Learn how things actually work
Students who go to schools famous for startups or VC aren't smarter than you. They just have more opportunities. They have deep networks of professionals who show them how things work.
Now the Midwest has that too. Mentoring for college students in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Iowa who are curious about startups, venture capital, private equity, and private credit — from professionals who have spent their time building, backing, and running companies.
Twice-monthly Zoom sessions. A curated market brief. A moderated Discord. Available to students from the Midwest.
How it works
Live sessions
Small-group Zoom conversations, about twice a month. How companies get started and how they get funded. Term sheets, fund mechanics, and how deals really get done — plus whatever questions you bring. Register below and the calendar invite comes to your inbox.
Register for a session →The brief
A twice-weekly digest of VC, PE, and private-market news curated for students with a "Term Sheet" concept explained in every edition and a Saturday reading list. Reading is STRONGLY encouraged, never required for you to participate.
Get the brief →The Discord
A moderated server where the conversation continues between sessions — questions, links, and honest talk with other students on the same path.
Join the Discord →Upcoming sessions
Save your seat
Please provide your real name. You must be an active undergrad or graduate student at a college in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, or Iowa OR be a high school graduate from one of those states attending University elsewhere. Those are the only requirements. Your calendar invite (with Zoom Link) arrives by email when you register.
Keep up without drowning
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Full Ratchet Society brief distills the week's venture and private-markets news into something a student can actually use: the number that matters, what it means, a deal sheet with Midwest deals called out first, and one "Term Sheet" concept taught properly per edition.
Saturdays bring a short reading list of longer form pieces (a few durable pieces worth your weekend attention). Reading is encouraged, but is never a requirement for a seat at a session.
Get the brief
A twice-weekly digest of VC, PE, and private-market news curated for students, plus a Saturday reading list. Reading it is encouraged, never required.
Worth your time
Articles hand-picked for students — the pieces that explain how this industry works, not just what happened today.
The reading room is being stocked — check back soon, or subscribe to the brief and the best of it comes to you.
What students usually ask
Who can join?
Any active undergraduate or graduate student at a college or university in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, or Iowa who is curious about startups, venture capital, private equity, or private credit. No major or GPA, or experience requirements. We encourage non-business majors especially! Curiosity is the prerequisite.
What does it cost?
Nothing. The sessions, the brief, and the Discord are all free. This is a mentoring project put on by people who think being connected to professionals who practice things you are interested in matters for your success.
What happens in a session?
A small-group Zoom conversation, roughly twice a month. Some sessions work through a topic (how a term sheet works, how funds make money, how deals actually get done); all of them leave room for whatever questions you bring. Cameras on are expected — it's a casual gathering, not a webinar — and there's no cold-calling.
Do I have to read the brief to attend?
No. The Full Ratchet Society brief — a twice-weekly digest of VC/PE news plus a Saturday reading list — is encouraged because staying current compounds fast, but it's never a requirement for a seat.
Will sessions be recorded?
No. Sessions aren't recorded, so people can ask unpolished questions freely.
How do I register, and what do I get?
Pick an upcoming session, register with your real name and school, and a calendar invite with the Zoom link lands in your email. Accept it and you're in. If plans change, just decline the invite.
Code of conduct
Five rules, applied everywhere — sessions and Discord alike:
- 01Real names, real people. Register and show up as yourself.
- 02Questions beat opinions. Nobody is grading you; asking the "dumb" question is the whole point.
- 03What's shared in a session stays there. Companies, deals, and personal stories discussed in the room aren't content for social media.
- 04The Discord is moderated. Be generous, be specific, no self-promotion spam, no harassment of any kind — one warning, then removal.
- 05Nothing here is investment advice, and nothing here is a job promise. It's mentoring.
Mentor or speak
If you startup, invest, operate, lend, or practice in and around private markets and want to give students in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, or Iowa a real look at how the work actually works, raise your hand. A session guest spot is an hour or two on Zoom, helping me mentor students who are trying to understand how private markets all work and exposing them to different "on-the-ground" points of view.
This is an inquiry, not a sign-up: We will review every submission and extend invites personally, so the students always know who's in the room.
Jeff Stowell
Jeff is a founder, investor, operator, and teacher — a Kansas Jayhawk who has spent three decades building companies, sitting on boards, running businesses as CEO, and backing early-stage founders and funds. He writes The Hayseed and started the Full Ratchet Society because the students most curious about venture and private equity are often the furthest from anyone who does it for a living.
Why the name? A "full ratchet" is one of the sharpest terms in a venture term sheet — the kind of thing nobody explains to you until it costs you. Here, somebody explains it.
