About Envision

ENVISION'S GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Diversity & Equity

We concentrate our efforts on supporting young, underrepresented founders. We support them at the start of their entrepreneurial journey.

Bridging the Gap

Young underrepresented founders are locked out of networks and funding, at no fault of their own. We are here to create access to these opportunities.

Community

Our founders & allies serve as the foundation of our Envision community. We ensure they feel supported, powerful, validated, and included.

THE PROBLEM
Belonging to the same racial group as a potential investor increases the possibility of working together by 39%, sharing the same alma matter increases it by 34%. Only 8% of partner level VCs are women, 2% are Latinx and 1% are Black. About 40% of VCs attended either Harvard or Stanford. And obviously, you have the results: only 3% of venture funding goes to women, 1.8% to Latinx founders, and 1% to Black founders. Even less so to founders who don't attend these target schools. Envision's goal is to foster an ecosystem of founders, investors, and operators that support diverse founders at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journeys.
OUR SOLUTION
Envision is an accelerator for undiscovered and underrepresented talent in the startup industry. Who are the undiscovered? Young & ambitious individuals who have not gotten the opportunity to create impact in the industry. Who are the underrepresented? Black, Latinx, Womxn. There is massive talent and upside being overlooked by traditional players in the ecosystem — we're here to fix that. Envision's goal is to foster an ecosystem of founders, investors, and operators that support diverse founders at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journeys.

The Accelerator

Envision's primary program is our Accelerator, a 10-week, cohort-based approach to helping founders get to the next stage of their businesses. Envision is founder first, and we don't take any equity in our companies. Instead, we empower founders by offering a non-dilutive grant of up to a $10k, hands-on workshops, 1:1 mentorship, investment intros, and a functional, operational tool-kit.

Hands-on Workshops

Weekly workshops + AMAs from industry experts on everything from pricing strategies to making first hires.

Targeted Mentorship

Mentor pairings with founders, operators, and investors to help answer your questions and expand your network.

Funding Opportunities

Up to $10k in non-dilutive funding, virtual Demo Days, and individualized connections to investors.

Operational Toolkit

Discounts on software tools to help company operations from our strategic partners (e.g. Airtable, AWS, etc).

Over two cohorts of the Envision Accelerator, we have deployed $175k in non-dilutive grants to 25 founders that have collectively raised over $5mm in angel and seed money, and have been accepted into prestigious programs such as 500 Startups and Y Combinator. You can meet our founders here!

This would not be possible without the dedication and support from our mentors, partners, and the Envision team. Learn more about them below!

Meet the Team

Annabel Strauss

Co-founder

Brown, Facebook, Rough Draft Ventures

Eliana Berger

Co-founder, Director

Northeastern, Attentive, Contrary Capital

James Rogers

Head of Outreach

Vanderbilt, Contrary Capital

Cam Kipper

Chief of Staff

Morehouse, Bain, HBCUvc

Kristen Mashikian

Head of Sponsorships

Brown, SaaSWorks, Brown Angel Group

Ochuko Akpovbovbo

Community Strategy and Partnerships

Lewis and Clark, ParachuteMedia

Joel Montano

Head of Growth

UCF, Microsoft, Indie.vc

Nafisa Istami

Investor Relations & Community Associate

Rice University, Rice Ventures, Houston Angel Network

Sunita Rao

Head of Community

UT Austin, Rent the Runway