VHNYC is a 14-week founder fellowship run by Visible Hands in partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation. It supports a cohort of 15 early-stage founders building high-growth technology or technology-enabled businesses based in New York City.
The hybrid program combines online participation with in-person community activities across the five boroughs. Its workshops, wellness sessions, and hands-on company-building support are designed for founders at the pre-seed stage.
Benefits & funding
- $10,000 in non-dilutive business grant funding.
- Hybrid programming, expert-led workshops, wellness sessions, and direct support from the Visible Hands team.
- Workshop topics include business models, financial projections, and raising a pre-seed round.
- Visible Hands may consider fellows for future investment, but no later investment is guaranteed.
Eligibility
- The startup must be a high-growth technology or technology-enabled business based in New York City and at the pre-seed stage.
- At least one co-founder on the team must currently live in one of New York City’s five boroughs.
- The team must be able to commit two hours per week to the fellowship.
- One application may include the primary applicant and no more than two additional co-founders.
- Accepted founders cannot join another Visible Hands or NYCEDC fellowship or accelerator during VHNYC and cannot be alumni of another Visible Hands Founder Fellowship or an NYCEDC City Fellowship.
- The official page states no nationality, gender, education, age, or years-of-experience cutoff.
Can you apply?
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Application process
- 1Complete one online application with basic founder and startup information plus short-answer responses; the host estimates this takes under one hour.
- 2Include co-founder information in the same application where requested.
- 3Shortlisted applicants are invited to a 30-minute interview; for the 2026 cohort, invitations were due by February 2026.
Program timeline
December 31, 2025
Application deadline for the 2026 cohort
Interview invitations
By February 2026
Fellowship starts
March 2026
Fellowship ends
June 2026