If we have gleaned anything from recent market disruptions, it is that our accepted modes of business and metrics of success have soured. From Wall St. to Main St., Capitol Hill to Chapel Hill, classic frameworks are breaking down and business as usual is no longer good enough. It’s 2009, it’s a new economy, and it is time for a new way of investing. Welcome to SVCIC!

Each Spring, teams of the nation’s brightest and most innovative MBAs gather in Chapel Hill to test their ability to "save the world," one investment at a time. In a year of turmoil and change, the 2009 competition proved no different. Not only did the competition present a strikingly realistic opportunity for students to engage in the VC experience, the competition also pushed MBA teams, as well as professional VC judges, to think deeply about the inherent role of VC to drive innovation and the role that Sustainable Ventures have to play as we fix our economy.

From the onset, it was evident that things were going to be a little different this year. Using the 1965 Oscar-winning animated short-film, The Dot and the Line, an economic comparison was drawn between the squiggle (pure-play sustainable companies) and the line (business as usual). The Moral of the Story: Learning to bend and remaining flexible can be very profitable. The entrepreneurs that SVCIC highlights illustrate New Market Sustainable Ventures that can “bend” to solve more than one problem at a time. But view the film (embedded below) and decide for yourself whether the line should bend, or the squiggle should straighten up!

Whether you will only work for a sustainable venture with a positive impact mission, you are willing to make change from within a conventional company, or you are a VC that invests in marginally sustainable companies with the intention to pushing them closer to sustainability, your interest were represented at SVCIC 2009. Whether you were a VC Judge, an Entrepreneur, or an MBA participant, there was something for everyone as evidenced by an even selection of entrepreneurs from the MBA investors; all four entrepreneurs received investments.

In all, 2009 SVCIC was a rousing success! “It's astounding to see the high calibre talent of the teams!” says Jonathan Philips of Anka Funds. Terri Spath of RSF Social Finance agrees: “Everything went very smoothly, the teams were outstanding, and the companies interesting.” This event is truly setting a standard for innovation-focused thinking on sustainability. It is this type of thinking that will lead us as we evolve from the old ways of doing business into a new economy, and Kenan-Flagler is happy play a part.

This year’s winners were:

• Stern - $1500 First Place Winner:
• Wharton - $1000 Second Place Winner: 
• Fuqua - $500 Entrepreneur’s Choice:

Enjoy the video...

SVCIC was created in 2006 to encourage sustainable venture capital. It does this in three ways: educating high-potential MBAs who will become the next generation of SVCs, acting as a networking event for SVCs acting as judges, and providing an outlet for sustainable entrepreneurs to get feedback and potential interest in their plans.

Over the past four years we have built the organizational capacity, the relationships, and the branding that make SVCIC the premier sustainable venture capital competition in the world. We are now faced with one of the best problems that any event can have: we have outgrown our current model. Right now there is a single national competition and schools on a limited list are sent invitations to participate; the maximum number of schools that can be involved in this structure is eight.

This year we have received emails from a large number of schools that are interested in participating but cannot due to this limitation. In order to address this, SVCIC will move to a single-elimination tournament model in 2010. Schools will be able to send one team to a designated regional round, and then the top two teams from each regional round will continue on to the national finals.  This model has been used by our sister competition, VCIC, for many years now and is a proven way to scale up a competition of this type.

We will be looking into finding partner schools to host three regional rounds to take place in early 2010. Hosting a regional round has significant rewards for both the school and the individuals that take on this responsibility.  We will be reaching out to potential regional hosts over the next several months, but in the meantime please contact us if you want to get your school on the short list.  Similarly, please contact us if you would like to apply to compete in next year's event.

We are very excited about the future of SVCIC. By growing our footprint we believe we can have a bigger impact and do more to achieve our goal of encouraging sustainable venture capital.

SVCIC 2009 is finally upon us! Yesterday at 5PM the entrepreneurs for this year's competition were announced. We're happy to have four very exciting companies joining us this year, including:

• WindLift - Kite-powered wind electricity generation ideally suited for off-grid applications.
• Waste Grid - Aiming to become the leader in the delivery of end to end electronic brokerage services for the entire waste and recycling stream.
• Ready Corporation - Temporary housing with impressive social and environmental implications.
• BGT Biogasoline - Commercializing a proprietary two-step process for producing a novel biogasoline.

We're excited about seeing everyone Friday with game faces on!

SVCIC 2009 is fast approaching! We have an excellent event planned this year and have nearly completed lining up judges, entrepreneurs, and sponsors.

Judges

We are excited to have several returning judges as well as a number of first-timers! Firms represented include:

• SJF Ventures
• Firelake Capital
• Natural Capital Investment Fund
  
• RSF Social Finance
• Northwest Socially Responsible Investors
• Internet Securities
• Anka Funds

Entrepreneurs

Don't you just wish that we'd tell you who the entrepreneurs at SVCIC 2009 will be? Be patient eager analyst, the identity of participating entrepreneurs will be revealed on Monday, March 23.

Sponsors

Sponsors make SVCIC possible. Especially in such a tough economic climate, we truly appreciate the sponsorship of these amazing organizations.

• BiOH
• SJF Ventures
• Investors' Circle
• UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School Center for Sustainable Enterprise
• UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
• Net Impact
• Dagoba Organic Chocolates

A team from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School won the 3rd annual Sustainable Venture Capital Investment Competition (SVCIC), founded by UNC Kenan-Flagler and hosted on March 28-29, 2008.

The SVCIC is the only MBA competition in which students evaluate business plans that incorporate financial profitability, environmental integrity and social equity from entrepreneurs actively seeking venture capital funding.

The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business earned second place, while the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley won the "Entrepreneurs’ Choice" award as the team that most impressed the entrepreneurs.

MBA student teams from eight top business schools competed in the event. In addition to the winning teams, competing schools also were New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Columbia Business School, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Student teams played the role of venture capitalists (VCs). They reviewed four business plans and conducted research and interviewed the entrepreneurs at those firms. They were judged on their ability to identify and mitigate risk, their VC industry knowledge, application of triple-bottom line frameworks, communication and teamwork.

Business plans considered for the competition this year were from:

• Happy Baby Food of Brooklyn, a provider of fresh, frozen organic baby meals
• Mythic Paint of Hattiesburg, Ms., the inventor of a proprietary paint formulation that is non-toxic, ultra-low odor and without volatile organic compounds
• EnviRelation of Washington, D.C., a provider of environmental services to the hospitality industry
• Appalachian Energy of Fletcher, N.C., a sustainable energy developer, manufacturer and generator for the Southeast

Unlike other MBA competitions that use theoretical scenarios, SVCIC exposes students to a variety of activities that must be integrated into a cohesive investment strategy to be pitched to real venture capitalists.

"SVCIC is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to meet and be challenged by like-minded peers," said Walker T. Lunn, CEO of EnviRelations and guest entrepreneur.

Judges for the competition came from:

• SJF Ventures
• Good Capital
• CEI Ventures
• Cherokee Investment Partners
• Goldman Sachs
• Natural Capital Investment Fund
• Sherbrooke Capital
• Fourth-Sector Bancorp

Sponsors include:

• BiOH™ Polyols from Cargill
• SJF Ventures
• Good Capital
• Green Planet Catering
• Larry’s Beans
• UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Entrepreneurship Club