MVCA News & Events

The University of Michigan Ross School of Business Seeks MVCA Members' Participation in FIN ES 629 "Financing Research Commercialization" Course

MVCA members are invited to participate as "Venture Capital Mentors" to early stage technology-based startups in Professor David Brophy's course FIN ES 629 329 "Financing Research Commercialization" at UM's Ross Business School during the 2008 Fall Term.

The program, started in 2004, brings entrepreneurs and VCs together to mentor UM students as they develop business plans for early stage technology-based startups sponsored by UM engineering, medical and life science labs, large companies, and emerging growth companies.

Student teams work with "Operational Mentors" drawn from the entrepreneurial community to move these projects forward toward their first angel or VC financing. The VC mentor team assigned to each project monitors the progress of its assigned startup in building the business and financing plan, exposing the startup team to the "venture capital point of view" while being "developmental", as well as "judgmental".

Each of the 15 startups makes a formal "pitch" to a VC mentor team during the term and a final pitch at term's end. Participation offers VCs an early look at both the projects, the entrepreneurs driving them, and the UM students involved in the startup process. All participants benefit from the networking value created by the collaboration involved on real entrepreneurial projects in a university setting.

The course is open to students from all units of the university. Over its four year history, sixty-two projects have been completed in the course; among them, Lambert Technologies, FlexSys, GoQuark (India), Avidimer Therapeutics, Incepts, and NanoBio.

Dr. Jim Baker, UM Medical School Professor and founder of NanoBio and Avidimer Therapeutics (both companies have been in the class) states the following of the course, "This program is the one real integration of business, academia and technology in the University. It provides a real world experience that not only educates, but produces real companies and entrepreneurs. It is crucial to the future of the University and the state's economic development." Dr. Baker will have yet another project in this fall's course.

MVCA members interested in participating as a Venture Capital Mentor should contact Professor Brophy at djbrophy@umich.edu or 734-764-7587.