Young Minds Fellowship announces cohort to nurture early-stage student entrepreneurs
The six-month fellowship provides Rs 1,00,000 in financial support and is structured as a community-driven programme built by founders to support younger entrepreneurs.
The Young Minds Fellowship, an equity-free initiative for founders aged 18–23, has opened applications for its inaugural cohort. The programme targets student founders and recent graduates who are working on early-stage ideas, prototypes, or gaining initial traction.
The six-month fellowship provides Rs 1,00,000 in financial support and is structured as a community-driven programme built by founders to support younger entrepreneurs.
The fellowship focuses on helping participants develop clarity of purpose, the ability to act on ideas, resilience in the face of setbacks, and a deeper understanding of the people and problems they aim to address. Emotional well-being and self-awareness are also integral to the programme’s approach.
Supported by Subrata Mitra, Dinesh Katiyar, and Avinash Raghava, along with a small volunteer team, the fellowship combines mentorship, structured learning, and peer engagement. Fellows receive a monthly stipend and one-on-one guidance from experienced founders and operators. The programme also includes workshops on storytelling, go-to-market fundamentals, decision-making, and founder well-being, along with midpoint evaluations, reflection sessions, and a final demo day.
The Young Minds Fellowship operates without taking equity and follows a volunteer-led model rooted in community stewardship, according to a statement Its long-term objective is to create a sustained pipeline of young founders and build a network that continues to support itself over time.
The programme follows a phased structure over six months, starting with idea validation, followed by product-building and iteration, and concluding with review and presentations. Fellows participate in mentorship meetings, workshops, co-working sessions, and community events. Graduates join an alumni network that engages with and supports future cohorts.
The programme is particularly timely as advances in AI, digital tools, and reduced costs of experimentation have made it easier for young founders to test ideas early. The fellowship provides a framework for turning early problem exploration into tangible prototypes, pilots, or community traction.
Applications for the first cohort are open until November 30, 2025. The programme is set to begin in the first week of January 2026.
Edited by Swetha Kannan