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2025 Leaders in Tech Fellows

Program Overview | Alumni Testimonials | Schedule | Cost | Apply >

 

Program Overview

Leaders in Tech Fellows is a 10-month experiential learning program helping founders build more successful companies by becoming better leaders.  Participants are nominated by a network of industry leaders and selected after a competitive application process. 

 
 

“This is a no brainer, just do it. Transformative. Incredibly insightful in helping me realize exactly what I do/say that influences others.”

— Iman Abuzeid (Incredible Health)

 

The core program is conducted in small, deeply intimate groups in which participants discover for themselves how and when they are most influential, how their behaviors impact others and gain a richer toolkit for building trusting and powerful professional and personal relationships. Many former participants have described the experience as profoundly transformational.

350+ Fellows alumni now run companies valued at over $50B and employing thousands of people.

 

Program Details

The Leaders In Tech Fellows program is based on T-groups, a form of experiential learning popularized by Interpersonal Dynamics, the most popular elective at the Stanford Graduate School of Business for over 30 years (commonly known and referred to as "Touchy Feely"). 

 
 

“This is the best thing a founder could do for their company.”

— Harj Taggar (Y Combinator)

 

T-group is an experiential learning format focused on discovering when and how you are most influential, and how others really think and feel about how you act.  Many participants report their group has helped them make hard decisions, persevere, resolve conflict, fundraise, sell, hire, and lead more effectively.  Almost all report building some of the deepest, most honest, and enduring relationships of their life within the program while practicing the skills to recreate those types of relationships elsewhere. Hundreds of participants have called the experience "life changing".

Kickoff retreat

The program begins with an intensive 4-day retreat.  Participants engage in open and confidential conversations that build deep trust within the group, creating a unique environment to gain insights into how others perceive you and how you understand yourself and practice giving and receiving feedback effectively.   

 

Monthly learning groups

After the kickoff retreat, each learning group continues to meet throughout the year - with shorter sessions twice each quarter by zoom and once each quarter for a full day session in the Bay Area.  These monthly sessions continue to build on the insights from the kickoff retreat and also give participants an ongoing support and reinforcement structure as they begin to apply their learning into the most pressing challenges and opportunities in their business and in their life.

 
 

Graduation dinner

Participants will join together with their current Fellows cohort and Fellows alumni for an in-person graduation dinner at the conclusion of their program.

 

Ongoing Community

Once they complete the program, Fellows become part of the LIT Alumni community for life.  Many groups continue meeting in various formats for years after the program ends and there are regular formal and informal alumni community meetups and events in many locations as well as an active online community.

 

Qualifying applicants are leaders who have been or currently are founders, co-founders, or CEOs of any seed stage to pre-IPO startup.

 

Testimonials

Testimonials

“LIT is an experience of a lifetime: you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll learn more about yourself and the human condition than you could imagine.”

— Logan Green (Founder, Lyft)

“If you’ve ever wanted to improve your ability to connect with those around you, build trust, and share authentically, attend this program.”

— Emmett Shear (Twitch/OpenAI)

“Having gone through LIT, I’m dumbstruck by the complete absence of opportunities to learn and develop these skills in life so far - but as obvious as that seems now, previously, I was equally as oblivious. It feels essential.”

— Andrew Mason (Groupon / Descript)

“LIT changed the game for me. I was immediately able to put the emotional intelligence and awareness I learned to use with my team and in my life. LIT is a gift.”

— Justin Kan (Twitch/YC)

“LIT is the single most important thing I have done to further my professional development.”

— Sofia Elizondo (Brightseed)

“LIT was an incredible and profound experience for me. I was able to get in touch with my feelings in a way I hadn’t before. I had realizations that are going to make me a better leader, a happier person and a more true version of myself. I’m also grateful for the community of other CEOs I’ve built through LIT that are now like a family.”

— Felicia Curcuru (Binti)

“The LIT fellowship felt like a leadership mirror --- it truly helped me understand my interpersonal strengths, and how to leverage them, and my areas of opportunity, and how to grow in those areas, in a safe testing ground. I've never experienced a forum that has allowed me to grow so quickly and openly.”

— Lindsay Hoell (Dispatch Goods)

“Through LIT, I gained some fundamental insights on how I relate to others that were truly a breakthrough in my personal as well as professional life.”

— Jay Graber (Bluesky)

“If you’ve never had a T Group experience, you must.”

— Annie Kadavy (Redpoint Ventures)

“Completing the LIT fellowship retreat was the single most impactful investment in my career I've ever made. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to have had this experience, and cannot recommend it highly enough for other founders/CEOs looking to become more effective leaders.”

— Rick Klau (Onsemble)

“This is a life-changing experience I wish everyone could have. You will read and hear from so many people that this was a life changing experience, and you will doubt it. Then when you finish the program, you will say the same thing as everyone else: "Oh okay they were right.”

— Siqi Chen (Runway)

“LIT is one of the best investments I have made on my leadership journey.”

— Mala Ramakrishnan (Cuvo)

“This program is the real deal.”

— Kate Doerksen (Ditto)

“I will HIGHLY recommend LIT to other CEOs. I think LIT has the potential to create a massive impact on CEOs, and the companies they run. Being a part of LIT is a huge honor and an incredible learning experience. Truly life changing.”

— Ryan Caldbeck (CircleUp)

“I am a completely different person.”

— Kanjun Qui (Imbue)

“I recommend this experience to anyone, especially leaders, who want to enhance their awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in their interactions with others. It offers an unparalleled opportunity to step out of your comfort zone, be vulnerable, experiment, and learn about yourself and how you relate to others.”

— Eduardo Williams (Contalink)

 

Program Commitments

Leaders In Tech Fellows is intended for leaders ready to make a significant investment in their own growth and development. The foundation of this program is interpersonal learning so the participation of each member impacts not only their own experience but the entire group.  

 
 

“I came in a skeptic and left a convert. If you think you’re too analytical to care about this, know that someone like me was deeply convinced of its importance.”

— Jack Altman (Lattice)

 

In joining the program, participants make a commitment to (1) attend the 4-day kickoff retreat in full, (2) attend each of the monthly peer learning group sessions, (3) enter the program deeply curious, willing to question existing mindsets and beliefs, and prepared to give and receive honest feedback in service of their own and others’ learning.

 
 

2025 Fellows Program Schedule

Application & Acceptance Dates

  • April 7 - Applications open

  • April 17 (11am-12pm PT) and April 28 (11:30am - 12:30pm PT) - live webinar with program alumni. (Optional)

  • May 7 - Application deadline

  • April, May & June - Application review and interviews

  • By July 1 - 2025 LIT Fellows notified of acceptance

Program Dates

Each participant will be placed in one of the three groups below for the entire program.   You will be able to select your preferred dates in your application.  If you are able to make the dates for multiple groups, select them all in the application as this gives you more placement opportunities and a higher chance of admission.

 

  • Learning group sessions meet on Wednesdays. In-person sessions will be in Burlingame, CA.

    • October 15, 2025 9-11am PT (online)

    • October 29, 2025 9-11am PT (online)

    • December 10, 2025 8:30am-6pm PT (in-person)

    • January 28, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • February 11, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • March 4, 2026 8:30am-6pm PT (in-person)

    • April 8, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • May 13, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • June 3, 2026 8:30am-9pm PT (in-person + graduation)

  • Learning group sessions meet on Wednesdays.  In-person sessions will take place in Burlingame, CA.

    • October 28, 2025 9-11am PT (online)

    • December 2, 2025 -9-11am PT (online)

    • January 13, 2026 8:30am-6pm PT (in-person session)

    • February 3, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • March 3, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • April 14, 2026 8:30am-6pm PT (in-person session)

    • May 5, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • June 9, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • July 21, 2026 8:30am-9pm PT (in-person + graduation)

  • Learning group sessions meet on Wednesdays.  In-person sessions will take place in Burlingame, CA.

    • November 12, 2025 9-11am PT (online)

    • December 17, 2025 9-11am PT (online)

    • January 21, 2026 8:30am-6pm PT (in-person)

    • February 18, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • March 18, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • April 15, 2026 8:30am-6pm PT (in-person)

    • May 20, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • June 10, 2026 9-11am PT (online)

    • July 22, 2026 8:30am-9pm PT (in-person + graduation)

 

Program Cost

Tuition for the Fellows program is $19,850 and includes the 4-day retreat (with accommodations, meals & materials), monthly learning groups, and the graduation dinner.  The majority of our participants have their companies pay for their enrollment, as they would with an executive coach. Learn more about funding LIT Fellows.

 
 

“LIT is one of the best investments I have made on my leadership journey.”

— Mala Ramakrishnan

 

LIT is a non-profit and we do also offer financial aid for participants who are unable to pay the full amount. We do our best not to turn anyone away because of financial need.  We can also offer payment plans over four quarters.  If you are interested in participating in the program and concerned about cost, we encourage you to apply anyway and we will work with you to try to make it possible.

Earlier stage? If your last round was <$5M, you also qualify for Grove, our dedicated pre/seed stage fellowship that accepts an equity as tuition instead of cash. Your LIT application can qualify you for both.

Additional Resources