Team of McDonough MBAs Win Big at VCIC Finals
Georgetown McDonough MBAs Jordan Edelman, Eric Ellsworth, Amir Kabir, Ben Shopneck, and Coral Taylor took home the top prize at the global finals of the 2015 Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), the school’s second title in the past three years. Seventy business schools from across the globe converged onto the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where a panel of venture capitalists judged each team based on how well they analyzed startup companies, interviewed entrepreneurs, structured a deal, and negotiated terms.
According to VCIC’s website, the 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 18th year, VCIC has evolved into a marketplace for entrepreneurs seeking investors and a training ground for future venture capitalists. 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.
“These victories are a credit to the talent of our students, the growing interest in entrepreneurship at Georgetown, and the increasingly strong StartupHoyas network that helps these students achieve success,” said Jeff Reid, founding director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative and faculty adviser to Georgetown’s VCIC teams.
The road was long for each team competing this year: the 12 teams in the finals won a regional VCIC (seven in the United States, three in Europe, and two in Asia) to earn a chance at the global championship. To prep for the final round, Georgetown’s team trained with a seasoned veteran: Sara Zulkosky, MBA ‘14 and member of Georgetown’s 2013 VCIC championship team. The team won $5,000 for their winning effort.
“VCIC is a particularly strong competition, due to the extremely high caliber of competing schools, as well as the depth of skills a team must use to win,” Reid said. “Our team analyzed six startups, reading their business plans, conducting online research, interviewing the entrepreneurs, and submitting a term sheet to the company they considered to be the best investment opportunity. The culmination of the competition is when the top teams negotiate their term sheets with the actual entrepreneur in front of a judging panel made up of 20 venture capitalists, and then defend their decisions to the judges.”
Learn more about VCIC here.
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Max Pulcini
Max Pulcini is a Philadelphia-based writer and reporter. He has an affinity for Philly sports teams, Super Smash Bros. and cured meats and cheeses. Max has written for Philadelphia-based publications such as Spirit News, Philadelphia City Paper, and Billy Penn, as well as national news outlets like The Daily Beast.
