Program details

Basics

The Exponential Fellowship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn to build in some of the most exciting startups in the US. It is meant to accelerate the careers of young builders and generate future founders for the Spanish ecosystem.

The Exponential Fellowship is built on three pillars: opportunity, mentorship, and community. The goal of the program is to provide high-agency builders with a bridge to the US to accelerate their careers, and a support network and community to explore opportunities to make the most of the experience.

What You Get

Selected Fellows will get to work in New York or the San Francisco Bay Area startups and immerse in the local startup scene. The duration of the Fellowship is limited by the J1 visa:

• 18 months for Fellows with 1 year since graduation, and 1 year of work experience.
• 12 months for recent (≤1 year) graduates of BSc, MSc, or PhD.

The J1 visa is specifically created for immigrants to receive training and learn from US experiences. Fellows may pursue other visa programs (e.g., H1B or O1) during the stay, but must leave the country before visa expiration if they do not attain another visa.

Fellows will also participate in exclusive events, get access to world-class entrepreneurs and investors, and become part of a community of like-minded builders.

What We Cover

The Fellowship covers all expenses to be able to land in the United States. We process and pay for your J1 visa, health insurance, and flights to your destination. We help you gather and complete all required paperwork.

All startups participating in the program pay at a minimum entry-level salaries for Software Engineers in the area. This can range from $80,000 to $150,000. This is to ensure every Fellow can cover living expenses (and then some), regardless of their current economic position.

Requirements

Must Haves

The following are hard requirements to participate in the Fellowship. Under no circumstances may these requirements be unmet:

• You must have completed or be on your last year of a BSc, MSc, or PhD in a Technical field (e.g., Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering…).
• You must have demonstrable building experience (e.g., a side-project, OSS collaboration, a busy GitHub/GitLab, some work experience, etc.).
• You must have a C1 or above level of English.
• You must have strong ties to Spain; born in Spain, parents born in Spain, or have spent at least the last 5 years in Spain (exceptions apply to students currently studying abroad).
• You must be willing to travel and live in the United States for a minimum of 12 months.
• You were born in 1997 or later. This is a slightly soft requirement; we could make exceptions for specific cases.

Recommended Skills

The Exponential Fellowship is a highly competitive process. We recommend meeting most if not all of the following nice-to-haves:

• You have a track record of excellence (e.g., 90th percentile in class, regional or national awards, math or physics Olympiad participations, successful side projects, etc.).
• You have experience working in Software Engineering teams, whether in a work environment or in a community or OSS project.
• You have experience working in startups.
• You have demonstrable knowledge of how startups work and are an insider of the startup scene (e.g., you know who Paul Graham is, youʼve read Peter Thiel, you have a CTO idol, you know the top VC funds in Spain, etc.).

Don't Apply If

Before applying, please make sure that your personal values and motivations are aligned with the Fellowship. Do not apply if:

• You do not wish to pursue a career in entrepreneurship.
• You do not want to live and work in the United States, or must travel back frequently to Spain.
• You have not read our Manifesto.

Selection Process

The selection process works on a rolling basis to adapt to the hiring needs of participating startups and the work cycles of potential Fellows. The total process can take between 3 and 12 months, although the first 3 steps are typically performed within 2–6 weeks.

Even if the cohorts are rolling, we strongly recommend applying as early as possible. The longer you are in the candidate database, the higher your odds of attaining a Fellowship.

Phase I: Application

The first step in the process is a simple form to get to know who you are and what you have built. It should be filled out thoughtfully and should take between 20–40 minutes to complete. Be concise, but help us understand your achievements and motivations. Weʼre looking for signals of high technical capacity, some knowledge of the startup ecosystem, and strong personal motivations.

Due to the volume of applications, most submissions do not receive direct feedback. Strong applications are typically reached out to within 1–2 weeks.

Success rate: 20%

Phase II: Personal Interviews

If your application is up to standard, you will be invited to 1 or 2, 30-minute personal interviews. The goal of these interviews is understanding your story in-depth and your right-to-win in the US ecosystem. Weʼre looking to find signals that you will fare well in the startups you will work in and make the most of the local startup scene.

Some candidates in this phase will be eliminated, others will be deferred to a future cohort (with the possibility of placement in a top Spanish startup), and others will move forward.

Success rate: 15%

Phase III: Startup Matching

If signals are strong, you will be placed in a candidate database. Youʼll be given a page to share your profile with the startups participating in the Fellowship. You will be guided by the Fellowship team to create the best profile possible.

The candidate database is shared with the participating startups, which then decide who to interview. This phase is the longest one, as not all companies have hiring needs at all times. We are working hard to increase the startup pipeline to reduce waiting periods here.

The candidate then goes through the standard interview process for a given startup – it s̓ now in your hands! Those candidates that receive a Fellowship offer from a participating startup will become Exponential Fellows.

Phase IV: Welcome, Fellow

Congrats! Youʼll be assigned to an Exponential Fellowship cohort and be processed for your J1 visa. Once selected, the process to be able to land in the United States takes 1–2 months.