The SVCIC team has set March 19-20 as the date for our 5th annual SVCIC competition. School invitations for SVCIC 2010 are coming soon. If you haven’t gotten yours, feel free to reach out by using the "Contact Us" form.
We are excited to build on last year’s successful event, in which eight of the top ranked MBA programs fielded teams (including NYU, the 2009 winner), with more pre-event education sessions with participating schools this year. In addition, to negotiations with real entrepreneurs and feedback from experienced VC judges, the SVCIC team is looking for ways to include webinars with former SVCIC participants to provide pointers for the competition, and a session with a practitioner on how to incorporate sustainability into the VC due diligence process. Moreover, for the broader public we plan to build out an education section to our website that provides sustainable VC frameworks and documents (e.g., due diligence checklists, sustainable VC research).
Be on the lookout for updates. We will be in touch soon, and look forward to making the 5th annual SVCIC a success.
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.
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:
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.
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.
Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 3:49PM 