Stanford Engineering Xfund Ethics Fellows Program Prepares Students to Be Principled Entrepreneurs

The student-run program, formerly known as PEAK Fellows, teaches entrepreneurial students to develop and instill ethical principles in their personal and professional lives.

A Stanford program that prepares entrepreneurial students to brave ethical dilemmas is now recruiting its fifth cohort, bolstered by new support and going by a new name. 

Stanford’s Xfund Ethics Fellows, formerly known as PEAK Fellows, provides Stanford undergraduate and co-term students the opportunity to develop and practice ethical principles in the context of entrepreneurial businesses. STVP houses the program, which has received generous support from Stanford ’08 alum Brandon Farwell, partner at Xfund, an early-stage venture firm. Farwell also serves as a mentor to the fellows. 

Interested students are invited to attend an upcoming info session. 

“In my work with founders, I have seen firsthand how the handling of ethical dilemmas can impact the direction of their companies and careers,” said Farwell. “The Xfund Ethics Fellows program is unique in Stanford’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, and one I wish I had as a student entrepreneur. By developing tools to align their decisions with their values and principles, the Fellows prepare themselves to grapple with the ethical challenges they will inevitably face as startup founders and leaders.”

In the course of the Fellows program, students define a set of principles that will guide them as they choose career opportunities and shape future teams and technologies. They also have the rare opportunity to engage in a series of discussions with industry luminaries, who offer unique perspectives from their own entrepreneurial experiences. 

“The Xfund Ethics Fellows program is unique in Stanford’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, and one I wish I had as a student entrepreneur. By developing tools to align their decisions with their values and principles, the Fellows prepare themselves to grapple with the ethical challenges they will inevitably face as startup founders and leaders.”

Brandon Farwell, Mentor for Xfund Ethics Fellows and Partner at Xfund

Sofie Roux, who participated in the program in 2023 and serves as a student leader for 2024, says it’s rare to have a chance to reflect on the ethics of entrepreneurship in the midst of college life. “XFund Ethics Fellows gave me a space to consider what matters to me, and has equipped me for a lifetime of service and entrepreneurship,” said Roux, who is majoring in civil and mechanical engineering. “Whether you’re launching a venture, or joining one, or curious about the business world, XFund Ethics Fellows is the perfect launchpad for this exploration.”

The Fellows program began in 2019, founded by Stanford students. It draws on materials and teachings from the Stanford course Principled Entrepreneurial Decisions (ENGR 148/248), developed and co-taught by Stanford Lecturer Jack Fuchs and Scott Sandell, a venture capitalist, which examines how leaders tackle significant inflection points in high-growth entrepreneurial companies. 

“XFund Ethics Fellows gave me a space to consider what matters to me, and has equipped me for a lifetime of service and entrepreneurship. Whether you’re launching a venture, or joining one, or curious about the business world, XFund Ethics Fellows is the perfect launchpad for this exploration.”

Sofie Roux, Xfund Ethics Fellows Student Leader

The course and Xfund Ethics Fellows are two critical pillars of STVP’s initiative to make ethics a deliberate component of the center’s entrepreneurship research and teaching. Virtually all STVP instructors now weave aspects of applied ethics in their courses, including the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders’ Seminar (MS&E 472) and STVP’s three other entrepreneurial fellows programs. The Xfund Ethics Fellows program is unique among these activities for being founded and led by Stanford students.

“I am so impressed with our Stanford students for their desire to be good people – as well as good leaders and innovators – and for their initiative in starting and running this Fellows program,” said Tom Byers, STVP Faculty Director and faculty advisor to Xfund Ethics Fellows. “Thanks to Brandon Farwell’s advocacy, Xfund Ethics Fellows will continue to imbue entrepreneurial students with a principled approach to leadership at the earliest stages of their careers.” 

Xfund Ethics Fellows runs over summer and fall quarters, and students earn one credit for the student-initiated course. By the end of the program, Fellows will have built a deeper understanding of their values and principles, a close-knit community of peers, and the tools necessary to begin to brave ethical dilemmas in the future.

Applications for the 2024 cohort are due April 7. Learn more on the Xfund Ethics Fellows page, and apply here.