Simon School Venture Fund Institutional Investors
Overview The Simon School Venture Fund (SSVF) is an evergreen fund managed by 2nd-year MBA students at the Simon Business School, University of Rochester. The Fund, initially capitalized by alumni donations, is guided by a Board of Directors consisting of successful entrepreneurs, VC investors, and accomplished professionals in other fields. Mission The SSVF provides a unique experiential educational opportunity for graduate level business students interested in entrepreneurship and venture investing. Student Analysts, Sr. Analysts, and Managers interact directly with entrepreneurs seeking investment, perform due diligence analysis, pitch and defend potential deals to Board members, participate in investment decisions, and are responsible for ongoing portfolio monitoring and management. Direct participation in Fund activities, operations, and management allows students to utilize and build on the skills learned in business school to produce cohesive, comprehensive, and well-reasoned analyses of potential deals - with the end goal of making sound investment decisions. Why the Simon School Venture Fund? The SSVF leverages the capabilities of other Simon Business School student organizations and the University of Rochester's vast resources and alumni network to assist with portfolio company development. In addition to funding, SSVF’s portfolio companies can benefit from an exchange of business skills/services for real-world project experience. Whenever possible, we try to utilize available business student teams to work on ad-hoc projects that would benefit the company but may be too costly to hire out, or too time consuming for busy management teams that are already spread thin. In addition and when appropriate, we may also make valuable warm introductions to others in our extensive network to assist with other aspects of business development.