The always stunning view from Mt Cardigan - pictured are Mts. Moose, Holt's Ledge, Winslow Ledge, and Smarts
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The Tuck School of Business, a brick building with white accents in the Georgian style

At the beginning of the term, I learned about a unique program offered by the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship that allows students to develop foundational skills in venture capital (or VC for short). The opportunity reminded me of the TuckLab Entrepreneurship program I pursued last Winter—which was incredibly engaging—so I decided to give it a try!

What is Venture Capital?

For those that haven't heard about VC, it's essentially finance for early-stage startup companies. Startups that need to grow often require outside investments and external VC firms are searching for such startups to grow their investment portfolio. VC exists in nearly every startup industry and requires a combination of hard and soft skills to be successful—I find it complicated but exciting! 

What is the program?

The program itself is a term-long series of workshops led by Professor Jim Feuille from the Tuck School of Business; it's a shortened version of the course offered to Tuck MBA students! We meet every Tuesday from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, and Professor Feuille takes us through each stage of the investment process. We started with learning how VC funds are structured, delved into company valuation, and have since begun applying our knowledge in real-deal screening exercises. The content has come in both in-person lectures and recorded presentations to be viewed on our own time. The exercises included sorting through real company pitch decks, brainstorming pros and cons, and coming up with due diligence questions we would ask the founders. Professor Feuille has tremendous knowledge and experience as a VC himself, and he's incredibly generous in supporting us during these workshops. The best part of his lectures are personal case studies of investments he was involved in. 

Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC)

As an opportunity to further develop a VC mindset, the program leads into Dartmouth's annual VCIC competition, which is an event that extends nationally and allows college students to test their VC skills. While the beginning of the program has given me a much better understanding of what the VC space is like, I'm looking forward to the competition as a way of putting my knowledge to use. Currently, I'm working with a team on our latest deal-screening exercise, where we select a startup and pitch the investment to the rest of the program cohort. After a few of these practice deal screenings, we'll participate in the competition and try our luck at advancing to regionals.

Ultimately this workshop series has given me insight into the world of Venture Capital and allowed me to connect with the Tuck School of Business as an undergraduate. While it isn't a for-credit course, I've learned essentially the same skills as graduate level-MBA students!

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