About
SVCIC is NOT a business plan competition! The SVCIC experience includes a wide variety of challenges in a win-win-win scenario for three elite groups: top MBA students, visionary socially- or sustainably-minded entrepreneurs, and successful venture capitalists.
Top MBA Students Win
SVCIC is designed first and foremost for the student experience. Each student team plays the role of venture capital analysts that must go through the entire VC investment process in an extremely condensed time period. Each team will:
- Read real business plans from social/sustainable entrepreneurs currently seeking VC funding
- Watch entrepreneurs "road-show" pitches
- Sit down for a one-on-one interview with each entrepreneur
- Choose the deal in which their fund will invest
- Structure the deal, create an executive summary, term sheet summaries and presentation pitch
Student teams will be evaluated on how well they identify and mitigate risk, assess social and environmental impact, understand the VC process, and communicate and work as a team.
Visionary Entrepreneurs Win
Entrepreneurs are the life-blood of SVCIC; they share their visions and dreams with the students. They also challenge students to identify the critical risks and milestones necessary to succeed in their vision. Years of painstaking effort are condensed into a written plan and a 10-minute pitch to be quickly digested by teams. In the matter of a few hours, entrepreneurs:
- Submit their written business plans for review by top MBA students
- Practice their road shows in front of a large, highly educated audience
- Conduct mock interviews with each team, gaining valuable insights as to what is missing in their plan and their pitch
- Receive copies of all team deliverables, including term sheets
- Network with leading social/sustainable venture capitalists
Successful Venture Capitalists Win
As students and entrepreneurs are participating in the event, a panel of VC judges observes from the periphery. After the entrepreneurs depart, the students analysts must must convince the VC "partners" that their investment recommendations are sound. Judges then pepper the teams with questions. Finally, judges must choose a winner.
Venture capitalists walk away from the two-day event with an enhanced network of colleagues, an intimate understanding of a few high-impact businesses, and a connection to the industry's next generation of MBA talent.
