A team from UNC Kenan-Flagler won first place April 18 in the international finals of the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC). Oxford Said Business School won second place. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management won third place.

UNC Kenan-Flagler founded VCIC in 1998, to create a new type of venture capital event for business schools. Unlike other business plan competitions in which students pitch their own ideas to investors, in VCIC students play the role of the investors, and real entrepreneurs pitch to them. VCIC began as an event for MBAs to learn about venture funding. It has become a marketplace for entrepreneurs seeking investors and a training ground for future venture capitalists. About 25 percent of participants go on to raise venture capital after gaining experience in VCIC. At the finals, two of five go on to get funding.

The UNC Kenan-Flagler team that won included: Tom Birchard (MBA ’09), Lewelyn D'souza (MBA ’09), Andrew Pearson (MBA ’09), Diana Selezeanu (MBA ’09) and Elin Szymanowski (MBA ’09). The UNC Kenan-Flagler team won the Southeast regional competition to make it to the finals. In that competition, Duke’s Fuqua School of Business won second place.