L-R: David Zhao, Jun Park, Fineas Tatar, Ismail Mian, Vishal Vinodkumar, Samir Javier
Students from the University of Waterloo’s Student Venture Fund (SVF) take home the win at the Pacific Venture Capital Competition (PVCC). Competing in the Venture Capital stream, the team advanced through three rounds before being selected as a finalist team to eventually take home the trophy.
Four students from the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF), David Zhao, Jun Park, Fineas Tatar, Ismail Mian, and two students from the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Program (MBET), Vishal Vinodkumar, and Samir Javier acknowledged their experience in the Student Venture Fund as a key factor in their success, “The biggest advantage we had by far was being a part of the venture fund team, we understand so much more than the other teams and were able to impress the judges as a result,” states Fineas.
The PVCC is a competition that creates interactions between entrepreneurship and financial valuation. Teams compete as an Entrepreneurship team, or a Venture Capital team through three rounds. Entrepreneurship teams are required to present business ideas, refine their business plan, and negotiate for venture capital. The Venture Capital teams are required to evaluate business ideas, prepare a financial structure, and pitch their investment summary. During the final round, the Entrepreneurship finalist teams interact with the Venture Capitalist finalist teams and prepare for their final presentation at the conference. The PVCC is hosted annually by the University of British Columbia’s Finance Club.
L-R: David Zhao, Ismail Mian, Fineas Tatar, Jun Park, Samir Javier, Vishal Vinodkumar
The final round of the competition proved to be a delicate and challenging activity. Each of the Venture Capital finalist team were required to evaluate the business plans from the five finalist Entrepreneurship teams as potential investments. Of the five business plans, the team then had to pick one company to invest in and present their investment pitch in front of venture capitalist industry leaders.
The Waterloo team attributes their success to the combined knowledge, skills, and experience gained from their individual programs as well as their involvement in the Student Venture Fund. The team met with and participated in a six-hour mentorship session with analysts from Agentis Capital. This elite opportunity was an experiential prize for the winning team of the 2018 PVCC, along with the $4,000 prize money.
Our experience working together in the Student Venture Fund taught us a lot in terms of team work, identifying each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And preparing for PVCC was an extension of that experience which helped us form a well-rounded team.
Interested in applying to SAF programs? Check out our Future Students website. Plus, see how other University of Waterloo students have gone #BeyondIdeas.