A team of MBA students from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business on Feb. 8 won the Rocky Mountain Regional of the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC). The competition was hosted by the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship in the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.

The Notre Dame team of Amanda Gunville, Vince Srejma, Matt Brewer, Bryan Quinn and Todd Nieto took first place and a $1,500 prize in the regional competition, winning out over teams from Northwestern University, Purdue University, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin.

“Congratulations to the Notre Dame team for an outstanding job in assuming the role of venture capitalists,” said Paul Jerde, executive director of the Leeds School’s Deming Center for Entrepreneurship. “All of the students who competed today are gaining invaluable experience in the venture capital arena.”

The University of Chicago team finished second in the competition, and the University of Michigan team received the Entrepreneur’s Choice award.

In the VCIC competition, the students assume the role of investors, and real entrepreneurs pitch to them as if they were seeking venture capital. In addition to allowing students to become acquainted with judges from the venture capital community, the competition provides a "win-win-win," according to the VCIC. Students learn; entrepreneurs connect with investors, and venture capitalists get an early peek at some viable deals.

“The skills required to conduct and present these analysis have extraordinarily high value in all business situations in which business initiatives, either internal or external to a firm, are being considered and vetted,” said Edward J. Conlon, Mendoza’s associate dean of graduate programs.

Judges for the Rocky Mountain Region at the Leeds School included Chris Wand, Foundry Group; Cary Kinross-Wright, Mesa Capital Partners; Chris Onan, Appian Ventures; Ron Bernal, Sequel Partners, and  Sean Arend, Vail Resorts and Leeds School VCIC team alumnus (international finals team in 2006). Also serving as judges were Ron Ondechek, Altira Group; Ryan Pollock, Meritage Funds; Jody Shepherd, High Country Venture, and Rich Barone, a Leeds School student in the joint MBA/MS Environmental Science program and  Leeds School VCIC alumnus (international finals team in 2007).

Notre Dame advances to the VCIC international finals, April 17-19, at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, where they will compete against seven other winners of regional competitions in the United States and England.

To learn more, go to www.vcic.org.

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By: Carol Elliott, Director of Newswriting
Mendoza College of Business
Feb. 11, 2008