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DATE: April 30, 2008
A team of MBA students at the University of Washington's Michael G. Foster School of Business took second place in the International Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) April 17-19 at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler School of Business. The Foster MBA team beat rivals from University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), University of California Los Angeles (Anderson) and Manchester Business School, while mounting a strong challenge to the first-place team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan).
In the VCIC contest, student teams play the role of venture capital investors, assessing real companies in a high-stakes competitive environment. They defend their allocation decisions before an exacting panel of venture capitalists. The Foster team was comprised of first-year MBA student Topher Sabella and second-year MBA students Ashita Achuthan, Kien Ha, Paul Meighan and Stuart Young, who proved their mettle by winning the Silicon Valley regional VCIC competition in February.
"With the support of local venture capital gurus and coaches, we came to the finals with a better understanding of important terms and key levers to push and pull when negotiating with an entrepreneur," said team member Kien Ha. "We also tried to differentiate ourselves by being transparent in our analysis." That strong analysis led the Foster team to select the judges' preferred company for investment: a cardiac medical device start-up. Ha said "We were up against tough competition in MIT, which had a team with an M.D., a Ph.D. and two MBA students who had worked at venture capital firms."
VCIC judge and UW MBA alumna Rebecca Lovell of Alliance of Angels reported, "The UW team exhibited the best dynamic, breadth and time management of any competitor. [It] turns out there's no substitute for having a cardiac surgeon on the team when you're investing in a cardiac medical device, but the UW team was an absolutely clear second." Lovell competed on the second UW MBA team to win the VCIC competition in 2006 and will return to the UW to teach the Venture Capital Investment course next year.
The Foster team received considerable backing from the UW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which introduced the students to its vast network of venture capitalists, angel investors, attorneys and other experts from the Northwest entrepreneurial community. "We have a huge advantage being in Seattle," said Connie Bourassa-Shaw, director of the UW's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. "There is a very supportive venture capital community and a strong entrepreneurial culture," she explained. "Local venture capital professionals contributed many hours to coach students, showing them how to analyze a balance sheet and including them in actual company pitch sessions." Students also received substantial knowledge transfer from Emer Dooley, a lecturer in entrepreneurship, and Susan Sigl, general partner at SeaPoint Ventures, who taught the Center's VCIC course and provided heavy preparation. Several venture capital professionals provided invaluable feedback and expert advice, including Rebecca Lovell (MBA 2006) of Alliance of Angels, Geoff Entress of Madrona Venture Group, Margaret McCormick of Integra Ventures, Kirsten Nelson of Fluke Venture Partners, Jon Roberts and Chris Howard (MBA 2007) of Ignition Partners and Enrique Godreau of Voyager Capital
The international VCIC competition included finalists from seven regions of the United States and one covering Europe. Foster School of Business MBAs won the international VCIC in 2004 and 2006.
For more information about the final 2008 International Venture Capital Investment Competition results, visit http://www.vcic.unc.edu/.
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