A graduate team from the University of Colorado Boulder has won the 15th International Venture Capital Investment Competition, or VCIC, the premiere educational event for venture capital and entrepreneurship.
MBA candidates Lindsey Jensen, Dane McDonald, Jeff Schreier and Nick Wyman from CU-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, with Colorado Law student Mark Wiranowski, advanced to the finals at the University of North Carolina campus on April 14 after winning the West Regional in an international competition that included 50 regional events on four continents with more than 1,000 students competing.
A training ground for future venture capitalists, VCIC puts graduate students in the role of investors who review plans submitted by actual entrepreneurial companies seeking funding. The teams are judged by professional venture capitalists. The program culminates every April in Chapel Hill, N.C., with the International Finals, where the winning teams take home $10,000 in prize money. Visit www.vcic.org.
This year, the CU-Boulder team beat Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Empresa from Spain and Georgetown, second and third place winners, respectively. Other finalists included teams from Berkeley, Cornell, Michigan, National University of Singapore, Oxford, Wake Forest and Wharton.
“Since 2000, teams from the Leeds School have won eight regional competitions at VCIC, advancing to the international finals where they have placed in the top four,” said Paul Jerde, executive director of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School. “We’re very proud of our team’s victory and the chance to represent the Pac-12 with its first victory since 2006.”
The Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at CU-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business has been a regional host school for the Venture Capital Investment Competition since 2000 and is among the VCIC Hall of Champions. VCIC host schools are considered leaders in entrepreneurship education.
“This victory builds on the amazing support of the VC/entrepreneurial community and the support of the Deming Center over many years of competition,” said team member Mark Wiranowski. “Our team learned a tremendous amount from our mentors who have experienced VCIC as competitors, judges, coaches, and presenting entrepreneurs.”
- MEDIA CONTACT
- Keri Ungemah
- University of Colorado Law School
- 303-492-3124
- keri.ungemah@colorado.edu
- www.colorado.edu/law
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