Referral Program
Our community was built on introductions.
More than 1,000 alumni have come through Venture University, and most of them arrived because someone they trusted told them about it. We are an ecosystem player, and after many requests from alumni, members and partners who kept sending us extraordinary people, we decided to make it official. This is the Venture University Referral Program: a transparent way to be recognised and rewarded every time a new member finds their way to us through you.
Rewards
What you earn
Gross tuition
Every referred member who enrols and pays tuition earns you 10% of that gross tuition revenue.
Alumni rate
If you have been through a VU program yourself, your rate is 15% instead of 10% of gross tuition revenue, not in addition to it.
Free Masterclass pass
Your first successful referral unlocks a complimentary pass to an upcoming Venture University Masterclass.
A full cohort, on us
5 successful referrals in total, so 4 more after your Masterclass pass, unlock one Cohort at VU, free of tuition.
Referral fees are calculated on gross tuition revenue and are paid out only once the referred member's full tuition has been received by Venture University.
How it works, step by step
Apply
Tell us who you are and the kind of investors in your network. It takes two minutes.
Sign the agreement
Sign the Venture University Referral Partner Agreement through DocuSign. This sets out the payout terms in writing.
Get approved
We review every application by hand. Once approved you receive an email invitation to your referral portal.
Create your links
Inside the portal you generate as many trackable links as you like, one per page or campaign you want to run.
Share and track
Share your links. Your dashboard shows clicks, unique visitors, leads and acceptances in real time.
Share in the success
Referral fees are paid once the referred member's full tuition has been paid to Venture University.
How tracking works
Every referral partner gets a personal code. Each link you build carries that code, so when someone clicks it we record the visit and tag the visitor as yours. From that moment on, any newsletter signup, application, booked interview or admission acceptance from that person is connected back to you and appears in your dashboard.
The safeguards we put in place
180-day attribution window
When someone clicks your link we store a first-party cookie for 180 days. If they come back months later through a different route, the original referral still counts.
Identity backstop
Once a person has been attributed to you through any touchpoint, every later touchpoint from the same email address is tied back to you, even if the cookie is gone.
Named referrals
Our application forms ask who referred the applicant, and your name is pre-filled when they arrive through your link. A typed name matching your record counts too.
Manual review
Where tracking fails, for example a forwarded email or a call arranged offline, tell us. We review the record and credit you where the evidence supports it.
For privacy reasons your dashboard shows a candidate's first name only. No tracking system is perfect, so if you believe a referral of yours was missed, contact us and we will look at the record together.
New to Venture University?
If you are not yet familiar with what we do, start with the Investor Accelerator. It is our flagship program, where members learn venture capital by sourcing, diligencing and investing in real deals alongside experienced investors.
Application
Apply to become a referral partner
Two steps: complete your details, then sign the Referral Partner Agreement. Once signed, your request is confirmed as pending and we review every application by hand. Once approved, we email you an invitation to your referral portal.
Key terms from the Referral Partner Agreement
The full Referral Partner Agreement is embedded in the signing step above and is the version you will sign through DocuSign.
Commission rate
10% of gross tuition, or 15% instead of 10% for alumni and current Cohort Members.
Reward milestones
One accepted referral unlocks a free VC Masterclass pass. Five accepted referrals in total unlock one full cohort free of tuition.
Qualified referrals
A referral only qualifies if the individual is new to Venture University and not already in our system or active pipeline, and you are identified as the source at or before their initial application or introduction.
Payment timing
Referral fees are earned only after the referred member has paid full and final tuition with no remaining refund, reversal, or chargeback exposure. Payment is made within 90 days of receipt.
No fee on reversals
No fee is owed for canceled, refunded, unpaid, or reversed transactions, and we may recover fees already paid in such cases.
Rewards are personal
The complimentary Masterclass pass and free Cohort benefit are personal to you, non-transferable unless you are an alumnus, have no cash value, and are subject to program availability, scheduling, and our standard admission and enrollment requirements.
Independent partner
You are an independent party and may not use Venture University's name, logo, or materials without prior written approval.
Payment and tax info
You must provide complete payment and tax information when requested. If you do not provide it within 9 months of our request, the fee may be permanently forfeited.