EWOR Fellowship

About

Early-stage founders can join a virtual-first fellowship offering up to €500,000 in funding, weekly 1:1 mentorship from unicorn-builders, and access to a global network and investor pitch event.

Benefits

• 💶Funding
  Traction Fellows receive a €500,000 investment immediately after acceptance; Ideation Fellows can receive up to €300,000, but investment is optional and not all Ideation Fellows are funded.
• 🧑‍🏫 Mentorship
  Weekly 1:1 mentorship and sparring from EWOR Partners who built companies such as SumUp, Adjust, and ProGlove.
• 🌐Network
  Access to a curated network of 1,500+ mentors, investors, and industry experts, plus a borderless fellowship community.
• 🚀Grand Pitch
  Participation in a bi-annual pitch event for top-tier VCs, family offices, and superangels; EWOR states fellows typically raise €1M to €11M after the Grand Pitch.
• 🏢Residencies
  Up to two months of co-working each year at scenic spots, a two-month San Francisco residency, and invite-only events, subject to program availability.
• 📚Platform
  Access to the EWOR Platform, learning modules, resources, templates, and exclusive software and service discounts or credits.
• 👥Community
  Invitations to virtual and in-person EWOR events and membership in a community of founders.
• 🧾Fee terms
  No cash fees; the Ideation Fellowship carries a 3% equity tuition fee only if EWOR invests and can be waived if no startup entity is formed and EWOR does not exercise its option within 18 months, while the Traction Fellowship has no tuition fee.

Eligibility Criteria

• Mandatory: applicants must fit one of the two EWOR Fellowship modes: Ideation for founders at the idea or pre-seed stage, with or without a co-founder, and no business idea is required; or Traction for founders with a product in market, initial revenue traction, early validation, and up to €2M ARR.
• Mandatory: founders from all industries and technology sectors are welcome; EWOR focuses on early-stage startups with potential for rapid growth and large-scale impact.
• Preferred: EWOR states it is looking for obsession, resilience, and a vision that cannot be ignored, and that 99% of selection focuses on the person and their ability to launch a venture of global scale.
• Not required: a specific startup incorporation country; EWOR states applicants do not need to change their current incorporation and invests globally.

Participation Commitments

• Applications are submitted through EWOR's online form and typically take 15 to 20 minutes.
• One person per startup should apply, preferably the CEO or CTO, and list all co-founders; co-founders do not need to submit a separate application and can join after admission.
• Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and EWOR aims to respond within three weeks.
• The fellowships are run entirely in English.
• Ideation Fellows who have not incorporated are asked to take the necessary steps to establish a startup entity within 18 months of acceptance.
• If EWOR exercises its investment option, the founder must establish the startup entity within 30 days of notice.
• If EWOR invests in an Ideation Fellowship, EWOR receives a 3% equity tuition fee, payable once regardless of the number of co-founders; the fee is waived if no startup entity is formed and EWOR does not exercise its option within 18 months.
• There are no cash fees for the fellowships, and the Traction Fellowship has no tuition fee.

Target Sector

Sector agnostic, Agriculture & Food, Defense & Security, Education, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Government & Public Sector, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Media & Entertainment, Real Estate & Construction, Retail & Consumer, Semiconductors & Electronics, Sports & Fitness, Telecommunications, Transportation & Logistics, Travel & Hospitality, Other

Target Location

Worldwide. EWOR describes the fellowship as global and borderless, says it invests globally, and states that startups do not need to change their current incorporation country. A separate EWOR Venture Scout post specifically names the Americas, including Latam, and Europe.