The Texas A&M University – Mays Business School recently held the annual MBA Venture Challenge, a week-long competition sponsored by both the MBA Program and the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship (CNVE) at Mays.
This year, sixty-three MBA students in their first year formed into fifteen teams. Each team then selected a company seeking advice and analysis on early-stage growth strategies, chosen from a pool of twenty-five. Winners of the competition can earn cash awards, course credit, and the opportunity to offer highly-valued insights for the participating companies.
Participating firms are chosen by the CNVE, who selects them from their position in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. This year, such firms included Aggie Angel Network, the Research Valley Innovation Center, the TEEX Product Development Center and more. The firms span a variety of industries. Each team of MBAs is given just one week of direct contact with the firm to develop their analysis, but are also provided with guidance from mentors at the university and industry. “Venture Challenge is so beneficial to both our students and to the companies participating,” said MBA Program Director Shannon Deer. “The MBA Program has completely integrated the Challenge into our students’ course work, evaluating their analysis and recommendations for course credit.”
After a week of preparation, the final component of the challenge is a full-day competition including an elevator pitch round, two preliminary rounds and a finals round with the top six teams. The teams are judged by leaders in the entrepreneurial community. Blake Petty, director of the CNVE, commented on the dual nature of the competition- offering both experiential knowledge for the MBAs and insights for the participating companies. “As a meaningful- and powerful- side effect,” he said, “the participating companies receive valuable insights, critique, analysis and recommendations towards pivots and improvements their new ventures can make to enhance their likelihood of success.”