Ross Finishes 2nd at Sustainable Venture Capital Competition

The University of Michigan's Ross School of Business captured second place honors at the national Sustainable Venture Capital Investment Competition (SVCIC) the weekend of March 28th. Hosted by the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler School of Business, the 3rd annual competition tests MBA students' venture capital skills specifically on venture deals that combine the potential for financial returns with social and environmental impact.

This year's event featured teams from eight of the nation's top business schools, including Ross, host school Kenan-Flagler, the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business, New York University's Stern School of Business, Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, Columbia School of Business, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, which finished in first place.

Represented by second year MBA students Jen Anderson, Erin Cready, Andy Davis, Nina Henning, and Vik Vaishya and sponsored by the Zell Lurie Institute, the 2008 Ross team posted the school's best finish in the competition's 3-year history. "We were really proud of what we were able to put together and even more proud to finish near the top of this talented group of competitors," said Nina Henning, a dual degree student and a part of the Erb Institute. "It was a great experience, and we were honored to be a part of it."

An off-shoot of UNC's popular Venture Capital Investment Competition, the SVCIC follows a similar structure yet offers a unique twist. Like its predecessor, the SVCIC presents each team with the business plans of 4 start-up enterprises. However, the businesses offer both financial and social/environmental returns, and the teams must scrutinize and measure the value of both. After examining the plans in detail, the teams listen to the entrepreneurs' pitches and then conduct individual due diligence sessions with each entrepreneur. Once completed, the teams choose a business to invest in, structure the terms, and present their decisions to a panel of venture capitalists, who serve as the competition's judges.

This year's SVCIC competitors chose from 4 unique business opportunities:
 Happy Baby: organic baby food that is freshly prepared and rapidly frozen to lock in the natural taste, color, and nutrition of whole foods.
 Mythic Paint: a proprietary paint formulation that is 100% free of toxins and volatile organic compounds (VOC's).
 EnviRelation: a food composting service specifically for hotels and restaurants in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
 Appalachian Energy: a North Carolina-based renewable energy company with access to proprietary energy generation technologies.

Ultimately, the Ross team saw the greatest potential in EnviRelation and chose to invest in it. "EnviRelation identified a highly promising niche market that it was just beginning to tap into," said Cready. "We felt that our early stage investment and managerial input could have significant impact on the growth and development of the firm, not to mention that the company was a near perfect blend of financial and environmental value."

In addition to the honors given to the Ross and Wharton teams, the Berkeley team was selected by the entrepreneurs themselves to receive the "Entrepreneurs' Choice" award. All award-winning teams received cash prizes.