investing in Iowa: Q2 2021 -July 12, 2021

Q&A with Mikayla Sullivan of ISA Ventures -Feb. 5, 2021

ISA Ventures raises $15 million to invest in Iowa-based companies -Aug. 3, 2020