Schools Offer Real Venture Capital Lessons

Venture capital is agony and ecstasy, bust and boom, the stress of gambling and the thrill of a front-row view on the latest technologies. And when real money is involved, it’s also one of the hottest classes on business school campuses.

In an effort to elevate their teaching beyond the usual case studies and guest speakers, a handful of schools are raising significant amounts of money to turn over — with a few strings — to students who invest in real startups. The hope is to better train both aspiring venture capitalists and aspiring entrepreneurs, who will need to know what it takes to catch an investor’s eye.

And while it hasn’t happened yet, if a student venture fund happens to back the next Google and fills its university’s coffers, so much the better.

"I went around to different VC firms in the (Salt Lake) valley and said I’d sweep their floors for them if they wanted. Then I saw this opportunity," said Mark Campbell, a University of Utah student involved with the University Venture Fund there. "It just kills, what the classroom has to offer."

By JUSTIN POPE, AP Education Writer

Full Story: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=718&e=10&u=/ap/20050111/ap_on_re_us/students_venture_capital

***************

U. students invest in real startups – with real investor money

Tribune Staff and Wire Services

At some business schools, students get their feet wet in the world of finance by enrolling in classes that let them manage venture capital funds and invest real money. Here’s an example of how an academically based venture capital fund works:

Venture capital is agony and ecstasy, bust and boom, the stress of gambling and the thrill of a front-row view on the latest technologies. And when real money is involved, it’s also one of the hottest classes on business school campuses.

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_2523158