“Venture Capital is Like an Art”: Zicklin Graduate Students Recount Their Experience at the 2024 Venture Capital Investment Competition
Earlier this spring semester, a team of Zicklin graduate students from the Zicklin School of Business competed in the world’s largest venture capital competition, called the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC). Team members included Jose Zapata (MBA, '23), Yudelca Ogando (MBA, '24), Mesa De La Cruz (MBA, ‘24), Chris Wijatkowski (MS Finance, '25) , and Juan Diaz (MS Finance, ‘25). I had the privilege of sitting with some of the team members to learn more about their experiences, their advice for other students, and their hopes for Baruch’s VCIC future. Here is what they had to say:
What is the VCIC?
The VCIC is a highly competitive, invite-only competition in which teams of undergraduate and graduate students from schools across the globe are Venture Capitalists (VCs) for a day. Typically, over 100 universities including Northwestern, Cornell, and Yale participate in this event. Baruch College has proudly competed among these schools for the past few years, thanks to Baruch alum and VCIC veteran, Gregory Pike (MBA, ‘22). This year he has played the crucial role of recruiting members for the 2024 team.
The VCIC Process
The competition is divided into two parts: regionals and international finals. Two days prior to the day of competition, teams receive pitch decks from four real startup companies. Acting as VCs, teams must review the decks as part of the ‘due diligence’ process to determine the company to invest in. On the day of the competition, the founders of the startups present their elevator pitches to the teams. Afterward, students ask the founders clarifying questions before finalizing their decisions. When team members come to an agreement, they then complete a term sheet that would detail the team’s investment. Finally, after submitting their term sheets, teams present and defend their investment thesis before a panel of judges.
Although teams are only investing imaginary funds, the day-long event is nonetheless intense, according to Zapata. Further, the competition requires participants to have a profound understanding of private equity and mathematics. Students would find the VCIC experience worth it, however, since it thoroughly puts their graduate degrees into practice.
Preparation
Baruch’s 2024 team took about five to six months to prepare for the VCIC, which officially took place on February 10, 2024. Starting in late fall 2023, members read several books provided by the VCIC program as well as searched for and used publicly available resources. The team also analyzed the VC and private equity markets, examined common VC company practices, and studied former competitors through the VCIC website. More than that, Baruch’s team conducted about four to five interviews with professionals from the Venture Capital industry to learn the best VC strategies.
Preparing for the Competition
As the team anticipated, at least one of the startups was in the biotechnology industry. And given Yudelca Ogando’s expertise, the team was able to understand the operations of the biotech company they chose to invest in. Not only is her background in biological sciences, but she also earned a Masters in Translational Medicine from Grove School Engineering, where she learned FDA guidelines for receiving FDA approval in medical technology. This was key to understanding the company’s future path. Moreover, Ogando’s knowledge of medical technology and how pitches in the industry are prepared helped the team to evaluate the company’s presentation.
Challenges
There were a few challenges that Baruch’s VCIC team had to overcome. For instance, while other schools had access to PitchBook—a Venture Capital and private equity database—Baruch College did not. The team consequently used more time to retrieve the same types of information as their competitors. Baruch’s team also had to learn on its own how to complete a term sheet, whereas students from other universities have had practice through courses dedicated to term sheets alone.
These challenges were not complete setbacks, however. They only gave the team the opportunity to display fierce Bearcat pride and determination, employing every resource available and putting to practice the rigorous training members have received at the Zicklin School of Business.
“Venture Capital is like an art...” ~ Chris Wijatkowski
The benefit of participating in the Venture Capital Investment Competition is that students learn about the VC industry and what it is like to be a Venture Capitalist. Baruch’s team members also expressed that they really enjoyed networking with individuals in the field, especially as they seek career opportunities in Venture Capital or private equity.
As Ogando put it, the industry is very niche, and it would be difficult to break into it unless one had a network in VC. The team therefore advises students to see the VCIC as an opportunity to meet people working in Venture Capital. But Zapata goes further to recommend that students should get involved in all of Baruch’s competitions, as they help “bring everything learned in class to life.” He concludes with this advice to students: make the most of your experience at Baruch.
Hopes for Baruch’s VCIC Future
Inspired by their experiences, both good and challenging, some team members are thinking about starting a Venture Capital Investment Competition at Baruch in collaboration with the Baruch Private Equity Club. The team believes this will be a great way for students to learn about Venture Capital and best VC practices before participating in the world-wide competition.
Currently, the Baruch Private Equity Club is seeking graduate students to join the 2025 VCIC team. Gregory Pike and Jose Zapata will serve as the team’s advisors. For more information, Chris Wijatkowski invites you to connect with and reach out to him on LinkedIn.
Shoutout to the Zicklin School of Business
The 2024 VCIC team would like to thank the Zicklin School of Business for its financial contributions and for making the team’s participation in the competition possible.
Elizabeth Moy is a graduate student in the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College, pursuing an MA in Corporate Communications. She is also a College Assistant with the Zicklin Graduate Career Management Center.
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