Inside the NCSSM Venture Fellowship at Primordial: Nikhil Vemuri

Hey, I’m Nikhil!

I spent this past summer (ten weeks!) at Primordial Ventures as a summer fellow, and I’m writing this blog post as a recap of my experience. The summer fellowship is an annual opportunity for undergraduate students to explore and get hands-on with venture capital.

The first week was all about getting set up. After being thrown headfirst into Grep-a-Palooza — on just the second day of the fellowship, by the way — and powering through a couple of hectic days of organizing and attending the conference, I finally got settled in and ready to work. Jenn and Sonali walked me through everything — from the basics of venture and startups to the details of Primordial’s work. I then spent the next few days reading about Primordial’s portfolio companies. While Primordial invests only in tech startups based out of North Carolina, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of investments, from apps that reimagine your home with AI to a media asset intelligence platform.

Throughout the summer, I was constantly impressed by what founders in the ecosystem were building. At Primordial events — like the Summer Meet and Greet — I had the chance to meet and speak with many founders. It was inspiring to watch the Primordial family connect with one another and even welcome new members! As a fellow, I focused on data analysis and internal tools for founder support. I developed standardized metrics and growth visualizations to help track how startups scale over time, and I built out directories for members of the Primordial ecosystem (like an investor directory for founders to connect with potential backers). I also gained experience with tools like CRM databases and got an inside look at the behind-the-scenes of venture.

It’s hard to say this early, but I’m strongly considering a career in VC! And the skills I’ve gained over this summer make me confident in pursuing this path in college and beyond. Primordial is a risk-free environment where you can make mistakes and learn from them. If you’re considering applying to a fellowship at Primordial: do it, do it, do it! I’ve learned so much, made mistakes, and celebrated successes — all within the comfort of a truly great workplace culture.

And of course, I’m so thankful that everyone at Primordial, and sister organizations Jurassic Capital and GrepBeat, was so welcoming and kind. I’ve made some really special and unforgettable memories in the office. (I’ll also miss the coffee machine…)

~ Nikhil