Venture Capital Investment Competition

VCIC 2007-2008 Calendar:

• Kick off Info Session: October 24th, 12:30pm, C230
• Applications Due: November 16th, 5pm to lester@haas.berkeley.edu
• Participant Teams Selected: week of November 26th
• Workshop Pitch Evaluation, 1/29 6:30-8:30 S489, Haas
• Workshop Term Sheet, 1/31 6:30-8:30 S489, Haas
• Competition: February 8, all day, UC Berkeley, Haas
• Regional Competition: March 7, all day, USC, Marshall School of Business
• National Finals: April 17-19 (note: new dates), Chapel Hill, NC, Kenan-Flagler Businesss School

Workshop Presentation

VCIC Frequently Asked Questions About the Berkeley Venture Capital Investment Competition

Who organizes the Berkeley VCIC?

The Lester Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the Haas Entrepreneurs Association (EA).

Who’s eligible to apply for the Berkeley VCIC?

All UC Berkeley graduate students are eligible, as long as they are not working with a VC firm from November 20th until his or her team’s participation in the VCIC ends.

Students must apply in teams of exactly five members.

At least one team member must be a paid member of the Haas EA to apply.

All of the members of the six teams selected to compete in the internal competition must be paid members of the Haas EA.

How do I become a member of the Haas EA?

All UC Berkeley graduate students are welcome to join the Haas EA. Membership dues are $25 for one year and $40 for two years. If you would like to join, please do the following:

• Make a check out to "UC Regents" and write "EA membership" on the notes line.
• Attach a note with your name, email address, school, program and class (e.g., Full-Time MBA, class of 2008).
• Drop it in the mailbox of Daniel Mayo (VP of Finance) in the Haas MBA lounge.

For more information about EA please visit our home page.

If I do not have a team can I still sign up as a single person team and/or be teamed with other single persons?

You must apply in a team of exactly five members.

When is the application due?

Application materials are due by 5 p.m., Friday, November 16th. These must be submitted by email to lester@haas.berkeley.edu.

How many applicant teams get to compete in the Berkeley VCIC?

Six teams will be selected to participate in the competition. Applicant teams will be notified the week of November 26.

When is the Berkeley VCIC?

It will be held on February 8, 2008 at Haas.

What kind of time commitment will be required to compete in the Berkeley VCIC?

Once your team has been selected to compete, you should expect to participate in two or three workshops, a couple of hours long each, held at Haas to help you prepare for the competition. The competition will be one day long.

How will the competition be structured?

On the day of the VCIC the competing teams will get the opportunity to read real business plans from entrepreneurs currently seeking VC funding and will watch the entrepreneurs "road-show" their pitches.

Next, the competing teams will sit down one-on-one with each entrepreneur and hold a Q&A session with a VC judge present in the room assessing the interaction.

The teams will choose one or multiple deals; create an executive summary, term sheet summaries and PowerPoint presentation and present to and field questions from a panel of VCs.

How will the winning team be chosen?

The winning team will be chosen by a panel of Bay Area VCs who will be present the day of the competition. The winning team will be chosen at the end of the day of competition.

What are the prizes for winning the competition?

The winning team of the Berkeley VCIC will move onto the regional competition and will have travel expenses paid for.

About the regional and national Venture Capital Investment Competition

When and where will the regional and national VCIC take place?

The regional competition will take place at USC's Marshall School, March 7, 2008. The national competition will take place at UNC's Kenan-Flagler School, April 17-19, 2008.

Who from UC Berkeley gets to participate in the regional and national VCIC?

The winner of the Berkeley VCIC will move onto the regional competition. The top team from the regional competition will move onto the national finals.

Will participation cost me any money?

There is no entry fee for the regional or national finals. Should the winning Berkeley team qualify for the national finals, UC Berkeley may subsidize some of the travel costs.

What are the prizes for winning the competition?

The national competition awards a $5,000 prize to the winning team.

What has been the historical performance of UC Berkeley in the regional and national VCIC?

Three years ago the UC Berkeley VCIC winners made it all the way to the national competition and took 1st place, beating out teams from other top MBA programs such as Sloan, Wharton, Chicago, and Harvard.