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Greeley Grad Pursues Startup Dreams as a Venture for America Fellow

December 2, 2018 by Amy Kelley

Horace Greeley graduate Grant Steinhauer finished up at Tufts last spring, and instead of taking the corporate route, he landed a fellowship with Venture for America, a nonprofit that trains young entrepreneurs, and works for a startup in New Orleans. “I did the whole corporate internship thing where you feel like a cog in a machine,” Steinhauer said. “And I felt that wasn’t really for me.”

Looking for something “more impactful,” he wandered by a Venture for America booth at a career fair and was prompted to do a little research. He liked what he learned, and applied for a fellowship.

College students apply to Venture for America and go through an interview process like that for any job. “When you get accepted they connect you with startups around the country that are in cities in need of economic revitalization,” Steinhauer explained, such as San Antonio, New Orleans, Baltimore, Cleveland and Detroit. “It’s like an online dating program.”

Each fellow posts a profile with a resume and can indicate interest in factors such as location, size, and field of interest. Startups can then make job offers to fellows that look like good fits. “Technically you’re not guaranteed a job, but there are more startups than fellows,” Steinhauer said.

Fellows then attend a five-week training camp in Detroit over the summer, which besides job preparation, enables the fellows to get to know each other. That helps when it comes to moving to new cities. “Venture for America doesn’t actually help you find housing,” Steinhauer said, explaining that getting to know the 14 other fellows heading to New Orleans meant he had many potential roommates. “I moved to New Orleans with 14 friends.”

That sense of community extends to fellows from other years, who offer a helping hand to newer fellows when they can. The startups are required to pay a minimum salary, which is generally less than what a motivated ambitious college grad would make at, say, a standard corporate career-ladder starting position. But myriad benefits accrue to each fellow that may prove more beneficial on a long-term basis than more money.

First of all, at a startup, “you do everything,” Steinhauer said. Instead of developing a more narrow expertise at a first job, Venture for America fellows experience a broad range of responsibilities. Secondly, the natural ending point of the two-year commitment means that the fellows can be assured of a built-in opportunity to “pivot,” or make a career change. The two years provide “a great organic cutoff,” Steinhauer said. “I didn’t want to become complacent.”

Steinhauer works in New Orleans at Maverick VR, a virtual reality company that helps other companies provide virtual reality experiences at an array of corporate events and trade shows.

Another benefit of a Venture for America fellowship is that if Steinhauer wants to form his own startup after his time at Maverick VR, Venture for America will help him with that, too, through a program they offer fellows called the VFA Accelerator, which gives fellows starting businesses four months in Detroit to work, have access to advisors, and even pitch to investors.

There are a disproportionate amount of Greeley kids who do Venture for America after college. I would be very surprised if there was higher representation from any other high school.

“There are tons of fellow-founded companies,” Steinhauer said. They include Ash & Eire, a fashion company focused on clothing for men 5’8” and under; Aiva, which helps real estate agents with their leads; Cooperative Capital, a private equity fund that helps people pool money for community-focused investments; and The Spoke, which enables users to “search and store recommendations from friends and influencers. ”In this way, Venture for America hopes to have a long term impact on the economies of the cities to which they send fellows.

(As a side note, Venture for America founder Andrew Yang’s ambitions for our country don’t stop there. He’s running for President and already has a website up promoting his campaign to secure the Democratic nomination in 2020. His policies include a universal basic income and Medicare for all. “He’s getting support from young people because he’s very very progressive,” Steinhauer said.)

When he got involved with Venture for America, Steinhauer had an interesting realization. “There are a disproportionate amount of Greeley kids who do Venture for America after college,” Steinhauer said, adding that while he doesn’t have hard statistics on the percentage of participation by Horace Greeley graduates, it seems to him that there are a surprising number, especially since Venture for America recruits from colleges, not high schools. “I would be very surprised if there was higher representation from any other high school.”

Steinhauer said the environment in Chappaqua “creates a really tight-knit sense of community and I consider Chappaqua a really close town.” In this way, he said, growing up in Chappaqua prepares youngsters for the startup environment. In both places, community is key, and being surrounded by hard workers helps each person do his or her best.“You can get a lot of stuff done if you’re surrounded by great people and hard workers,” he said.

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: cities, community, fellows, Greeley High School, nonprofit, startup, Student Entrepreneurs, Venture for America, young people

Extraordinary Ventures Doing Extraordinary Work

April 21, 2018 by Lindsay Hand

How one local organization provides employment opportunities for adults on the autism spectrum

EVNY employee earning laundry service skills and bracelets made by EVNY employees (Above)
For parents of children on the autism spectrum, figuring out what comes next after their children age out of school is difficult and stressful. Enter Extraordinary Ventures, a nonprofit organization that provides jobs and a comfortable working environment to adults on the autism spectrum. After visiting Extraordinary Ventures in North Carolina, Chappaqua resident Elise Orlando, whose son is on the autism spectrum, saw an incredible opportunity to bring a similar setting to Westchester as many students at Devereux, a school for children with autism in Millwood, were on the verge of graduating. Extraordinary Ventures offered to open a New York establishment, and now two years later Extraordinary Ventures New York (EVNY) has approximately thirty employees, a number of different businesses and a space in Mount Kisco.

The four board members along with the rest of the staff work tirelessly to support the employees, and have built this organization into something truly amazing. The employees work two to four hours a week, get paid, and even pay taxes, just as they would in any other job. Orlando, a board member, said, “We have worked hard over the years to ensure our children get cutting edge education to meet their needs. They are ready to contribute to society, but in their own way.”

Working Hard & Gaining Confidence

EVNY began with making, packaging and selling candles and bracelets, all of which are broken down into steps to follow. “We look at our population and figure out what skills they have and develop businesses around it,” explained Orlando. The candles and bracelets are often themed seasonally or around holidays, and they can also be customized for gifts or favors for showers, weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and more. The employees are very proud of the merchandise they make, and some of them additionally work as salesmen at the various places the products are showcased, including farmer’s markets, craft fairs, and holiday boutiques. According to EVNY Director Liz Oliveto, “our guys feel much more confident…seeing that they can do things.” This confidence leads to saying yes to trying new things and even volunteering to do tasks, in addition to extending to home life. Both Oliveto and Orlando described how thrilled parents are to hear their children talk so excitedly about work and even change their behavior at home by doing things like baking brownies.

EVNY is also about to launch a commercial laundry service, with an additional specialty service for items like sleeping bags and pet beds. “You can bring your laundry anywhere, but by allowing EVNY to handle it you provide employment for adults with autism and support a mission,” said Orlando. With businesses like this and the candles and bracelets, EVNY is providing these individuals with a variety of opportunities and an environment in which they can interact and learn new skills. “Far too often they are told ‘you can’t do that,’” explained Oliveto, who worked with many of the employees at Devereux. “And that’s the great thing about Extraordinary Ventures…here, they have choices.”

Looking Toward the Future

Moving forward, EVNY is also launching a Vocational Training Program. This 12-session course will teach students the skills necessary to prepare for a job, perform job tasks, and interact properly while at work. Students will learn things like writing a resume, dressing for and participating in an interview, and completing forms. A regular volunteer cohort is also in the cards as the organization continues to grow. Oliveto is hoping to get volunteers of all ages, from 13-year-olds and high schoolers to retirees and senior citizens, to come to EVNY and spend time with the employees. With new partnerships with local groups like the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Mount Kisco, many people will have the opportunity to work closely with EVNY and help them in their mission.

Orlando discussed how the incidence of autism spectrum disorder has increased since her son was diagnosed in 1994, and how education and employment opportunities need to keep up with that. There is no doubt that EVNY is starting to bridge that gap by providing this wonderful opportunity for these employees. In her words, “There’s nothing better than seeing the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment among our employees when they complete a job. And they always seem surprised when they get paid for it!”

The love and passion of Oliveto and her staff is incredible and will only help the organization continue to grow and be more successful in the years to come. With the amazing community interest and support, EVNY will no doubt keep growing its businesses and helping more adults on the autism spectrum. As Oliveto explains, “I genuinely like my employees…they’re fun to work with and fun to be around. I’m glad we made a place where they are happy, productive and comfortable.”

To learn more about Extraordinary Ventures New York, visit www.EVNY.org.

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Adults with Autism, autism, Extraordinary Ventures, help, nonprofit, venture

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