Putting the case study model aside, the Indian School of Business (ISB) is asking its students to do due diligence of a few business ideas for venture capitalists.
The exercise is part of the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), a 12-year-old contest hosted by Kenan Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina. The competition, being held for the first time in Asia, will help students get a first-hand experience in doing venture capital deal. It will give entrepreneurs an opportunity to revise their business plans based on the feedback from the students.
Speaking to Business Standard, Subromania Sarma, senior director of postgraduate projects at the ISB, said students would negotiate the term-sheets while recommending the investment decisions. Ten venture capitalists and an equal number of student teams will come together for the two-day event beginning November 28 for due diligence.
The event holds significance in view of the present market conditions, which is making the VCs adopt a stricter scrutiny. “The competition will also give the VCs an opportunity to consider recruiting some students for their operations,” Sarma said.
The winning team from ISB will vie with teams from top ranked business schools from China, Singapore and Thailand later in February next year. The event will pave the way for a career in the VC industry, said VCIC coordinator at ISB Rajesh Goradia.
Also, ISB will host its first ISB alumni-VC connect on November 29 to showcase homegrown businesses of its alumni to VCs.