Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Business Plan/Stock Pitch/Case Competitions

One of the best things in a b-school is the access to competitions.
They range from Stock Pitching, Strategy, Marketing and Venture Capital (Businessweek story on Columbia's Outrageous Business Plan Competition). Go Dvork-meister!

They are a lot of work and some people think conventional recruiting and networking are a better use of time, especially in the first year. I recommend them because they force you to build on or acquire career-specific skills. They are a great opportunity to learn from your team mates ... and the people you meet in a good school have a lot to teach. In the case of business plan competitions it is a serious step to getting venture funding.

If you get dinged by a school, its a great source of pride to beat their team when you do these competitions. For the Cornell competition, we were happy to beat Chicago and Stern. That was sufficient for Columbia's honor. Strangely enough, Wharton and Harvard didn't send teams.

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