Manifesto

We Need More Fellowships & Grants

Talent is everywhere. Opportunity isn’t.

There are thousands of people who could build important things if someone gave them a little time, a little money, and belief capital. We should make that bet much more often.

The startup world figured this out. Investors know most companies will fail, but a few will change the world. Fellowships work the same way. Most grants won’t produce extraordinary outcomes. A few will. That’s enough.

We should have hundreds of fellowships.

Not just for founders. For scientists. Engineers. Artists. Historians. Teachers. Biologists. Filmmakers. People building rockets. People curing diseases. People preserving culture. Every field has unusually talented people who are ready long before traditional institutions recognize them.

The first check doesn’t have to be big.

Sometimes $1,000 buys a microscope. Sometimes it buys a GPU. Sometimes it pays rent for another month. Sometimes what matters most is that someone believed in that person.

Money is only part of it.

The work is finding exceptional people before everyone else does. Building a community around them. Giving them ambitious peers. Removing friction so they can spend more time creating and less time asking for permission.

Good fellowships don’t just fund talent.

They discover it.

If you’re thinking about giving a meaningful amount of money away, consider starting a fellowship instead of writing another check to a large institution.

Go find the next Marie Curie before she has a Nobel Prize. The next Michel Angelo before his first statue. The next Richard Feynman before anyone knows his name. The next engineer, writer, or founder before the world catches up.

Civilizations move forward because someone backed exceptional people early.

We need many more people willing to do that.

If you’re thinking about building a fellowship, I’d be happy to help. I can introduce you to people who have done it before, share what I’ve learned, and connect you with people who deserve a chance.

There are future world class builders everywhere.

Most of them just haven’t met their first patron yet.