Hello, 你好, and Bonjour! My name is Tao; I'm from New York City, and I'm a proud first-generation student. I'm currently interested in studying applied math and learning a new language (French, with the intent of studying abroad using my D-Plan!) at Dartmouth. I love being immersed at campus–especially aesthetic Woccoms, fookie grubs at FOCO, and Baker-Berry Tower Room study sessions. Come one, come all: let me take you along!
Academic Program
Mathematics and Quantitative Social Science with a minor in French
As the name describes, this class taught me all about food! While the class is centered on teaching academic writing skills, I have definitely learned a lot about fun topics like food diversity, ethical farming, and culinary significances. For my final project, I got to write about how sauces relates to our society!
Hey friends! If you've been subscribing to my VCIC series in Boston—this is my final post for the VCIC competition!
And for those just tuning in: welcome! Let me take a moment to share what this whole experience has meant.
The Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) is a global competition that's been alive for the last 26 years (yes, it's older than some of us). Essentially, teams get 72 hours, after receiving pitches from real-time startups to make them a "mock-offer". Then it gets evaluated by the judge as if you're in an actual deal meeting. Each year, schools from around the world compete for a shot at the final round, held at UNC Chapel Hill. The mastermind behind it all? Professor Patrick Vernon of the Kenan-Flagler Business School—VCIC's legendary curator and a true evangelist for entrepreneurship education.
We started preparing just three days before the day of competition. We hustled! Between cranking out decks mid-flight to North Carolina, and running research in our hotel rooms until 4 a.m., we were a caffeinated, chaotic, and optimistic crew.
On the day of the competition, we hit the ground running—interviewing startup founders, asking tough questions, challenging valuations, and combing through financials like detectives. Then came the crown jewel of VCIC: drafting a term sheet under pressure. (If you've never made one, imagine Shark Tank but with legal jargon and Excel.)
Spoiler alert: we won!
It's wild to think that just last fall, I knew nothing about venture capital. But thanks to mentors, crash courses, and a team that trusted each other deeply, we went from clueless to closing term sheets like champs. This wasn't just a competition—it was a crash course in how real VCs think, act, and work as a team.
If there's one takeaway I'll hold onto: it's that you don't need to be an expert to start. You just need to be curious to explore what you find interesting—like a lot of my peers at Dartmouth.
