Team Village Capital Village Capital uses the power of peer support to build enterprises that change the world.  Inspired by the concept of the "village bank" in microfinance and peer support groups such as YPO and EO, Village Capital puts the hard tasks of building companies -- criticism, strategy, feedback, and legwork -- in the hands of entrepreneurs themselves.  Village Capital organizes cohorts worldwide and runs education programs focused on intensive peer review.  At the end, entrepreneurs assess one another, and do so in an astoundingly collegial way.  Entrepreneurs even sit in the investor's seat: the top ranked can receive pre-committed capital from partner investors.  In Village Capital programs, entrepreneurs leverage help from their peers: individuals rooted in practical experience and gain a network of like-minded leaders to reach scale. Ross Baird is Executive Director of Village Capital and developed the concept in 2009, leading the development of Village Capital programs worldwide.  Before launching Village Capital, he worked with First Light Ventures, a seed fund focused on impact investments.  Prior to First Light, Ross worked on the development of four education-related start-up ventures: the Indian School Finance Company in Hyderabad, India; the National College Advising Corps in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and two ventures using technology to promote civic participation.  He has a MPhil from the University of Oxford, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and a BA from the University of Virginia, where he was a Truman Scholar and a Jefferson Scholar. James Watson is the Program Manger for