Emergent Ventures

🪙 Quick Facts

• Type: Non-dilutive grant ($1,000-$50,000)
• Eligibility: 13+ years old, global applications welcome
• Process: Rolling applications
• Contact: emergentventures@mercatus.gmu.edu

👀 Mission

Emergent Ventures funds high-reward moonshots that advance prosperity, opportunity, liberty, and well-being. They welcome the unusual and unorthodox. Their goal is positive social change, though they encourage profit-generating projects if they create impact.

💰 What Emergent Ventures Funds

• Fellowships at Mercatus Center (Northern Virginia)
• One-time or staggered payment grants
• Both small and large initiatives that could change life trajectories
• Global projects, both profit and non-profit

📝 Application Guide

Key Application Questions & Prompts

1. Personal Story
   • Question: "Tell us your personal story, and how it relates to what you wish to do."
   • Focus on your narrative and project connection
   • Formal credentials matter less than authentic experience
   • Keep brief but compelling
2. Consensus View
   • Question: "What is one mainstream or 'consensus' view that you absolutely agree with?"
   • This intentionally reverses typical contrarian approaches
   • Be thoughtful and genuine
3. Project Proposal (1,500 words max)
   • Tweet-length project summary
   • Problem statement: "What's the problem you intend to solve?"
   • Your solution approach
   • Novel aspects: "What is new or unusual in your vision and understanding?"
   • Basic budget outline
   • Implementation plan
   • Expected impact

Application Process

1. Submit through website form
2. Guaranteed response within 2-3 weeks. Recommend following up on twitter if you don’t get a response within 2-3 weeks.
3. If selected: 10-15 minute interview
4. Decision made often during interview or a couple of days after via email

Tips from Grant Recipients

"Make sure you have a solid understanding of:

• What you're building
• Why you're building it
• What you'll spend the funds on"

📜 Example Recipients

Featured Projects

1. Onkar Singh - Open-source satellite platforms

   LinkedIn

2. Sohi Patel - Wearable healthcare technology

   LinkedIn, Podcast (Grant discussion starts at 32:15)

3. Sam McCay - Access management systems

   LinkedIn

Sample Applications

1. UltraRice - 18yo community builder

   Background: Biotech, Non-GMO food modification

   View Application

2. Samstack - 25yo writer from London

   Focus: Social science, Effective Altruism, forecasting

   View Application

3. Economics Writer - 18yo from Singapore

   Focus: Economics and history content

   View Application

🗣️ Interview Preparation

Recommended Research

Study these materials to understand the interviewers' perspectives:

• Emergent Ventures Q&A
• Tyler Cowen On Talent
• Tyler Cowen & Shruti Rajagopalan: Geopolitics of talent
• Shruti Rajagopalan on the Past, Present, and Future of the Indian Economy
• Tyler Cowen is the best curator of talent in the world
• Tyler Cowen: Economic Growth & the Fight Against Conformity & Mediocrity

Additional Resources

• Andrew Nijmeh's Experience

  Apple Podcasts (Grant discussion starts at 16:20)

• Ari's Experience

  Full Video

📯 Post-Award Information

• Simple one-page contract
• Payment within 30 days
• Annual progress update required
• Flexible spending guidelines
• International wire transfers available
• Tax documentation required (W-9 for US recipients)