Farmer School VCIC team wins Regional competition for ninth time
Miami teams have won their region every year the competition has been held
Farmer School VCIC team wins Regional competition for ninth time
Last weekend, the Farmer School of Business' team did what it's done every year the competition has happened: won the Regionals round.
The ninth consecutive first-place finish went to , , , , , and at the competition held at the University of Florida, over teams from Elon University, American University, Indiana University, Georgia Tech, and the University of Pittsburgh.
Miami ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs that participate in the VCIC are required to complete the Department of Entrepreneurship's 10-week Venture Capital Immersion program that immerses them in venture capital concepts, terminology, and practices. The Venture Capital Immersion Program is led by , Visiting Instructor of Entrepreneurship, and introduces ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs to the venture capital model.
"In 36 hours the team had to power up on opportunities that spanned medical diagnostics, agriculture technology and chemical authentication. They also had to learn licensing and other aspects of intellectual property in addition to the fundamentals of early stage investing that are always a part of the VCIC competition experience. They dug in together, worked their networks, leaned on each other and kept their collective sense of humor in the process," Sedlack said.
In the VCIC, venture capital investment teams assume the identity of a venture firm. On the first day of the three-day competition, each ºÚÁÏÉçÇø venture team receives a profile of the firm’s venture fund (size, age, investment stage, targeted industries/markets, number and size of previous investments, etc.) and business plans for three seed stage companies. Teams are given 36 hours to conduct due diligence of the companies, their founders, and the market and prepare a term sheet for an investment in one of the companies.
On the final day of the competition, teams evaluate pitches made by each company and participate in a one-on-one Q&A with the founder(s) after which teams have two hours to finalize their investment decision. Each team defends its investment recommendation to a panel of current venture capital investors who assess each team’s investment decision and logic and then negotiate final terms with the founders of the selected company.
The top teams will take part in the Global Finals at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on April 11-12. ºÚÁÏÉçÇø teams have placed second or third in the Global Finals seven times previously.
"Their hard work and great team culture resulted in a winning performance amidst an incredibly competitive East Region field," Sedlack said. "I was so proud of them and how they represented Miami and am excited for their continued learning as they advance to the Global Finals in April."