This spring, a team of students represented the School of Accounting and Finance at the 2026 Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Bringing home a second place finish, Aiden, Alicia, Kai, Michael, Gurleen and Quynh-Anh reflect on their journey and share their most valuable learnings.
Over reading week, Alex, Anthony, Nancy, Sarah, and Vivian, graduate students from the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF), had the privilege of representing the University of Waterloo at the Canadian MBA/Graduate Finals of the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) in Halifax.
After winning first place in the Canadian division of the Venture Capital Investing Competition (VCIC), our team was fortunate enough to participate and move on to the global finals.
After winning the Canadian finals of the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) back in March of 2021, my team and I were very excited to move onto the global finals in April. It was definitely a very fun and unique competition!
The Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) at the regional level was an exhilarating experience. Now a month later, we were doing it all over again — on a global stage. In retrospect, I want to talk about a funny phenomenon at the competition. You’ll often hear about the “power of three” in fairy tales, and I like to think that we were riding on some powerful “three” tailwinds as we pursued a “top three” placement. To begin with, we organized three advisory meetings, aligned with three faculty advisors, and did due diligence on three start-ups over three days of competition.
On March 5th, 2021, for the second year in a row, students from the University of Waterloo Student Venture Fund (SVF) captured the 2021 Undergraduate Canada Regional Finals Championship for the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC). The University of Waterloo claimed the title over the University of Alberta (2nd) and Acadia University (3rd)and has advanced to the International Finals being held on April 10.
Throughout my university experience, I was exposed to a variety of learning environments from the classroom to co-op to the Student Venture Fund. In all these environments, I learned from my professors, faculty members, managers, and industry experts. At the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), I was given the opportunity to learn by leading.
Going into the undergraduate Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), I was nervous. What if I wasn’t prepared enough? I mean, I was working in venture capital, was that enough? And then there was our team — I wanted us to work well.
Before participating in the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), I had very limited knowledge, if any, about venture capital. I was surprised at the responsibility to represent the University of Waterloo’s School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) in our graduate team, but I jumped at the opportunity, nonetheless.
On Friday, March 5th, I had the opportunity to participate in the Canadian Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC). With hard work and preparation, my team was able to place first overall! This competition was an enjoyable experience where I was able to gain insights into the venture capital space as my team attended pitches, led due diligence sessions, and pitched a deal.