First Round Review revisits early Thiel Fellowship selection and support through program director Danielle Strachman’s experience. It sought people already building things independently and examined how applicants adapted their plans, not simply whether they fulfilled an initial promise. Peer relationships and mentoring mattered alongside money. The central tension is that a program challenging credential-based evaluation became a coveted credential itself. The article’s $100,000 award describes its early years; the current official FAQ lists $250,000 over two years.