Over reading week, Anthony, Nancy, Alexandra, Sarah, and I (Vivian), graduate students from the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF), had the privilege of representing the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ at the Canadian MBA/Graduate Finals of the in Halifax. For many of us, it was our first-time visit to Halifax and we were very excited to experience a change of scenery for a few days before the end of reading week. We were equally very proud to place second after competing against teams from top Canadian business schools including Rotman, Schulich, and Queen’s (Smith).Â
VCIC is a unique competition that provides students the chance to step into the shoes of Venture Capitalists for a day. We were provided with information on three start-ups 36 hours before the competition and spent this time thoroughly researching all three to decide which one to invest in. On the day of the competition, we had the opportunity to chat with the three start-up founders in a series of 14-minute conversations, where we pitched our proposed investment to a room of seasoned industry professionals and received feedback on our performance throughout the competition.Â
Having previously been involved with the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Student Venture Fund (SVF), we were excited about the opportunity to apply what we had learned to the real world. At the SVF, students have the opportunity to build technical skills in due diligence and financial modelling (focused on early-stage ventures), while also developing leadership, teamwork and presentation skills. We firmly believe that our ability to leverage our prior learnings from SVF contributed towards our success at VCIC.Â
Beyond our learnings from the fund, we were fortunate to receive an incredible amount of support throughout the competition. We would like to thank SAF for sponsoring our participation in VCIC and Saint Mary’s University for hosting such an engaging competition! Moreover, we would like to thank Professors Mark Arnason, Neil Brisley, and Frank Hayes for spearheading our interest in venture capital through SVF, as well as for being there for us every step of the way at VCIC. Â
As we all approach the end of our time at SAF and the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, we highly encourage students to explore their interests through extracurricular activities such as SVF and competitions like VCIC. Both experiences offered countless opportunities to build new relationships, create fantastic memories to look back on, and most importantly, develop skills that are transferable to any career path. We can’t think of a better way to end our time with the fund and look forward to seeing what future teams accomplish!Â