In the afternoon I had a meeting with a guy who actually helped Leigh to arrange some of the meetings, so I was very much looking forward to meeting him - Paul Wickham, CEO of the Center for Venture Education which administers the Kauffman Fellows Program... As I discovered, Phil didn't know much about the Eisenhower Fellowships, but maybe because he learned that the both organizations share similar goals and visions, he was so eager to help (also he helped me with a couple of more meetings later this week and next week)...
KFP was created in 1994 in cooperation with leading VCs to identify emerging leaders in venture capital, and enable them to personally develop, network and ... It was (and still is) a very innovative way to expand the talent pool in venture capital, and this way actually help develop and finance more innovative companies and entrepreneurs...
Every year a group of about 25 people gets selected and spends 2 two years being coached, mentored and enabled dialogue and networking with their peers and role models... KFP alumni led investments in overall volume of about $ 6 billion in 417 companies (which generate annualized revenue of over $ 15 billion and employ nearly 43 thousand people)... Out of the Fellows, 37 are general partners in their VC firms, 7 started their own firms and 6 are CEO/Founders of VC-backed companies... Wow, what a track record...
Point is Kauffman's goal was not just creating successful VCs, but also creating leaders with understanding and passion for entrepreneurship, venture building and actually making a positive change in the world...
I will be actually thinking about applying for the program - that's how impressive my meeting with Phil and learning about the KFP were... And at the end of the day, it is my goal to be a successful VC and leader with ability to drive change...
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