Pitching a Venture Anonymous

He had a complete poker face when I asked for $250,000. This man was on the panel of investors to whom I presented my entrepreneurial venture as part of a scenario analysis project during The Fullbridge Program, a rigorous business boot camp for college students wishing to solidify their business skills. This was not just another summer class where I would sit in a room for an entire day, staring at a whiteboard; I actually had the chance to take an active role in business as part of my learning.

After absorbing various concepts in accounting, finance, business valuation/analysis, and cash flows, we applied our knowledge by examining Harvard Business School case studies, many of which shed light on the seemingly dull beginnings and rises of many successful companies today. Then, at the end of the course, my team of three created and developed a business model for a new entrepreneurial venture in the clean-tech industry. Our team went into Shanghai’s central business district, conducted market research and interviews, and assessed consumer preferences on clean-tech. At the end of this simulation, we successfully developed a minimum viable product, along with revenue projections and risk analyses. Then, we pitched everything to a...