20 Dec Third Cohort of IU Ventures Fellows To Immerse Themselves in Venture Capital Industry
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Seed stage, term sheets, series A, burn rate, rolling fund, preferred stock, dilution, vesting schedule, J curve—for a group of IU students, using terms like these will soon become second nature as they dive headfirst into the world of venture capital.
For the third year in a row, IU Ventures, Indiana University’s early-stage venture and angel investment arm, is proud to welcome a new group of IU Ventures Fellows. The 2024 cohort includes eight graduate and PhD students from across IU’s Bloomington campus who will spend the upcoming year participating in an experiential program designed to immerse them in the venture capital industry.
The one-year IU Ventures Fellows program runs from January through December 2024. Students selected to participate get a real-world look into principles of venture capital, real-time projects, deal exposure, and internships. This year’s program is led by Jon Barada, vice president, IU Ventures.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce the third class of IU Ventures Fellows,” said Barada. “The new cohort exemplifies the notion that entrepreneurship and innovation happen throughout all corners of our University community.”
The 2024 Fellows come from a wide variety of academic disciplines including business, law, media, microbiology, music, non-profit management, and political science.
Rachel Browder, one of the Fellows, is a first year law student at Maurer School of Law. She grew up near Columbus, Ohio, but has lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for most of the past 25 years. Rachel loves the idea of problem-solving through innovation. Before law school she worked with a young business that experienced phenomenal, rapid growth. While there she helped strategize a full rebrand and implemented new processes and procedures to sustain the company’s new position in the market. After law school, she hopes to do transactional work at the intersection of business, finance and law.
“I am very curious about how money moves in the world,” Browder explained. “I see venture capital as a means not just to generate wealth, but also as an opportunity to disperse wealth in impactful ways. Venture capital is a bridge between an idea and implementation, giving life to ideas that, at scale, have the potential to change the world by spurring innovation, creating jobs, and revolutionizing industries.”
Arijit Paladhi, another Fellow, is in the fourth year of his PhD program at The Media School. Originally from Calcutta, India, he spent most of his youth in New Delhi. He hopes to gain business and economic insights on how venture capital choices work, and then merge venture capital strategies with the needs of journalism, potentially influencing how media policy evolves on a global scale.
“I am interested in deciphering public perceptions of taxpayer-funded journalism and the profoundly adversarial socioeconomic implications of dwindling local news outlets,” Paladhi said. “However, the challenges faced by journalism are not solely rooted in public perception but also in its struggling revenue models. I believe that the IU Ventures Fellows program can help offer me structure, and potentially insight to answer the more challenging questions within this evolving media landscape.”
The other IU Venture Fellows in the 2024 program include:
- Benjamin Collinger of St. Louis, Missouri; MBA candidate (Finance)
- Ifeanyi (Sam) Chukwudieze of Lagos, Nigeria; MBA Candidate (Consulting Academy)
- Victor Akangbe of Lagos, Nigeria; MPA Candidate (Non-Profit Management)
- Claudia Antonika of Kediri, Indonesia; PhD Candidate (Microbiology)
- Lizzie Cooksey of Louisville, Kentucky; PhD Candidate (Horn, Doctor of Music)
- Rosemarie Lerma of Los Angeles, CA; PhD Candidate (Political Science)
IU Ventures continues to develop the Ventures Fellows program in partnership with IU’s Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic at the Maurer School of Law; Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs; University Graduate School; Walter Center for Career Achievement at the College of Arts and Sciences; Jacobs School of Music; and the Kelley School of Business MBA Program.
The program will once again partner with the National Venture Capital Association to offer NVCA’s VC University online certificate program to all of its fellows. Completion of the certificate signifies mastery of the fundamentals of VC. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to represent Indiana University at the Venture Capital Investment Competition in Houston, TX, the world’s largest venture capital competition with more than 120 university and graduate school teams competing.
Additional information about the IU Ventures Fellows program, including the 2024 Ventures Fellows roster, program requirements, partnering organizations and application process, is available online.
About IU Ventures:
IU Ventures invests in and supports IU-affiliated early-stage companies. Its investment programs include the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund, IU Angel Network, Shoebox Fund and Innovate Indiana Fund. It further supports IU founders through the Executive in Residence Program and IU Founders and Funders Network. Student support is provided through a variety of engagements, including the new IU Venture Fellows Program. Each program takes unique approaches to accelerate and support the positive impacts that entrepreneurs affiliated with IU already achieve across the world. IU Ventures is a recognized leader in increasing opportunities for diverse and historically underserved entrepreneurs and investing in Indiana startups with a shared commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Media Contact:
Jon Barada
IU Ventures
jbarada@iu.edu