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Organizers
Do you have too many students for your school's
internal VCIC?
For questions email
"Sister" Events
There are now VCIC events for
undergraduates (uVCIC)
and "sustainable" or
social ventures (SVCIC).
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►About
About
Quick links for Students:
The Venture Capital
Investment Competition® began in the middle of
the technology bubble in 1998 as an educational
event for MBAs to learn about venture funding.
Now in its 14th year, through good
times and bad in the venture industry, VCIC® has
evolved into a marketplace for entrepreneurs
seeking investors and a training ground for
future venture capitalists. In 2010, VCIC
included 50 events in four continents, and
served 1,000 students, 150 venture capitalists
and 100 entrepreneurs. The program is akin to a
network of mini-venture fairs, wherein about a
quarter of the entrepreneurs who present go on
to raise venture funding.
At the core of the event
is a creative turn of the tables. Unlike
business plan competitions in which students
pitch their own ideas to investors, at VCIC the
students are the investors, and real
entrepreneurs pitch to them. It is a very
powerful learning experience for both parties.
Add to the mix a dozen VC judges, and you have
what the VCIC website describes as a
"win-win-win." Students learn (and win cash),
entrepreneurs connect with investors and VCs get
an early peek at some viable deals.
How viable?
About 25% go on to raise venture capital
after participating at VCIC, remarkable
considering that most of these events occurred
post-bubble, including a dismal one-out-of-30 in
2002. At the finals, 2 of 5 go on to get funded.
The organizers of VCIC
are quick to point out that the mission of the
program is educational, not commercial, and none
of the deals are known to have been initiated at
a VCIC event. "We’re not in the business of
playing dealmaker," comments VCIC director
Patrick Vernon from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business
School. "We are focused on teaching students
about financing new ventures, and the most
effective way to do that is to expose them to
the best deals and investors. Lucky for us, the
best entrepreneurs and VCs like to meet each
other, too."
What began as an
experiment in 1998 at UNC in response to the
bubble of business plan competitions popping up
at most business schools, VCIC has grown into a
virtual venture job fair and marketplace. In
2010 the program will included ten regional and
40 single-school events. The program culminates
every April in Chapel Hill, NC, with the
International Finals, where the winning teams
take home $10,000 in prize money.
For more information
about programs offered by the Center for
Entrepreneurial Studies at UNC’s Kenan–Flagler
Business School, please visit our
website.
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