Venture capital competitions and fellowships for undergrads

Which venture competitions and programs are open to undergrads?

The list below is every venture entry we track, checked on each organizer's page. It mixes three different things, so read the eligibility line before you plan around one: investor competitions, student investor programs with an application and interviews, and startup competitions where teams pitch their own company.

• Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC)UNC Kenan-Flagler Business SchoolRegional winners $500 (undergraduate) or $1,000 (MBA); undergraduate global champion $5,000 and runner-up $2,500, paid to the school.
• Rice Business Plan CompetitionRice Alliance for Technology and EntrepreneurshipMore than $1 million in cash, investments and prizes: a $200,000 investment for first, $100,000 second, $50,000 third, $5,000 cash for fourth to seventh; every team wins at least one cash prize.
• Dorm Room Fund Investment PartnerDorm Room FundDecision authority on real investments, twice-weekly training from investors, an expenses-covered annual weekend, and first access to openings at network firms.
• Contrary Venture Partner ProgramContraryNot stated on the page.
• Pear FellowsPear VCDeal flow access, mentorship from the Pear team, and ownership of campus events; no pay stated.
• Harvard President's Innovation ChallengeHarvard Innovation LabsMore than $500K from the Bertarelli Foundation; two winners per track at $25K and $75K.

What is VCIC and how does it work?

VCIC, run by UNC Kenan-Flagler, is the best-known competition where students play the venture investor rather than the founder. Teams register through their school, compete at an undergraduate regional, and the regional winners advance to global finals in Chapel Hill. There is a separate MBA track.

Your team reads real startups' materials, meets the founders, decides which one to back, and defends the terms in front of judges who invest for a living. That is the same judgment a VC interview probes, which is why it is the closest thing to a VC work sample an undergrad can get.

• Register through your school: ask your entrepreneurship center or finance club whether it sends a team.
• Learn the vocabulary first: pre-money and post-money valuation, dilution, liquidation preference, pro rata.
• Pick a lead on the term sheet and a lead on the founder questions so the team does not talk over itself.

How do Dorm Room Fund, Contrary, and Pear Fellows differ?

These are not competitions. They are programs that put students on a real sourcing or investing team, and each has its own application. Their pages describe them differently, so treat the list as what each says about itself.

• Dorm Room Fund Investment Partner: full-time students at US or Canadian universities, about 10 to 15 hours a week on a regional team, with decision authority on real investments and regular training. Applications come in the fall, with two interviews and a Super Day.
• Contrary Venture Partner Program: student partners at a list of North American universities who find founders and talent for the firm.
• Pear Fellows: undergraduate, MBA, and PhD students selected each year, with deal flow access, mentorship, and ownership of campus events.

Should you enter a startup competition if you want to invest?

Yes, in one of two ways. Startup competitions such as the MIT $100K, Penn Startup Challenge, Harvard President's Innovation Challenge, BASES at Stanford, NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge, and the Rice Business Plan Competition are where the most ambitious student founders on those campuses show up. Most are limited to students of the host school, so check eligibility first.

If you are eligible and have a real project, compete: having raised money or pitched to investors makes you a far better investor interviewer. If you are not building, go as an audience member, take notes on which teams you would back and why, and write that up. A short investment memo on a real student company is a strong writing sample for a VC application.

How do you turn any of these into a VC internship?

Venture hires on a year-round, referral-driven basis, so the point of every item above is the same: proof that you can find good companies and judge them, plus people at funds who have seen you do it.

1. Pick one investor-side entry this year: a VCIC team, or an application to a student fund.
2. Write a one-page memo on one startup you met through it: what it does, why now, the risk, and whether you would invest.
3. Send the memo to an investor who judged or mentored you, with one question about their own thesis.
4. Keep a running list of founders you have met; funds value a student who brings deal flow.
5. Apply to the posted VC programs on the calendar and write directly to smaller funds whose portfolio you have studied.

Questions students ask

Can a sophomore compete in VCIC?

VCIC has an undergraduate track, and teams register through their school. The page does not set a class year rule, so ask your school's team organizer how they pick members.

Are student venture programs paid?

Pear's page states no pay. Dorm Room Fund lists training, an expenses-covered annual weekend, and decision authority rather than a salary. Read each program's own page before you assume either way.

Do I need to have founded a startup to get into VC?

No, but it helps. Founding, joining an early team, or entering a startup competition gives you a view of the founder's side that most student applicants lack.

Is VC a realistic first internship?

It is a small path with few posted roles, so treat it as one target among several. Many people come to VC after banking, consulting, or an operating role, and the student programs above are the best undergraduate on-ramp.