The Ember Fellowship Launches In Atlanta, Birmingham To Help Local Startup Ecosystem Hire Emerging Talent

The Ember Fellowship is a startup talent program founded by Atlanta entrepreneur Eileen Lee. The program selected 33 fellows from nearly 500 applicants and places recent graduates into startup and growth-stage company roles in Atlanta, Birmingham, Detroit, and Baltimore.

The resume pile on a hiring manager’s desk has never been more crowded…or less useful. AI-generated job applications are flooding company inboxes, while strong candidates are getting squeezed out of an increasingly unforgiving entry-level job market. Atlanta-based entrepreneur and ecosystem builder Eileen Lee is ready to change that dynamic with The Ember Fellowship.

Lee is the CEO behind the program that matches high-potential recent college graduates directly with startups and growth-stage companies. The goal isn't just better hiring. It's building the next generation of “high-caliber” operators, founders, and ecosystem leaders from the ground up.

The Ember Fellowship Selects 33 Fellows From Nearly 500 Applicants

The Ember Fellowship recently selected 33 fellows from nearly 500 applicants. They're recent graduates and current undergraduate seniors, with academic backgrounds from public policy to computer science to engineering. But Lee is quick to note that academic records weren’t the primary selection filter.

“What unites them isn't their major, it's their mindset,” Lee told Hypepotamus. “They're all interested in startup operator roles, making a real impact at a company, and many are already thinking about founding something one day. We selected for curiosity, resilience, and adaptability - people with the high potential to hit the ground running and genuinely transform the organizations they join.”

Fellows are placed in generalist, high-leverage roles (like chief of staff, operations, AI implementation, and product), where Lee says they can “make a real contribution from day one.”

Fellows receive ongoing support throughout the program, including a mid-year retreat, quarterly dinners for each city's cohort, mentorship connections into the over 1,600 alumni network, and continued professional development.

“That sustained support is a big part of why our fellows outperform standard entry-level hires,” Lee added. The common thread among company partners, which include early-stage and high-growth companies, is the fact that their leadership teams are willing to invest in developing young talent.

To start, Fellows will begin work in Atlanta, Birmingham, Detroit and Baltimore.

From The Venture for America Legacy

Those in the Atlanta entrepreneurial ecosystem will know Lee from her previous positions, as she co-founded The Lola in Old Fourth Ward and was most recently the Managing Director of Endeavor Atlanta. Prior to that she was the founding COO of Venture for America (VFA), a program that focused on putting young talent inside startups in emerging cities.

Ember Fellowship draws on the Venture for America playbook but operates independently.

“Based on our Venture for America alumni, 25 percent go on to found their own companies, and there are currently 80 plus alumni-founded companies and growing,” Lee said. “Whether fellows go on to start companies, grow into leaders at their placement companies, or become investors and ecosystem builders - Ember is a launching pad for long-term, sustained success.”

VFA previously placed fellows at Atlanta-based companies like Calendly, Rigor, and other startups in the ecosystem in 2016 and 2017.

“Ten years later, we're back [in Atlanta], and we're bringing that same energy and caliber of talent to a city that has only grown more exciting since then,” Lee added.

What This Means For Atlanta

Atlanta is one of Ember’s four launch cities, and Lee said the organization is aiming to have eight to ten fellows on the ground in the city by August.

Fellows are actively interviewing with company partners right now, and Atlanta-based private equity firm BroadPeak Investment Group already hiring from the Ember Fellow's talent pool.