The general answer to this question for any accelerator-type program is: talk with someone who went through it and you trust.
Alternatively, look at outcomes of the companies from (recent) batches, but be careful -- that can lead to attributing too much to the program vs. innate qualities of those founders.
If you can't find a connection to someone who went through it personally, try a cold email.
Many founders will give you a short call or respond to a well-written email that briefly and directly asks about their experience and recommendation if you can prove (briefly) your qualifications. If you're going to take this approach, expect to be very open with sharing details of your idea.
With the Thiel Fellowship specifically, you may consider reaching out to the founders of Sprayable Energy. They ran a successful Kickstarter campaign [I was a backer], and are pretty cool dudes.
Alternatively, look at outcomes of the companies from (recent) batches, but be careful -- that can lead to attributing too much to the program vs. innate qualities of those founders.
If you can't find a connection to someone who went through it personally, try a cold email.
Many founders will give you a short call or respond to a well-written email that briefly and directly asks about their experience and recommendation if you can prove (briefly) your qualifications. If you're going to take this approach, expect to be very open with sharing details of your idea.
With the Thiel Fellowship specifically, you may consider reaching out to the founders of Sprayable Energy. They ran a successful Kickstarter campaign [I was a backer], and are pretty cool dudes.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/20/sprayable-energy/