When founders leave, they are surprised by the value of the feedback from students and investors alike, and the expanded network base for future fundraising. Over the years, over 25% of the participating startups go on to raise venture capital after the event.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (PRWEB)
November 06, 2019

For over 20 years, a kind of “March Madness” has been growing for entrepreneurial MBA and college students thanks to the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), a “bracket” of 20 regional competitions in seven countries, coordinated globally by the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.

VCIC is a marketplace for entrepreneurs seeking investors and a training ground for students – future founders and venture capitalists. Startups pitch to students, who play the investors, and venture capitalists (VCs) judge the student teams’ investment decisions.

Now VCIC is offering startups a competition within the competition: the “Most VC-Backable Startup Global Search,” leveraging the March Madness bracket of regional events. Unlike traditional startup pitch competitions where dozens of startups have only a few minutes of exposure, VCIC events are due diligence immersions, daylong events, for the few startups selected to participate.

For each regional competition, only three startups are chosen to pitch in-person, survive a gauntlet of six due diligence sessions (one with each student VC team), have lunch with the VC judges and negotiate term sheets with the teams that choose to invest in them.

Winners of regional events will be included on VCIC’s “Most VC-Backable Startups” list and will be eligible to be invited to the VCIC Global Finals in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, March 27-28, 2020, where the top 20 student teams, 12 most VC-backable startups and 30 VCs from around the U.S. will come together.

“Historically, founders come because we have enough VCs in the room to justify the day at VCIC,” says Patrick Vernon, VCIC director and clinical associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at UNC Kenan-Flagler. “When they leave, they are surprised by the value of the feedback from students and investors alike, and the expanded network base for future fundraising. Over the years, over 25% of the participating startups go on to raise venture capital after the event.”

In 2019, VCIC’s Most VC-Backable Startup was Admiral, a visitor relationship management company. “The competition is daunting, with student VC teams ripping apart your business model and leaving no due diligence stone unturned,” says Dan Rua, Admiral founder and CEO. “Securing multiple term sheets after such a thorough process was rewarding.”

Startups can apply at http://www.vcic.org/startups. The deadline is Dec. 15, 2019.

About the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School

Consistently ranked one of the world’s best business schools, UNC Kenan-Flagler offers a broad range of programs – Undergraduate, MBA and Master of Accounting, PhD and Executive Development – and extraordinary, real-life learning experiences. Faculty demonstrate unparalleled dedication to students’ learning and a commitment to world-class research that addresses critical business challenges. Contributing to the School’s thought leadership is the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, which promotes innovative, market-based solutions to vital economic issues. UNC Kenan-Flagler’s collaborative culture is rooted in core values that date back to its founding in 1919, and graduates are renowned as effective, principled leaders with the technical knowledge and leadership skills to deliver results in the global business environment.

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