Venture Capital Investment Competition 2012
So the saying goes, ‘if you tell me I will forget; if you show me I may remember; but if you involve me I will learn.’ This has been especially true for all of the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) team throughout this year’s competition. Bringing together key professional skills and enhancing business acumen, the 2012 VCIC has been the most rewarding part of the MBA course so far. The following summary discusses some of what has become clear to the team through our involvement in and reflection on all aspects of the experience. In short, the VCIC was an excellent learning experience, and very much in-line with the ‘learning-by-doing’ philosophy of Manchester Business School. And the socialising wasn’t bad either!
Beginning as far back as October 2011, our team, ultimately winning the ‘Entrepreneurs’ Choice’ award at the European finals in Oxford, learned to quickly understand business propositions, evaluate whether they offered an investible business opportunity, if so then draft under what terms the investment should be made, and ultimately recommend how the entrepreneur should proceed.
A further key aspect of the competition was the opportunity to experience several pressurised negotiations with real-time entrepreneurs around a variety of business topics, and then receive specific feedback from both the entrepreneurs and judges at each stage of the competition. This was, perhaps, the most useful learning experience, helping to build skills that are applicable to all areas of professional life.
To touch upon our own experiences, it’s best to go first to what we would do differently. We realised at the beginning of the competition how little we knew about the Venture Capital (VC) industry and about how, where and why Venture Capitalists (VCs) invest. We were initially under the impression that the challenges we would face in the competition were more-or-less constrained to the stated competition rules. This turned out not to be the case, especially when facing interrogative questions from the competition judges – VC professionals – about why, how and how much we invested, why we invested under the terms we did, and what we saw as the next steps for the business in question. In short, anything VC-related was ‘fair game’, not just the stated scope of the competition.
The key point for anyone in the future is that the entrepreneurs and judges will not treat you like a competition participant or give you any allowance for not being a professional Venture Capitalist. They will talk to you in their dialect and challenge you on the intricate meanings of terminology, which to complicate matters could be dependent upon the terms’ contexts. In doing so the competition demands you behave, respond and altogether emulate a realVC outfit. To some extent we did, but if we were to begin again, it would be with the assumption that whilst the competition rules are to be acknowledged, our preparation and decisions would not necessarily be constrained or directed by them.
The 2012 VCIC team with their prize
Where the team did excel is how we worked together. I was continually impressed by the work-ethic, resourcefulness and professional attitude that was displayed throughout the six months of the VCIC. As both the competition and our contextual understanding progressed, a pleasing aspect of the team dynamic was the continual and open feedback – self-regulation you could call it – on everything associated with our preparation.
This fostered an approach to everything we did that was mature, established by consensus and involving all team members. I think this was the foundation upon which we impressed the judges at the finals in Oxford University’s Said Business School, as it particularly enabled us to work and appear as united as we were, conduct ourselves inter-personally to a level that belied the short time we had actually worked together, and clearly engaged with the entrepreneurs in an assertive yet diplomatic manner.
A key point for anyone in the future is that the entrepreneurs will judge you primarily based on whether they would want to work with you on their idea that could potentially change their lives, if not so much more. How you interact as a team, and how you conduct yourselves socially and professionally thus matters greatly. I suppose the element to remember for the VCIC is to choose your team members wisely; the team’s character will count for as much, if not more than it does in wider professional life. And I think it’s fair to say that you can learn about technical skills and develop an understanding far more readily than you can learn to be charismatic or genuine, or even likable, all of which are essential to do well in the VCIC.
The 2012 VCIC team representing Manchester Business School was: (from left to right) Torben Müller, Gareth Wilson, Maanas Varun, Rafael Castelo Branco, Anthony Clark-Jones
This is not to say, however, that to progress, you can rely on a glossy exterior. You can’t. The more granular aspects of the VC industry, what is currently ‘fashionable’ in VC, and the complex environment in which entrepreneurs and VCs operate must also be understood, at least to the extent of being able to withstand a cross-examination of up to ten competition judges, if not the entrepreneurs themselves. The balance, let’s say, is to maintain a diplomatic, assertive and professional demeanour with this suitability underpinned by a scientific knowledge of the relevant processes, terminology and structures, of which the VC industry has many. Not easy, but clearly not impossible.
On reflection, there perhaps isn’t a winning formula for the VCIC. There is always an element of luck involved in which business propositions need to be analysed and what style of VC the judges follow. Nevertheless, excellent team-work, comprehensive preparation and the ability to remain composed yet assertive when being questioned on reasonably complex information will always enable future MBS teams to do well in this ever-more-popular competition.
Naturally Close to Nature!!
<Note – I had written this post soon after Brathay and had posted it on my personal Blog; however now that I have access to MBS Blogs, thought I’d post it here as well. Enjoy!!>
It’s been merely two months since I came to Manchester but it seems as though I have been here since forever. Maybe it’s just me and my ability to adapt quickly to a new place or if I was to be honest, I’d say it’s just the city – Manchester has certainly grown on me. After the hustle and bustle of New Delhi, living in Manchester is definitely a wonderful experience as it offers the joys of living in a small town while enjoying the vibrancy of city life.
Enough of raving about Manchester – it does fall short in comparison to the Lake District and I’m sure a lot many of my colleagues could vouch for that. That brings me to Brathay, which is clearly among the most memorable experiences of my life. I remember the moment as our bus pulled into the parking lot at Brathay and we stepped out only to be enthralled by the scenic beauty – lush green fields stretching right onto a lake adorned with swans. This divine place was to be our home for the next 3 days.
There was obviously a lot more to Brathay than the beauty alone. It actually played a pivotal role in transforming our rather fragmented class into a cohesive unit. The numerous photo albums that have flowed since our return are a testimony to the fun times that we shared and are a precursor to the several memories that we will create during the course of our MBA.
I returned from Brathay with a never to be forgotten memory, one when I was – “Naturally close to Nature.”
Instantly my thoughts take me to this extremely dark and wet night when I walked back from our team classroom to my nice and warm room after an exhausting strategy formulation session with the members of my group. Having tucked in a nice meal followed by a couple of pints, hitting the bed was the sole thought that came to my mind at that juncture. Obviously I was quick to change into nightclothes and head towards the bed. I can tell the story is getting monotonous and you’re most certainly about to move on (assuming you haven’t already).
Well, hold your horses for a bit, without any further ado, I shall introduce the twist to the seemingly nice and simple story. Just as I was heading to bed, I realized that I had run out of drinking water. That’s when I decided to step outside and quickly grab some water. I stepped outside the door only to realize that I left the key behind. The wretched self lock caused the door to snap behind me, leaving me marooned in a pair of rather skimpy shorts and a shoddy t-shirt.
Fortunately I was sharing the room with a colleague who hadn’t returned as of yet. I thought that it would be as simple as calling him up and asking him to let me in using his key. But alas, my mobile phone was also left inside as I stepped out of that door. Seemingly at a loss of options, I decided to shed my inhibitions about the rather inappropriate attire and venture out to the common room in an attempt to seek someone who could help. As luck would have it, virtually 30 percent of the class was sitting in the common room and I received a warm welcome partly because of my rather exclusive attire. Fortunately one of the guys had my roommate’s number and I heaved a sigh of relief. However, with luck definitely not by my side, the cellular network played spoilt sport and I couldn’t reach out to him.
While I received several generous offers from colleagues to share their rooms, I was inclined to go back to the warmth of my bed and therefore I decided to look for my roommate. I donned a raincoat (which had generously been left by someone) and rather foolishly headed out to look for him. I must add, it was freezing and the rain made it worse however my determination to find him took the better of me and I scaled virtually every inhabitable nook and corner of Brathay. Clearly I did not find him as I did miss out on that one place where he was busy strategising with the members of his group.
By now I was flustered and shivering with the sole option of waiting till he arrives. Fortunately, my neighbour was passing by and invited me in. I attached a note on the door for my roommate and piled on in the adjoining room. Approximately an hour later, my roommate returned and I finally got my much deserved sleep.
Though embarrassing for me, the incident was popular the following morning as quite a few people laughed at my expense over breakfast.
I leave you with three valuable pieces of advice
- Post your MBA, once you start minting money and decide to build a nice house/ apartment, please ensure you avoid using a self lock. Having had bad experiences at more than a couple of occasions, I can safely render this advice.
- Always maintain an up to date telephone directory/ contact list. You never know when someone might come in handy (though it didn’t work in this case, in normal circumstances it will definitely come to your rescue).
- Always wear decent night clothes! You never know when an emergency might pop up. 
MBAs and Marathons
<Note – this is a post originally written last year after running my first marathon. Due to some technical complications, I am just now getting access to the MBS blog roll. Enjoy>
The hardest thing I have ever tried The hardest thing I have ever done:
Over the summer, I was talking to a colleague, Andre, about running a marathon. After finding the Manchester Marathon in Nov, and realizing it was in New Hampshire, not my new home, I was able to find plenty of excuses to not sign up for another one. Then one day I got an e-mail from another colleague, Maanas. He informed me that he and Andre were signed up to run the Liverpool Marathon. The date, 9 Oct, 2011. The registration deadline? The next day. I didn’t have much time to think about it. I have always wanted to run a marathon, but always had an excuse. I would get fit first, then I would sign up. Funny thing, that never seemed to work out. So here was my chance to jump into the deep end and just sign up for the race. I would start training right away (so I thought.) Not only did I sign up, I talked a 4th colleague into doing the same. And just like that, Rafael and I were running our 1st marathons, in order to join the exclusive club Maanas and Andre were already members(2 and 3 I believe.)
There is an old cliche, that is used all the time. I imagine most people have heard the phrase ‘it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.’ I don’t know where that came from, but even I have said it before. Hell, I can’t count how many times it has been said about the MBA! But what does that really mean? Well, if you have ever wondered that, you are in luck, because yesterday, I had quite a bit of time to think about the answer to that.
1. It’s all about the training: When I signed up for Liverpool, I had three months to train. I had been running much of the spring, so I was in a good position. But then I stopped. It was my last summer home, running was the last thing on my mind. So my training started just 8 weeks before my race. Most training programs look for 13-18 weeks to get your body ready. My procrastination only left me 8. But I still was able to train. And, if you think about it, all my MBA colleagues have been training for our ‘marathon’ of school. We have done this through undergrad programs, the GMAT, and most importantly, our work experience. That is why I chose MBS, the value they put on work experience. If I didn’t have the early summer training, I would not have been able to be ready in 8 weeks. If I didn’t have 5 years experience working at my last job, I would not have been ready for school. Never over look training.
2. Set some goals: I have never been much of a goal setter, at least not in the old fashion sense. I always would strive to get better, but never put them down on paper. Never put tangible numbers to things. It was always more open and vague, like never stop learning. But to some extent, I do have some goals. Things to accomplish during my time here at MBS. Things to work on, ways to be better. Just like I had in Liverpool. I knew my pace to run, I knew where my splits should be. And I had a goal of running 26.2 miles in 4 hours and 30 mins. I, for the first time, was a proper goal setter (more on this later.)
3. Run your race: There is a tendency in life to compare yourself to other people. When you do that, I think you loose sight of what your true goals are in life. You are living for them, not for you. This is true in a marathon, as well as an MBA. It may or may not surprise you how many 70 year old ladies could beat you in a foot race. First instinct is always that you should be faster then them, so you speed up. Then you realize you are out of your race, running a pace you can’t keep. And when you slow down, guess you goes right on past? And the hardest time to control your race? The start. It is a great way to make the next 25 miles more difficult. At MBS, knowing why you are here is key. That means doing the things you are passionate about, not things other people are passionate about. It is easy to get pulled into a club you have no interested into because it sounded like a cool idea when 2012 described it. With so much activities, and so much excitement about starting my MBA, I have already had to step back and think about everything I am doing. Why am I doing this, will it help me? You know, those difficult questions only you, not other people, really know the answer too.
4. Expect the unexpected: Liverpool tried to throw every obstacle in our way. The race started 50 minutes late. There was lots of wind. As a runner, it always seems the wind is in your face, and never at your back. And always on a uphill! And of course there was rain. What would a English marathon be without a little bit of rain. But the biggest challenge was the course. We looked at the course and elevation map. But what none of us saw was the hill we would have to run up. For about 5 kms, we were climbing. Now any runner knows, even a slight incline is a challange. I wish I could say this was slight. Or short. We were not expecting it. The MBA is going to throw many challenges at everyone over the next 18 months. Last minute meetings, balance sheets, cash flows, marketing projects, demanding clients, etc. There is always something to do. And if there is not, wait 10 minutes, that will change. You just have to expect that something will come, the unexpected.
5. Always move forward: I’ll admit it. I had to walk. After the hill, my legs were shot. My pace was where I wanted to be, but my hill training was not. It was a bad time for my body. But not my mind. I never stopped moving forward. I had the goal in sight (well, not quite insight, but about 12 miles away!) I had committed to finishing my marathon. I threw my time out the window. All I could think about was finishing. And how I would train for my next marathon better. And this blog. But mostly finishing. This correlation to the MBA is the easiest. We will have classes we don’t like, groups we hate, things we don’t get, and meetings we don’t want to go to. Every challenge will be there, on good days and more on bad. But the key is to always keep moving forward. Think about where you are going more than where you came from.
6. Even in failure, there is still success: Thomas Edison was asked how it felt to fail at inventing the light bulb 10000 times, before his eventual success. His response? ” I have not failed. I’ve just found 10000 ways that won’t work.” You can’t be afraid in failure, as ‘failure’ teaches us the best lessons. And as long as you can learn, you didn’t fail. You had a great chance to practice again. I was inspired by another MBA blogger, talking about this same subject. He failed a class, went back, studied harder, and came back and passed it some 9 months later. The most inspiring thing about something like that? Not the failure, no one will remember that. But the completion and the resolve to get it done. I ran my marathon in 4:51:03. You could say I failed by 21:03. I will correct you. I succeeded by 26.2 miles.
7. A group is stronger than one: I had so much support on my marathon. I couldn’t have done it without them. From Andre and Maanas to convincing my to sign up, to training runs with Rafael. Vassil, who was running another marathon yesterday, was always seeing how I was doing with my training. I had a team, we were accountable for each other. But more than that, everyone in class was supportive. So was everyone back home. This blog would go on for days if I tried to list them all, but thank you to all! I drew energy from the support (A extra special shout to Sana and Joao for making the trip out to Liverpool on race day!) There were over 600 volunteers on race day, handing out water, guiding us on the route. And thousands and thousands of more fans, cheering on complete strangers. Who knows how it would have been without them. I am here at MBS, not to compete with my colleagues, but to succeed with them. Not to compare, but to learn. I won’t be a better business man without their help. I won’t be a better person.
And this list can keep going. There are so many correlations you can get from running a marathon to grad school. Both are time consuming. Most people wouldn’t consider either. If you do it for the right reasons, and do it for yourself, you will become a better person for it. It will challenge you more than anything ever has before in your life. In 18 months, I will be looking back at my accomplishments. Graduation day. And I hope I am thinking to myself, I just completed one of the hardest things I have ever done. For as they say, It’s not a sprint, It’s a marathon.
Energy Levels Rising
Each day as I walk around the Business School I am very aware of the energy levels emanating from the MBA class. I don’t need a published list of the assignment deadlines, I can ‘feel’ the tension when an assignment is pending! So walking around the school yesterday was an interesting experience as the class are just back from MBAT and are now mid-way through their UK Consultancy project, the first really tough test of whether they can apply with a major corporate client what they have learnt.
So, MBAT first of all, yesterday was the first day back in school after the annual class outing to HEC, France. I usually attend MBAT just so that I can stand on the touchlines and cheer however sadly this year I was unable to make it. Nevertheless it’s clear that Class 2013 had a great time despite a couple of injuries (one pulled back, one broken finger!). Medals awarded were a gold for Salsa, silver for Chess and Table Tennis and bronze for Cricket and Rowing. A fantastic set of results .. and I’m particularly proud of the fact that the medals show that MBS can play hard and party hard! As for yesterday’s energy levels .. buzzing .. oh, and glowing (a few people seem to have really caught the sun!)
Then onto the UK Consultancy Project. The Manchester MBA is unique because of the number of client facing projects that MBAs are required to engage with during their programme. The first project, the Not for Profit project requires the MBAs to work for, usually, a third sector organisation for c.100 hours in the first term. The second project is the UK Consultancy project where, for the entirety of the third term the MBAs work with, usually, a major corporate client for 2 full days a week. The third project is the IB project where the MBAs work for 3 full months, full time, on a major international project. No other Business School comes even close to offering this level of client facing work. Of course, the MBAs often believe that this means we’re a school that focuses on developing consultants. This is wrong, what we’re doing is giving students the opportunity to work with clients in a consultancy capacity but also providing students with an opportunity to reflect on how to tackle business problems in a domain that they may otherwise never be exposed to. So, one of the groups I am currently supervising is looking into the market for cutting edge facial recognition software. They’re having to consider routes to market, potential business models, processes for the selection of potential partners, the benefits of business to business versus business to consumer selling, licensing arrangements and exit strategies for the inventor. Whilst they are currently providing this advice to the client as consultants they are also learning about these very issues as they explore them, valuable lessons that they can take forward into their future working lives. Note that, as the home of ‘Learning by Doing’, we at MBS have been taking this approach to MBA eduction for the last 40 years and it’s amazing to feel the energy that is now emanating from Class 2013 as they really start to immerse themselves in their UK Consultancy Project.
So, Class 2013 … there’s 3 weeks of UKCP to go, I can feel the energy rising, the clients are already feeding back with positive comments and praise for the work that you’re doing, just keep focused and make sure that what you deliver on time, within budget and with ‘Original Thinking Applied’!
best wishes Elaine
MBA Director
Essential Research and Study Skills
New for this term in MBS Library. Early booking advised. We hope to see you there.
Register Online today: www.mbs.ac.uk/library
What now?
It’s been a manic two weeks and as we wrap up our final report on our very last project here at the MBA, I finally have some time to sit back and reflect on what has been a wild 18-month ride! It’s coming to be exactly two years since I quit my job in Chicago and as I sit back and think through this time gone by, I cannot even tell you where those two years have disappeared. I mean, what have I done in that period of time? Move around three cities, sift through piles of papers, compile endless pages of management gibberish in the guise of reports and papers, and hit the submit button on a zillion job applications!
And where has it all led to…? As far as I can tell, almost nowhere. For an obsessive compulsive person, one that must plan and therefore know his next move, the lack of clarity or absence of a plan is slightly disconcerting. For the first time in my life, I can’t answer the question, what now? This also then means that all other major life decisions (yes mum, I know it’s not what you probably want to hear) need to be put on hold for now. As I continue to search through job portals, through corporate websites and even pick up the phone to speak with long lost contacts, that elusive dream job continues to remain just that… a dream… for now, at least.
As I speak to family and friends, everyone says I must have faith and keep at it. Well, all my life, I always have kept at it, without ever really giving in. So, why would things change now? People highlight the strength of my resume and the fact that someone is bound to find that experience valuable and hire me. Well, if Mr. or Ms. Someone, you are out there somewhere, details of my experience are available on my LinkedIn profile, and a copy of my CV can be made available on request.
What just amazes me is the fact that this decision to leave a lucrative and well paid job at a renowned corporation for an MBA was driven by a desire to enhance my experience, add a new dimension to my CV and thereby generate better and more lucrative opportunities upon graduation. It hasn’t happened yet! I guess it now looks like a case of, the grass being greener on the other side. As I sit on the proverbial other side today, I am looking back at the side and wondering if the grass really was greener there.
This blog is not a sob story or some kind of a regretful reflection; if anything it is merely a sense check. As I have finished up my MBA, I have had the opportunity to sit back and reflect on a decision that could (and possibly should) impact the rest of my life. I have had a tremendous experience during these 18-months and would not change a thing (well, maybe not everything)… I have met some tremendously talented and intelligent people, had the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds out there, to travel and see new places and cultures… After all, there is more to life than just money. And this MBA has been a testament to it!
Maybe, it is just a case of what mum always says, ‘what has to happen, will happen… and if something has already happened, then there is a reason for it.’ Well, if that’s the case, then I guess I can continue to wait for something to happen. But till then, I sit here and wonder, ‘what now?’
Eddie Davies Lecture Theatre – Meet Eddie Davies at MBS
You are invited to attend the official opening of the Eddie Davies Lecture Theatre at Manchester Business School on Thursday 26 April at 1800 hrs. Eddie himself will preside.
The theatre is being named to honour Dr. Eddie Davies CBE, who has supported MBS for many years, not only financially, but also with his time, as a member of our Global Leadership Board. His benefactions include the Eddie Davies Library and the Eddie Davies Chair in Entrepreneurship and Enterprise.
The launch ceremony will commence with a reception at MBS West at 1800 hrs, followed at 1845 hrs by a lecture by Dr Edward Feser, the current Eddie Davies Professor of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise. The event will end at approximately 2000 hrs.
Please confirm your attendance to jackie.fisk@mbs.ac.uk .
The dress code is smart. We hope to see you there!
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