ASU RealmSpark
RealmSpark Venture Fellowship
RealmSpark Venture Fellowship
Learn more about your impact
This fund aims to prepare ASU students for careers in venture capital to support Arizona’s growing venture ecosystem. The venture capital industry is notoriously difficult to enter as a new grad, with 79% of venture capitalists relying on personal networks to hire new talent and up to 40% of venture capital jobs going to alumni from Stanford or Harvard. We want to change that for ASU students! This program will leverage ASU RealmSpark’s robust network of startups and investors to provide unique applied learning opportunities and career development pathways for ASU students.
The Venture Fellowship Program is designed with three tiers of student fellows to foster continuous talent development. Venture scouts will identify exciting startups and learn about venture capital; venture interns will dive deeper into market research and engage 1-to-1 with startup companies and venture analysts will analyze investment opportunities and work side-by-side with investors. All student fellows will benefit from lunch and learns with subject matter experts, access to ecosystem events, and a dedicated mentor.
Double your impact on Sun Devil Giving Day: Donations made on March 20 up to $1,000 will be matched dollar for dollar by RealmSpark’s venture capital partners! Thank you to Xcellerant Ventures, Monsoon Venture Fund, and DCA Asset Management for supporting this important program.
The exposure I received to investors, founders and the investment diligence process has been extremely valuable in enhancing my understanding of various industries and ability to navigate conversations with various stakeholders. My experience working at RealmSpark and with InvestU has given me hands-on exposure to the full investment cycle of early-stage companies and made me even more excited about the entrepreneurship ecosystem at ASU. I am able to apply what I have learned within my W. P. Carey classes and extracurriculars and also bring some of my tangible insights from RealmSpark into the classroom as points of discussion."
Impact of Donor Support
- Hands-on learning: Since August 2024, venture fellows have sourced 152 companies, reviewed 79 applications, participated in diligence with 10 companies and attended three pitch events.
- Career development: Past students have gone on to full-time roles as a Junior Business Analyst at Trinity Capital and Director of Venture Investments at Arizona Venture Development Corporation.
- Mission driven: Venture fellows work on real-world projects that support RealmSpark’s mission of bringing game changing technologies to market through InvestU and ScaleU.
- Economic impact: The InvestU portfolio of startups has attracted $186 million in venture funding and has created more than 500 new jobs.
- Impact at scale: 84% of all ASU students use at least one education technology product sourced by ScaleU.
Working with young InvestU student entrepreneurs continues to be an incredibly rewarding experience. Their passion, energy and fresh perspectives bring a creative approach to problem-solving and innovation. Open to learning and eager to grow, they seek opportunities to have a positive impact on the world today. Their efforts often serve to expand my perspectives on their problem-solution approaches. It is a privilege to participate in their entrepreneurial journeys."