Big Red Ventures showcases portfolio at annual meeting

[ad_1]

Big Red Ventures (BRV), Cornell’s early-stage venture capital fund, unveiled the student-managed portfolio and highlighted 2022-23 investments during its annual meeting April 20 at Cornell Tech.

BRV, a fund managed by MBAs and graduate students at Cornell University, typically invests up to $25,000 in US-based high-growth companies across all sectors. Initially funded by donations to Cornell University, BRV is an evergreen fund that launders all proceeds for reinvestment. BRV also serves as a gateway to Cornell technologies through the Investor Network, which provides investment partners with unique access to new innovations.

The annual meeting opened with a welcome from Greg Morrisett, Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean and Vice President of Cornell Tech. Morrisett shared the unique opportunity BRV offers MBA students on its Ithaca and New York City campuses.

BRV and Cornell Tech have almost everything in common, Morrisett said. Here at Cornell Tech, we focus on entrepreneurship and innovation. We are excited to bring the annual meeting to our New York City campus, as the venture fund is one of the few opportunities for students on the Ithaca and New York campuses to collaborate and work together.

MBA student and BRV fund manager James Carnes shared updates on the fund, investor network and fund manager team, while also summarizing the 2022-23 under review. Since 2001, more than 800 Cornell MBA students have participated in BRV, successfully overseeing 11 exits and 13 portfolio companies. The 2022-23 team of fund managers and associates reviewed over 200 companies, performed due diligence on 40 and invested in two SCOUT Space and AtDev.

SCOUT Space COO Vladimir Baranov was in attendance to share the company’s innovation, the world’s first in-space observing system to safeguard orbital infrastructure, and their total addressable market of nearly $30 billion.

We want to thank BRV for the incredible opportunity to work with SCOUT. We appreciate the breadth of due diligence and the speed of follow-up throughout the process. It was also a great pleasure to present at the annual event, where we received a lot of public support and additional funding opportunities, said Baranov.

Following the SCOUT Space presentation, MBA student and BRV Fund Manager Arvind Venkataraman welcomed Aish Ravindran and Alberto Escarlate to the stage for a chat focused on the current state of investing. Ravindran, the co-founder of MyLUA Health, reflected on her company’s journey to succeed and build in a bear market, while Escarlate shared her advice for entrepreneurs entering the financing phase through her experience as a co- Startup Studio Manager at Cornell Tech.

The bear market presents an opportunity to build your business sustainably, Ravindran said. We have mechanisms that we have in place that help us have very clear goals. Our realistic and achievable projections make our business model and go-to-market strategy more relevant than ever.

Following the formal event, current and future fund managers connected with the audience during a networking session. This has enabled fund managers to gain insight into the BRV, screening process and investment decisions with participants.

[ad_2]