Maneesh Apte, a Fargo native, was accepted today into Stanford University’s prestigious technology venture program, the Mayfield Fellows.
The Mayfield Fellows Program is a 9 month long entrepreneurship work-study program that aims to teach the theory and practice of entrepreneurship to Stanford undergraduates / coterminal students. Each year 12 students are selected from a variety of engineering or related disciplines. The program is currently on its 21st year.
Apte is a junior at Stanford majoring in computer science, and will join the Mayfield Fellows representing the computer science field. He applied for the program because he saw it as a unique opportunity to be immersed in the Bay Area’s entrepreneurial community, he said.
“They gave me a call earlier today,” Apte said over the phone. “It’s still sinking in right now.”
Many former Mayfield Fellows – about 20% of them – have gone on to start their own companies. Alumni include Kevin Systrom, co-founder and CEO of Instagram; Justin Rosenstein co-founder of Asana; and Tristan Harris, co-founder of Apture (among many others).
Other alumni have taken on prestigious roles in powerhouse tech companies, such as Elizabeth Weil, head of corporate development at Twitter; Stephanie Hannon, lead product manager at Google Wave; and Julie Zhuo, product design manager at Facebook, to name a few.
One of the leading professors of the program, Tom Byers, will be presenting at TEDxFargo 2016. He specializes in teaching tech innovation and entrepreneurship.
Using tech to build community
The program will begin in the spring, and involves a summer internship with a tech startup. Apte is not sure yet which startup he will apply for in the Bay Area, but being a Mayfield Fellow is like having “a golden ticket,” he said.
Throughout the program, Apte said he plans to continue his passion for building community with technology.
“My main goal is to leverage technology so I can help build community,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of stuff with technology, but a good common thread is that in every single case, there’s been an element of building community. I’m super interested in how technology can be used to do that.”
Apte’s passion for community-building can be seen since his days at Davies Highschool. He took first place at North Dakota’s statewide DECA competition for a fundraiser in which he raised $10,000 for muscular dystrophy. Later, he served on the board of directors for Fargo’s annual Fill the Dome campaign, an effort to fill the Fargodome floor with food for local food pantries.
To top it off, he’s also an acclaimed saxophonist.
Apte is currently active with a movement called No More which raises awareness about the problem of sexual assault on college campuses.
Congratulations, Maneesh!
Photo courtesy of Maneesh Apte.
