# Field Notes No. 7: A new project! By Jeff Stowell · 2026-07-17 · Announcements > I'm creating a new opportunity for students interested in venture capital and startups to gather and connect with professionals in the space. # Let's Try Something Different I'm starting something new and I'm going to need your help spreading the word to students and practitioners throughout the Midwest. ## "Office Hours" for the next generation of VC and startup leaders For the better part of a decade I taught venture capital to college students through the [University Venture Fund - Crossroads program in Kansas City](https://uvfcrossroads.com/). The UVF structure was ultimately unsustainable for us and that is gone now. But I have been kicking around exactly what the ecosystem lost when it went away. It isn't the lectures or readings. The internet is drowning in content about term sheets and cap tables. What I think got lost was "the room." A place where a student could sit with people who actually do the work of building and/or investing in entrepreneurial ventures, ask a half-formed question in a safe space, or argue about a live deal. That nuance is where a lot of unique learning occurs. Practitioner exposure is hard to come by for young people in any field. My experience is that it's even harder in VC and in the Midwest if only because there are fewer investors in the area. There's only so much time to go around. But I would argue the value is outsized specifically in venture and entrepreneurship, because so much of this work is practice, not theory. You learn it the way you learn to fish... standing next to someone who fishes. So starting in **early September**, I'm going to be hosting open "office hours" for students at post-secondary schools in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Oklahoma — or students **_from_** one of those states studying elsewhere — who want to learn about, and argue about, venture capital and startups. Especially what it looks like to invest and build outside the coastal bubble. ## So let's do this... Once or twice a month, over Zoom (sometimes in person if I'm around the area), you (the student) hang out with a VC (me) or two and a group of your peers and ask real questions. Ask about what you're seeing, hearing, and reading. About what you're learning in school and whether any of it matches how this is working in practice now. About a deal in the news, a company you're curious about, a career path you're weighing. Whatever's on your mind. And if you show up not quite sure what to talk about, that's fine. I'll provide some broader material to give us something shared to lean on if we need it. I'll flag readings and news worth arguing about. Sometimes we'll pull apart a live deal together. From time to time I'll bring in friends from my network like founders, investors, and operators, so you're hearing from more voices than just mine. Think of it as an after-school club for people who find startups and how they get funded interesting. We'll call it the Carried Interest Club or the Full Ratchet Society or the Pari Passu Alliance or something. Reply with your vote! There is no guarantee I will name it what you choose. Some things we **_won't_** do. You can't pitch your startup here. We will not have admissions criteria. No resume review. Just show up. This is a conversation, not a webinar, so come ready to talk, even if "talking" means asking the question you're worried is dumb. (It isn't.) Cameras on (No need to run back Clubhouse. It's a room, not a podcast.) **If you want in, subscribe to this space** [**here**](https://www.hayseedcapital.com/#insights) — details on timing and how to join will land here (and in your inbox) as we get closer to September. "But Jeff! I'm not a student! How can I help?" I'm glad you asked. Most of you reading this aren't students. But a lot of you employ them, mentor them, or raised them. If you know a student in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, or Oklahoma who'd want a seat in this room then forward this to them. Forward it to other people like you who might be connected to students. And if you're a practitioner in the area who'd enjoy dropping into a session as a guest someday, ping me directly and tell me. The whole point is to put students in the room with people who are actually in the ecosystem. See you in September. Thanks for reading. /JLS PS - I made some design changes to the site. What do you think? --- Canonical URL: https://hayseedcapital.com/blog/a-new-project Site: The Hayseed (https://hayseedcapital.com) — writing, coaching, teaching, and early-stage investing by Jeff Stowell. Operated by Hayseed Capital, LLC, Park City, Utah.