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Rules

Student Eligibility: All enrolled graduate students, not just MBA candidates, are eligible, including executive MBA, excluding students who are current full– or half–time paid employees of a venture capital firm. 

NEW IN 2011: International One-Year MBA Programs: Students who graduate in December may compete in events within six months of graduation.

No Repeat Rule: Students can only compete in a regional VCIC once. Internal competitions are excluded from this rule. For example, if you compete and lose in your school’s internal event, you may compete again the following year and go on to a region.

Annual School Participation Fee: Each school planning to compete at a regional event must pay one non-refundable intent-to-compete fee to reserve a slot. No further fees if you make it to Finals. The early-bird team fee is $250 (i.e., $50/student) if paid by October 15. By November 15, $500 ($100/student), after which you may lose your slot. By January 1, $1,000 ($200/student).

Team Size: Except in cases of emergency (to be determined by the VCIC Organizational Team), teams must have five members.

Alternates: Teams may not bring a student alternate or observer to the event.

Substitutes: Teams may substitute members any time before an event begins. Teams are free to substitute for future rounds. No substitutes may be made during an event.

Advisors/Observers: Teams are encouraged to bring a faculty or staff person as an observer. Advisors are welcome to observe all aspects of the event, including judging sessions. Advisors cannot assist the team in any way and must avoid communicating with the team until after the competition. Student observers are prohibited except by permission of VCIC HQ, generally only given when a school is considering becoming a new regional host.

Outside Contact: After receiving business plans and through the entire event, students may not receive any help from faculty advisors, coaches, acquaintances in the industry, or anybody else. No emails, no phone calls, no visits. You may not consult or contact ANY individual outside of your five-member team for any reason. Failure to abide by this rule could result in forfeiture and a revocation of invitation to the next round.

Research: Teams are allowed to use any available internet resource or database, whether free or by subscription. Teams may bring books and other printed materials with them. Teams are not allowed to contact any individuals for help (see above, Outside Contact). Another way to state this: any secondary research is allowed; no primary research is allowed.

Prize Money: Checks are mailed after the event to individuals designated by winning teams. University accounting can take upwards of 8 weeks to process payments and taxes may be withheld, depending on policies at the host university. Often a social security number is necessary for processing payment. Prize money for VCIC 2012 Finals: 1st–$5,000, 2nd–$2,500, 3rd–$1,000, Entrepreneurs’ Choice–$1,000; VCIC 2010 Regions: 1st–$1,500, 2nd–$1,000, EC–$500.

School Anonymity: Students may not indicate their school affiliation to the judges during the competition, including but not limited to emblems on clothing, computer bags, discussions with entrepreneurs, etc. Teams are free to tell each other their schools.

Dress code: Business casual.

Non–Disclosure of Business Plans: Participants are required to sign a general non–disclosure agreement (NDAs), available at www.vcic.org/nda.doc if you would like to read it before you arrive. These NDAs help us ensure a culture of respect for our entrepreneurs, without whom we would not have an event. True, VCs do not sign NDAs. Also true, you are not a VC. If you are a VC, please recuse yourself and allow another student from your school to learn from this unique event.

Distribution of Business Plans: At regional events, plans are distributed by email on Wednesday at 5pm (time zone of the event). At finals, plans are distributed in person at the team orientation, Thursday, 6pm.

"Inside Information:" Upon receiving business plans, any student with prior information about a venture must inform the event coordinator before the kick-off meeting. Failing to do so could result in forfeiture. Generally, you will be asked to exhibit no familiarity during the event. Our experience has shown that inside information is not necessarily helpful (and may even be detrimental) to a team’s performance. However, the organizers may deem it preferable to recruit a replacement venture.

Familiarity with one or more VC Judge: We ask all participants to exhibit no familiarity with any other participants.

Entrepreneur Presentations: No questions are allowed during presentations. Slides are not distributed.

Due Diligence with Entrepreneurs: There are no restrictions on what teams may ask of entrepreneurs during the sessions. However, no contact is allowed between teams and entrepreneurs at any other time during the competition. Teams may quickly introduce themselves to the entrepreneurs (not to judges) upon entering the room before the timer starts. When the timer expires, the session must immediately end, even if in mid–sentence, and the team should quickly thank the entrepreneur and leave the room.

Written Deliverables:  Each team must submit a one-page executive summary (for judges only) and a one-page term sheet summary (for judges and entrepreneurs). Teams may submit up to three pages of additional information to communicate their decision-making process to the judges. Teams may use the supplied templates or bring their own.

Negotiations and Q&A: 15-minute negotiation, 10-minute Q&A. Teams will be cut off if they have not finished when the timer expires.

Local Teams: Local teams are expected to operate under the same facility restrictions as all other teams. Teams may not take advantage of libraries, computer facilities or other assets that could potentially provide an unfair advantage over visiting teams.

Publicity: All participants agree to allow VCIC to use their names and likenesses for the purpose of promoting VCIC in the future.

Honor Code: It shall be the responsibility of each student to obey and support the enforcement of these rules. All team members must sign a copy of these rules at the kick–off meeting indicating their agreement to be bound by these rules.

Dispute Resolution: All decisions by judges and the VCIC Organizational Team are final. For complaints, questions, concerns or to report possible rules violations, contact the regional VCIC coordinator. These rules may be revised at any time if the purpose of the revision is made in the interest of fairness for all competitors. Revisions will be communicated to all participants as quickly and fairly as possible.