Fellowship

OGS prioritizes the privacy and safety of its fellows and takes all necessary measures to prevent and mitigate any unwanted exposure. As a general policy, OGS does not seek publicity of individuals participating in the fellowship without their permission.

During recruitment, applications are submitted through Brandeis’ secure platform and will remain confidential throughout the process.

During and post-fellowship, no images or quotes related to OGS fellows, alumni, or ventures will appear online without authorization. All fellows are briefed on OGS’s privacy requirements at the beginning of the fellowship. We encourage candidates to contact the OGS staff with any questions or concerns.

OGS is proud to support and represent a wide variety of cultures and religions in each cohort, and our staff will take all steps necessary to accommodate any religious, ethnic, cultural, or other personal observances. Holidays like Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al-Adha, and Shavuot, which often fall during the fellowship period, are celebrated by the cohort and staff. OGS provides accommodations for eating preferences such as kosher, halal, and vegan/vegetarian, as well as regular religious observances such as Shabbat, Friday Prayer, etc. We encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns.

The fellowship is seeking Israelis and Palestinians in their 20s and early 30s, who have demonstrated leadership and/or have at least 3 years of meaningful working experience.

Up to 35 participants will take part in the 2022 OGS fellowship. This will be our largest cohort yet.

No, a venture idea is not a requirement of the admissions process. However, once admitted, we encourage fellows to start the ideation process and arrive with a few directions or leads. This will serve you well for the intense ideation and team formation process during the first few weeks of the fellowship.

Unfortunately, no. All OGS applicants apply as individuals. If you already have an established team and advanced venture idea, OGS is not the right program for you. If you are interested in building a team with 2-3 members of your community, you are welcome to apply, but admission is not guaranteed to the whole group.

OGS fellows form teams during the ideation period according to fellows’ interests, expertise, and chemistry!

Generally, yes. However, we have admitted amazing fellows who have never gone to university! If you don’t have a degree but have meaningful work experience and entrepreneurial spirit, please send an introductory email to admissions@ogspeaks.com.

Unfortunately, no. OGS is unable to accommodate long-term guests, including spouses, children, relatives, friends, etc. Please contact OGS staff with any questions or concerns about this policy.

OGS probably isn’t the program for you. Commitment to return to the region is a key factor in our selection process, as ventures that receive pre-seed investments are expected to initiate their activity in Israel/Palestine after the fellowship.

No — working in any capacity during the summer fellowship is not possible. The fellowship is extremely intensive and demanding.

Admitted OGS applicants who do not have a US B1/B2 visa (commonly called a ‘tourist visa’) will be contacted by OGS staff with instructions to apply in early March 2023.

An in-person interview is mandatory. Exceptions may occur, but these are infrequent. Applicants in or from Gaza are automatically offered an online interview.

Yes! We encourage you to re-apply, as long as you still meet the eligibility criteria. You will need to you submit a new application and go through the full interview process. You can reach out to admission@ogspeaks.com and ask for your previous application. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide feedback on previously submitted applications.

Every day is different. Generally, though, the fellowship is a mix of academic work, venture development, mentor and coach meetings, and social events. Fellows typically have two classes per day. Afterward, fellows work with their teams to develop their ventures. The evenings hold both planned and impromptu social events. It’s very busy — be prepared!

The Academic Seminar is not academically accredited. It is rigorous and tailor-made for the OGS Fellowship program, designed to give fellows the tools to start new ventures and refine their leadership skills. Faculty from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, a top ten US social policy school, lead the program at Brandeis University. Workshops and keynote lectures by successful entrepreneurs and leaders of Fortune 500 companies complement the academic curriculum.

OGS Fellows are each assigned a personal mentor, matched during the first week of the fellowship. After a few weeks, during the venture development stage, ventures are assigned venture team and business coaches. OGS mentors and coaches come from our network of highly-accomplished community leaders, business executives, and serial entrepreneurs from the US and the region.

The OGS Fellowship is fully-funded for all participants. This includes round-trip airfare, tuition, meals, accommodation, and more. OGS also provides local transportation passes and a modest stipend for living expenses. Fellows are welcome to supplement this with their personal funds, but all OGS Fellows will be provided the funding and resources necessary to complete the fellowship comfortably.

Throughout the program, fellows participate in social gatherings with the wider OGS Network, such as group dinners and ticketed events. We also allow time for OGS Fellows to enjoy the vibrant Boston summertime, which often includes sports events, concerts, outings, etc.

The program is premised on common interests in developing startups in the region and we will discuss barriers to working together for the good of the region. While fellows may have different notions of what brought us to the current unfortunate situation, we try to provide a safe environment in which to explore the narratives and concerns on both sides. OGS is dedicated to ensuring that these conversations are productive, meaningful, safe, and respectful for all fellows.

There are three venture tracks at OGS: OGS-MassChallenge Track, OGS-MIT designX Track, and OGS-MIT Game Lab Track. Your venture will be assigned to one of the tracks during the fellowship, depending on its nature and the field. Fellows will be hosted at Brandeis for the majority of the fellowship and will work at MassChallenge/MIT for the final 2-3 weeks.

MassChallenge offers a variety of resources for ventures to develop, including:

• Working in Boston’s Innovation and Design Building, which is designed to enable diversity, flexibility, identity, and community;
• Access to facilities and resources at MassChallenge, including meeting spaces, networking and professional development events, and other startups;
• Connections to the vast MassChallenge network; and
• Coaching and mentoring from industry experts.

There are two tracks within MIT that OGS fellows can participate in: the OGS-MIT designX Track and the OGS-MIT Game Lab Track.

OGS-MIT designX/Game Lab Tracks are partnered with MISTI. These programs work with OGS to offer resources for the development of OGS Ventures, including:

• A tailor-made seminar program at designX and Game Lab;
• An ongoing partnership with MIT graduate students, who intern with the OGS ventures through MISTI, and support the OGS venture development process;
• Coaching and mentoring from MIT’s designX and Game Lab experts; and
• Access to facilities and resources at MIT, including maker labs, workshops, and other startups.

OGS invests in promising teams that create these three types of startups, businesses, and nonprofits:

1. Global for-profit ventures that have significant potential to compete in international markets.
2. Impact ventures that are mission-driven, whether for- or non-profit. They deliver a product or service that has a beneficial social or environmental impact.
3. Regional for-profits that tackle a specific challenge within the region (Palestine and/or Israel) in an innovative way.

OGS will provide pre-seed investments to for-profits through Convertible Note / SAFE agreements. Nonprofit entities will be funded through a grant. The average investment/grant is $50,000.

SAFE and Convertible Loans are instruments used by OGS to invest funds in the for-profit ventures created during the summer program. It is also the way for the for-profit ventures* of giving back to OGS. *Non-Profit ventures will give back through volunteering time.

SAFE stands for a “simple agreement for future equity.” SAFE is an agreement that can be used between a venture (created by fellows) and OGS (the investor). The method: OGS infuses money in the venture, and in exchange, the investor will revive stock in a future equity round (when one occurs), subject to specific parameters set in advance in the agreement, such as a Valuation Cap and a Discount.

A Convertible Loan is short-term debt, loaned to the venture by OGS, which is convertible into equity. Unlike a SAFE, the loan needs to be paid back if it doesn’t convert into equity.  Depending on the nature of a venture the loan may have either or both of mandatory and optional conversion features. If it has mandatory conversion, like a SAFE, such conversion may be subject to parameters such as a Valuation Cap and a Discount.

Need to learn more? Google it 🙂

It’s NOT mandatory for a team to be mixed. OGS invests in Palestinian, Israeli and mixed companies. OGS encourages joint Palestinian-Israeli ventures when it makes sense business-wise. This means that OGS will strongly support a mixed team where operating in Israel and Palestine is an advantageous business strategy. OGS usually encourages fellows to start mixed ventures in team sizes of four (two on each side). Mixed ventures can also be built as two separate companies/entities with exclusive partnerships agreements. Therefore, OGS might even provide extra funding to increase the venture’s opportunity for success.

OGS Affinity Groups are comprised of fellows and alumni who have common skill sets. For example, different groups focus on tech, marketing, design, legal, finance, etc. Each Affinity Group advises their fellow venture teams in their area of expertise during the fellowship and beyond, as alumni.

The Growth Committee is comprised of individuals with decades of combined experience in business development, finance, law, and management. During the fellowship, the Growth Committee guides and advises the venture teams regarding strategy, execution, and barriers to success. At the end of the fellowship, the Growth Committee takes part in the evaluation process and advises on the allocation of pre-seed funding. Post-fellowship, the Growth Committee meets with each OGS Venture on a quarterly basis to analyze its business plan and progress report.

1. Social impact is demonstrated through the amount of positive change the venture aims to create, ranging from environmental conservation to job creation. While some ventures will be funded purely on the strength of business viability, the OGS seeks to ensure funding to a critical mass of companies that have the promise for meaningful social impact.
2. Business viability is determined through a rigorous evaluation process that answers such questions as: (1) Is there a real problem the venture is trying to solve? (2) Can the venture ‘win,’ e.g. does it have the ability to differentiate itself amongst competitors? (3) Can the venture make or raise investments independently (outside of the initial investment from OGS)?
3. Team diversity within a venture (a plus!) is determined by the profiles of the founders. OGS will encourage joint Israeli-Palestinian ventures when it positively impacts the business model and also supports ventures that are better off when their team is only Palestinian or only Israeli.
4. Full-time Commitment Post Fellowship – The commitment of at least two co-founders to the venture in a full-time capacity.

All OGS Fellows will complete the Academic Seminar, build relationships with highly-accomplished mentors and coaches, and work together to launch ventures that will operate in the region. You will join our lively Alumni Network, OGS Next, and benefit from OGS’s long-term professional support of your career development and personal acceleration.

OGS Next is our dynamic, cross-border alumni network. It integrates 100+ alumni together and helps them further develop their relationships back home. OGS Next provides peer support, leadership and professional training workshops, facilitated conversations, and social events. Our alumni, as agents of change, continue to build trust, create new opportunities, and support each others’ success.