Warrington finance students place 2nd at venture capital competition

Jake Bousky (BSBA ‘27, MSF ‘27), Aahan Jandir (BSBA ‘27, MSF ‘27), Benjamin Gruen (BSBA ‘27), Elias Smith (BSBA ‘28), Siena Barefoot (BSBA ‘28) and Matthew Brodner (BSBA ‘28) placed second in the 2026 Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) Mid-Atlantic Regional Finals.

The VCIC is the world’s largest venture capital competition, with more than 120 universities and graduate teams. The mid-Atlantic regional competition was operated by the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and hosted by American University.

VCIC participants serve as venture capital investors while real startups pitch their companies. They are given each startup’s pitch deck, cap table and financials and asked to conduct live due diligence sessions. They then present an investment thesis, valuation, executive summary and term sheet to a panel of venture capitalist judges.

To prepare for the VCIC, the team conducted mock diligence sessions with local Gainesville startups and worked closely with faculty advisers to sharpen their thinking and approach. They also all read the book “Venture Deals” to develop a common framework when evaluating startups and structuring investments. 

The team’s strategy was marked with time management, adaptability and flexibility. 

“We focused on extracting the most critical insights while building strong rapport with founders, since making a compelling impression and effectively ‘selling’ our fictional venture fund was part of the judging rubric,” Bousky said. “Striking the right balance between demonstrating strong investment conviction and clearly identifying key risks was essential to our overall success.”

This was the first time any of the team members had competed in the VCIC, and they placed second, outcompeting universities such as Georgetown and Elon. This victory was UF’s highest placement in the competition since it first competed in 2022. 

“VCIC gave us the opportunity to experience the venture capital investment process beyond the textbook,” Jandir said. “It pushed us to think critically under real constraints, defend our assumptions in front of seasoned judges and make investment decisions with incomplete information, just like in the real world. Experiences like this motivate us to keep building real-world skills and pursuing opportunities where we can turn theory into impact.”

The team would like to thank the Warrington College of Business, UF Innovate, and the MSF Program for their achievement. They would also like to thank James G. Richardson lecturer James Parrino, UF Innovate director Jackson Streeter, assistant professor Alejandro Lopez-Lira and administrative support assistant Helene Hale for their guidance and expertise throughout the competition.