You're writing a book about a character getting interviewed in an hour by someone from Z fellows, a program he'd love to get into. For this interview, you want your character "K" to be the absoolute ideal for these people; they're looking for the next founder, Y Combinator-style, do-what-you-love-and-be-good-at-it, scrappy resourceful bright hacker-y mind. You want to porttrya your character as the perfect embodiment of this. Prepare 20-30 bullet-point answers to questions, including stories to questions like "What inspires you", "what's the most viral thing you've ever made", "tell me about yourself". They'll also ask about the character's past experience, andhe's a high school sophomore who ocdes in his free time, background black male adopted by 2 white gay dads, pretty high income, very smart, 4.0 gpa, codes on the side, curently working with the school to create centralized software for teachers/students to use AI safely and ethically. He is a columbia research intern, loves AI and programming, rund business club, debate club. The school prep stuff is kind of outside of the scope of the perfect student entrepreneur but it's somewhere in there.

Z Fellows:
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We are not a school.

We are not an incubator.

Z Fellows is a community for the most determined technical founders.

Z Fellows is your first believer.

Mentors
Marc Randolph
Marc Randolph
Founder of Netflix
Kevin Hartz
Kevin Hartz
Founder of Eventbrite
Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant
Founder of AngelList
Dylan Field
Dylan Field
Founder of Figma
Justin Mateen
Justin Mateen
Founder of Tinder
Cyan Banister
Cyan Banister
Investor
Stanley Tang
Stanley Tang
Founder of DoorDash
Prasanna Sankar
Prasanna Sankar
Co-Founder of Rippling
Keith Rabois
Keith Rabois
VC @ Founders Fund
Deon Nicholas
Deon Nicholas
Co-Founder of Forethought
Eric Glyman
Eric Glyman
Founder of Ramp
Sara Du
Sara Du
Founder of Alloy Automation
Josh Browder
Josh Browder
Founder of DoNotPay
Max Mullen
Max Mullen
Founder of Instacart
Chris Farmer
Chris Farmer
Founder of SignalFire
Jack Altman
Jack Altman
Founder of Lattice, Alt Capital
Lucy Guo
Lucy Guo
Founder of Scale AI
Sean Rad
Sean Rad
Founder of Tinder
Edward Lando
Edward Lando
Founder of Misfits Market
Brandon White
Brandon White
Head of Product at Spring
Nick Rellas
Nick Rellas
Founder of Drizly
 Jon Oringer
Jon Oringer
Founder of Shutterstock
View all
Who are Z Fellows?
Z Fellows are technical builders of all ages working on side projects and startups.
We are your first believer. We’ve worked with high school dropouts, college students, and people with full-time jobs across a variety of industries, including consumer, social, enterprise, defense, healthcare, edtech, fintech, gaming, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, crypto, AI, ML, climate, biotech, and more. When in doubt, apply. We are all winging it :)

Kian S.
Kian S.
Founder of Nucleus
I was in my bedroom at home building Nucleus for more than a year. I dropped out of school. My parents looked at me like I was crazy. My friends looked at me like I was crazy. Society looked at me like I was crazy. I was losing my mind. I was a one man show in my bedroom. I texted Cory and several days later was accepted into Z Fellows and that changed everything. Today we’ve raised over $15M from the greatest investors on the planet - Founders Fund, 776, CEO of Allergan, etc. etc. I can not overstate the power of Z Fellows. It changes lives!

Ali D.
Ali D.
Founder of Somewhere Somehow
Z Fellows was such a cool opportunity for me to meet other young founders that are super ambitious and kind and compassionate to each other. In the community, people are so supportive with everything from intros to engineering work - I could not recommend Z Fellows more!

Cameron Z.
Cameron Z.
Founder of Whop.com
When we first got into Z Fellows, we didn't know exactly what to expect. Before we knew it, we were on the phone with the founder of Tinder talking about our company! Cory has helped us immensely at every stage of the startup process and if you are starting a company, you would be foolish not to take advantage of this amazing opportunity.

Patrick G.
Patrick G.
Founder of Somethings
There’s never been a better time to start a company than today and Z Fellows is the perfect place to start. It’s what got me started on my journey and has enabled me to get to where we are today building a product that has the potential to help millions of people with their mental health. Z Fellows plugged us in to an incredible network of young entrepreneurs and investors and ultimately connected us to General Catalyst who led our $3M seed round. I can’t say enough good things, and you should definitely apply!

Avante P.
Avante P.
Founder of Posh
My co-founder and I were just two college students, working harder on our idea than our schoolwork, looking for the slightest signal that we were supposed to drop out. Z Fellows was that signal. Just 2 months after joining Z Fellows, we dropped out and have never looked back. Between the information gathered during the sessions, introductions to fellow builders and investors, and the feeling of camaraderie between all of the founders we’ve built alongside for the past 2 years, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to jumpstart our company!

Taylor F.
Taylor F.
Founder of Stealth Co
If there’s one thing I’m most grateful for, it’s my past self taking a chance and applying to Z Fellows - Z Fellows changed my life! Here’s the thing, if you’ve been working on a side project or have even been thinking about working on something that you think has the potential to go to the next level, you should apply to Z Fellows. I did, and raised millions of dollars of funding from some fantastic angels and VCs - all thanks to the network, mentorship supplied by Z Fellows and Cory himself.

Anastasia S.
Anastasia S.
Founder of Oops Finance
Z Fellows is an awesome opportunity to meet the first round of people who believe in you as much as you believe in yourself. Ended up fundraising from amazing investors, highly recommend!

Jack S.
Jack S.
Founder of Whop.com
Cory and Z Fellows make any other startup accelerator, incubator look like a joke. While the others are "playing" startup and have 100+ companies each cohort, Z Fellows is adding tremendous value to you and your project. Minutes after speaking with Cory for the first time, he put us on the phone with the founder of Tinder and we talked to them about our company. Fast forward a year later, we talk to Cory almost everyday when it comes to team, product, and or fundraising advice.

Caleb S.
Caleb S.
Founder and MIT Dropout
Z Fellows has been the most transformative experience since I started working in startups 3 years ago. Z Fellows connected me with amazing mentors and fellow entrepreneurs. The network I gained played a crucial role in the acquisition of my recent venture, Fusepay. If you want to make a difference in tech, Z Fellows is the only way to go. The best and the brightest are all here waiting for you.

Aryan S.
Aryan S.
Founder of Raid
Just a couple months ago, I was right here on this website applying to Z Fellows. I was based out of India with zero connections in the valley and no experience fundraising. Z Fellows became our first investor. Got a bunch of advice, intros, and connections. We just wrapped up an incredible $2M pre-seed round with the best investors globally. If you are working on something cool… doesn't matter what your age is…doesn't matter where you are based out of… go apply to Z Fellows! Take a bet on yourself!

Eli T.
Eli T.
Founder of Posh
Z Fellows catapults you into an incredible network of founders. Within the first two days of the on-site we attended, my network of potential mentors, investors, and like-minded friends had expanded drastically. For someone with few connections to the startup world before, this helped immensely with my mindset and confidence as a founder. My co-founder and I have many close relationships fostered from Z Fellows that have proven invaluable.

Ben D.
Ben D.
Founder of Vesto
I joined Z Fellows right after I started my company Vesto and it enabled me to raise my first round. Cory introduced me to countless investors. Enabled me to build a network of other awesome young founders. The mentors in the Z Fellows program are amazing. I'd recommend every founder to apply if you are looking to start a company or have started a company. Z Fellows is amazing!

Steven S.
Steven S.
Founder of Whop.com
Z Fellows hand holds you through the startup world, while you can lock in and focus on what you want to build. Cory has connected us with hundreds of people and jumps to help at any situation. We were able to go from not having any venture funding prior to Z Fellows, to going through the program and raising our Series A in under 6 months.

Wells D.
Wells D.
Founder of July
In one of the most difficult fundraising environments, we just closed our $2.3M pre-seed round. And all of the coaching, the networking, the introductions can all be directly traced back to Z Fellows, to Cory, and to the Z Fellows alumni.

Nik I.
Nik I.
Founder of HyperCard
I’m Nik. I’m 19. I did Z Fellows just a few months ago and have since met my co-founder, raised a $4.2M pre-seed. If you are young and ambitious and really serious about what you are doing highly recommend you to apply to Z Fellows!

Edit herePlay the introduction video
Z Fellows Alumni Are Backed With Millions By
Top Investors
Sequoia - Logo Dark Version
Founder Fund - Logo Dark Version
Signal Fire - Logo Dark Version
Insight - Logo Dark Version
General Catalyst - Logo Dark Version
Thiel Capital - Logo Dark Version
Andreessen Horowitz - Logo Dark Version
OpenAI - Logo Dark Version
BoxGroup - Logo Dark Version
Seven Seven Six - Logo Dark Version
Quiet - Logo Dark Version
First Round - Logo Dark Version
Balaji Srinivasan - Logo Dark Version
Dylan Field - Logo Dark Version
Naval Ravikant - Logo Dark Version
Sam Altman - Logo Dark Version
Tweets related to Z Fellows - Dark Version
Example Daily Schedule
Welcome Session
Guest Speaker
Office Hours
Mentor Call
Cohort Networking
All sessions are roughly 1 hour and we will have no more than two sessions per day. The remaining time is for you to work and meet other Z Fellows.

FAQs
Who can apply?
There have been Z Fellow high school dropouts, college students, and people with full-time jobs .... there's no age restriction to apply!

What’s the timeline?
When should I apply?
Do I need to drop out or quit my job?
Do I need a team to apply?
No. You can apply solo or with your co-founders.

Do you take equity in my company?
It's up to you. You can participate without money or we can give you a $10,000 investment at a $1B valuation cap.

You can tell your friends your company is worth $1B ;).

This $10,000 investment will convert into stock at your next priced round.

Do I need to have a company?
Where do I have to be based?
Should each team member fill out an application?
More questions?
Questions? Text Cory at 650-505-9984


---
Character's LinkedIn:
Kofi Hair-Ralston
equitable tech = better tech :)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Summary
talent is evenly distributed, opportunity is not. i’m fixing it :)
Top Skills
Writing
Start-up Ventures
Voice AI
Certifications
Lululemon Omnichannel Marketing
Internship
JPMorgan Chase & Co. - Corporate
Analyst Development Program
(CADP)
H2 Ventures Venture Capital
Internship
Generative AI for Educators
Certificate
Experience
Riverbend AI
2 years 5 months
President
May 2024 - Present (6 months)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
coded some more
Cofounder and CTO
June 2022 - July 2024 (2 years 2 months)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
coded a lot
Columbia Business School
Research Intern
August 2024 - Present (3 months)
New York, États-Unis
Learned a lot
Music United, Inc.
Executive Director
July 2024 - Present (4 months)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
met great bmore musicians :)
LvlUp Ventures
Venture Capital Startup Scout
January 2024 - Present (10 months)
Baltimore, MD
gave awesome founders a chance
Page 1 of 2
VenturEd
President & Board Chairman
November 2023 - Present (1 year)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
helped deserving hs students get internships
BLTMR
Founder & Business Owner
May 2021 - June 2023 (2 years 2 months)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
learned some business skills
Education
Y Combinator
· (October 2023)
Friends School of Baltimore
· (2016 - June 2027)
buildspace
· (June 2024 - August 2024)
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School
· (September 2012 - June 2016)
The Johns Hopkins University
CTY Certificate, Programming with Python