“Our weekly pitch meetings were a fun way to connect and a great exercise throughout the internship to evaluate early stage companies. I learned the importance of thinking both like an investor and as a founder, and felt encouraged to share feedback from day one. I particularly enjoyed working on projects that took a deeper dive into our investment prospects and with LEL’s portfolio companies. Going through due diligence and working directly with founders on their presentations gave me the chance to contribute my own perspective on live investments. It was rewarding to see my work used in actual investment decisions.”

“At LEL, Venture Fellows were given the autonomy to conceive of new strategic ideas and execute them. The leadership trusts the Fellows to interact with founders and represent the firm externally. I really enjoyed learning about new industries, growing my professional network, and gaining a new skill set to better evaluate investments. Most importantly, the culture of LEL and its Venture Fellows is very unique and helps foster a real sense of community and collaboration.”

“It was a great experience interning at LEL and learning more about investing in early-stage startups. I especially enjoyed our weekly pitch meetings, where we gave each other feedback and better understand what factors make a good startup. The most valuable point of the internship has been learning from other venture fellows. Whether through the pitch meetings or working together on due diligence, I learned from other fellows who have experience working in various fields.”

“Lair East Labs provides a level of experience you would never have gained in a typical startup accelerator or fund. Our weekly pitch meetings were a great way to prepare you for the real world of Venture Capital by sourcing deals from your own channels which enables you to think outside the box in terms of building a network. Venture Fellows have the opportunity to work on due diligence projects and hop on calls with founders to learn more about what they’re building. I found being able to interact with these founders to be the highlight of my fellowship experience while providing my own investment recommendations based on these interactions.”

“Working with LEL was an incredible and eye-opening experience! I learned the most through sourcing and conducting due diligence on companies. The highlight of LEL was the open and collaborative culture of the investment team, enabling me to talk directly with founders and discuss my perspectives alongside partners. Even while online, I had a wonderful time getting to know both the team through projects and lunch chats.”