February 11, 2004
McCombs VC Team Triumphant—Next Step, UNC and Nationals
Five McCombs MBA students took home $3,000 and a trip to the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) national finals after placing second at a regional qualifying event at the University of Colorado Feb. 5-7. The VCIC team participated in a competition designed to expose them to the real challenges that venture capitalists face when trying to choose businesses to support.
Several startup companies presented their business plans to the teams, which hailed from San Diego State University, UC-Berkeley, UCLA, the University of Michigan, the University of Southern California and the University of Washington. The student teams chose which startups should receive funding and presented their recommendations, and a term sheet if appropriate, to local venture capitalists serving as judges.
The University of Washington team won first place and the entrepreneur’s choice award.
“The judges were from very reputable venture capital firms in the area and it was fascinating to watch their deliberations,” said Aruni Gunasegaram, adviser of the McCombs VCIC team and a lecturer of entrepreneurship in the Department of Management.
“Some of the venture capitalists will even pass on the plans of a couple of the presenting companies onto their partners for further review. That’s how real it is,” said Gunasegaram.
The McCombs team is spending the next few weeks honing their presentation skills before heading to the University of North Carolina for the finals in April.
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