Colorwave

Colorwave was officially founded in November 2020 to broaden access to opportunities for underrepresented leaders in America’s venture-backed startup ecosystem with its founding Board committed to building a thriving community and movement toward greater racial equity across the innovation economy. Its first and flagship program launched was the Colorwave Fellowship, which is a free, virtual, nine-week program for underrepresented professionals that helps participants better understand how the venture-backed startup sector works (through weekly classes and industry leader speaker events) and connects them to full-time opportunities at high-growth companies across the industry. During and after the program, the fellows also receive one-on-one career coaching, in-depth resume and LinkedIn profile reviews, opportunities to connect directly with companies through its industry network, and salary negotiation workshops and support. Since launching its first fellowship cohort in January 2021 and managing five additional cohorts, Colorwave has served nearly 400 participants across over 70 different cities, 30 states, and four continents. One hundred percent of participants recommend its fellowship program, which has led to increased applicant interest through referrals and Colorwave’s seventh cohort starting this fall. Over 135 of its participants have transitioned into new roles across the innovation economy, experiencing an average $50K increase in total compensation and often receiving stock equity that they did not have in previous roles. In 2022, Colorwave launched a supplementary accelerator program for its fellowship alumni who are early-stage entrepreneurs. Five alumni participated in this pilot program with two receiving access to angel or pre-seed funding and validation to continue into other larger accelerator and investment programs.