Fordham University Gabelli School of Business to Host Venture Capital Regional Competition

| Aug 06, 2024 | Gabelli School of Business

January 2025 Event to Provide Students from Business Schools Across the Country With the Opportunity to be Venture Capitalist for a Day and Win Cash Prizes for Their Work

Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business was recently chosen to host the Regional Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), which will be held on January 31, 2025 on Fordham’s Lincoln Center Campus in New York City. Students at the Gabelli School pitched for the chance to host this prestigious competition and won, based upon the School’s reputation and ranking, facilities, ability to recruit startups and judges, and New York City location.

VCIC is the world’s largest venture capital competition with over 120 university and graduate school teams competing. It provides students with the opportunity to be venture capitalists for the day and for startups to get real-life exposure to the fundraising process.

This highly immersive experience comes as close to a real-world venture capital scenario as possible, with students signing non-disclosure agreements, attending due diligence sessions, and receiving three start-up pitch proposals, one of which their team must select as an investment and then work together to pitch their investment rationale to a panel of judges. Each team also must provide a written report explaining their research process, documenting their due diligence, and articulating their investment thesis. In addition, they must attend panel and individual partner meetings in a process that exposes them to the rigors and rewards of venture capital.

“There is no better place than New York City and Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business for this competition to be held,” said Lerzan Aksoy, Ph.D., dean and George N. Jean Ph.D. chair, Gabelli School of Business. “New York is ranked as one of the top three start-up cities in the world, with the resources and networks available for early-stage companies to succeed, and the Gabelli School’s reputation in the areas of finance and entrepreneurship is globally renowned. Those attending this competition will gain incredible experience in the heart of the business capital of the world.”

Details on the full agenda and judges for this event will be released in the coming months.