The Kauffman Fellows program specializes in turning out venture capitalists in a two-year period, and provides mentors to participants. There were 13 participants in 1997, 11 of whom began careers at venture capital firms after completion of the program. Participants receive $80,000 each year, plus health insurance. Applicants must have a completed graduate degree by the time the program starts. The next round of applications are due by September 11, 1998, so start working on your recommendations! For more information, visit http://www.emkf.org

If you still can't pry open the lid of venture capital, there are other ways to satisfy your urge to leap into the private equity arena. Increasingly, consulting firms are taking an ownership stake in their clients, in lieu of or to supplement their usual fee. Fast-growing consultancy Mitchell Madison has been taking a stake in its clients for two years. By 2005, the ambitious Mitchell Madison anticipates that it will earn $2 billion in revenue a year - half of it from investments. Bain is a very active player in this area; it has invested in over 20 different deals and taken a stake in clients like Del Monte, the pineapple cannery. As an added bonus, consultants at Bain often move across the hall to its cousin venture capital firm, Bain Capital. (Both firms were founded by paterfamilias William Bain.) Monitor Company has started a similar fund.