From Idea to Venture Brief in 6 Months
A new platform to identify and advance meaningful business concepts
We fundamentally believe in the power of the ecosystem. Anthemis was built to serve startups and incumbents from day one. It's this underlying sense that, no matter which side of the table you find yourself sitting, if you're interested in advancing the financial services industry through technology, you're a part of our team.
Second, it's the people inside the ecosystem that have the power to make innovation happen. And that's why the Anthemis Fellowship is so powerful. Our mission is to invest in people who can drive positive and inclusive change in the financial services industry by equipping them with the right skills, experiences and perspectives to allow them to flourish.
This year, we are actively seeking out fellows from diverse backgrounds and skill sets to bring them together in deeply tailored and self-directed way. You may be new to financial services but have experience building businesses. You may be new to entrereneurship but bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in financial services. Or you may just have a great idea. What matters is that you are serious, thoughtful and ready to scratch the itch along with likeminded fellows who are on their own entrepreneurship journey.
The Anthemis Fellowship is a 6-month innovation program based in London designed to develop the entrepreneurial talent of financial services in the digital and information age.
What is Venture Design?
The Fellowship's course is based on Anthemis' own iterative, bespoke venture design process that incorporates frameworks like design thinking, systems thinking and lean startup methodology to design new, disruptive businesses.
Our fellows' journeys will take them through a series of divergent and convergent thinking, in individual as well as group models, across four key decision gates: discover, define, develop and deliver.
These decision gates will guide fellows' progress through custom learning modules we built based on our deep understanding of what it takes to build a successful product and business:
Passion Identification
Problem Definition
Market Research
Target Customer Identification
Business Design
Ecosystem Fit
Go-to-Market Strategy
Team Formation
Investment Strategy
Venture Brief Development
Who Should Apply?
Experienced Disruptors
Past entrepreneurs with experience setting up and running businesses, but perhaps not in the financial services sector, are ideal candidates -- so long as they believe that financial services needs to fundamentally change the way it operates to address customer needs.
Talented Explorers
Recent grads and other young professionals who have an entrepreneurial streak but haven't quite set up their own ventures are also a great fit. Be sure to pack a truly exceptional idea, or demonstrated proof of mastery in your zone (be it design, coding, user experience, and so on.)
Visionary Change-Makers
We're also seeking driven, entrepreneurial executives currently operating deep in the heart of the financial services sector. (Especially if they're frustrated with the way incumbents approach innovation.) Inspire us with your idea, and we'll help you figure out how to implement it.
TIMELINE
The deadline for applications is March 17, 2017. Barring any tech or administrative hang ups, we plan to close applications on that date at 11pm GMT.
Interviews with finalists will take place from March 18 – March 31, 2017, in London, and the new cohort will be announced shortly thereafter.
The Fellowship begins in late April 2017 and ends in October 2017. Should your project need more time, we will support you in finding a suitable solution.
Get Started
Applications are due by March 17, 2017 at 11:00pm GMT.