Over the weekend, the Sapphire team made their mark in the books of history. While we didn't reach the moon or claim victory in consecutive grand slams in the six nations, we did take part in Ireland's inaugural Student VC competition!

The Venture Capital Investment Competition is a prestigious US Competition which has been running for over 25 years with over 120 universities taking part worldwide.  Unlike most business-related competitions at university level, students were competing as VCs rather than entrepreneurs and were judged on their Due Diligence, Written Deliverables and Partner Meetings.

As a UCD business student, I was on the organising team who brought the competition to Trinity College Dublin, where six universities from across the island of Ireland took part.

The day commenced with the university teams attentively listening to three pitches from start-ups. Subsequently, each team was allotted 14 minutes to engage in a thorough due diligence meeting with the founders, followed by insightful feedback from the judges at the conclusion of each session. Upon completing these crucial meetings, the teams deliberated on which start-up to invest in and meticulously crafted their term sheets. Subsequently, they presented their term sheets to the judges, who then had a brief 10 minutes to inquire about the details. Finally, as the day drew to a close, the much-anticipated announcement of the winners took place.



Sapphire’s Partner, Vasiliki Carson, was a judge at the event and had this to say at the end of the day. "Supporting innovation, nurturing talent, and enriching our community are at the core of events like VCIC. They not only showcase the journey of honing technical skills but also play a vital role in shaping the future leaders of this dynamic industry. As Winston Churchill famously said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."