Innovative entrepreneurship course at UBC Sauder offers real-world investment experience to students
The UBC Sauder School of Business’ Creative Destruction Lab – Vancouver (CDL) not only supports highly scalable ventures, but it also gives students access to valuable, hands-on experience on how real-world investment decisions are made with local venture capitalists. The two most recent UBC cohorts both resulted in substantial investments in sustainable climate ventures, Lite-1 and Vesta, demonstrating the real-world impact and experiential learning opportunities that this course provides.
As the number one business school in Canada (Maclean’s University Rankings, 2024), UBC Sauder fosters a culture of innovation, encouraging students to think creatively about how they can create positive change for the future of business. UBC Sauder’s Applied Methods in Technology Start-ups at Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) course exemplifies this innovative culture, as it gives students the opportunity to see first-hand what it takes to bring an innovative business idea to life as an entrepreneur. Available to UBC Graduate students and UBC 4th Year Undergraduate students, students in the course work closely with the UBC Sauder CDL - Vancouver team to support emerging technology and science focused start-ups.
At the forefront of experiential learning
Guided by local venture capitalists, students gain visibility into how investment decisions are made. Darrell Kopke, Adjunct Professor, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group and Executive Director, CDL – Vancouver, shares insight into how experiential learning is the foundation of the course. “It’s rare to have a for credit-based opportunity to participate in the venture capital investment process in such a meaningfully hands-on manner,” says Kopke. “There are real stakes because we are investing real money. It is such an amazing learning opportunity whether the students aspire to be start-up founders, venture capitalists, consultants, or business leaders.”
The course begins by training students on venture selection, market entry strategy and investment memos. During the next phase of the course, they select a company from the CDL-Vancouver program and run a due diligence process before presenting their recommendation to an investment committee of local venture capitalists.
Real-world learning opportunities
In addition to learning the practical skills needed to start their careers, students leave the course feeling inspired. “This course offers an opportunity to change the world by working with founders who have created a product designed to offer a better future for everyone,” says Matthew Tong, UBC MBA student. “On top of that, I learned first-hand that blending cutting edge technology with a solid growth strategy can propel a start up to the next level – which I’m keen to apply to my own entrepreneurial aspirations.”
Praveen Varshney of Varshney Capital Corp., a long-time supporter of entrepreneurial pursuits at UBC Sauder and benefactor of this program, believes in the impact this has on the future of business education, leaders and entrepreneurs. “As someone whose entire career has revolved around start-ups – whether as a founder, investor, or venture capitalist – I know first-hand how invaluable this course is,” says Varshney. “This real-world learning opportunity offers exceptional venture capital and start-up experience, making the students sought after for internships and jobs after graduation.”
Preparing for the workforce
Recognizing the importance of in-depth knowledge, experiential learning and networking, this course is designed to prepare students for a career in innovation, entrepreneurship, and the venture capital and private equity industry. Yuan Shi, General Partner with The51 Food and Agtech Fund, is an Adjunct Professor at UBC Sauder and works closely with students and deep-tech innovations from all around the world. “UBC Sauder's experiential learning strategy offers a transformational experience for students” says Shi. “Students can apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to real-world business scenarios with real impact and with industry professionals. Experiential learning demands students to be proactive, creative, thoughtful and constructive, while applying their knowledge with judgement – all qualities required to be influential and effective in business.”
Shi believes in the meaningful impact that experiential learning has on our society. “As we continue to nurture and train the next generation of leaders, UBC Sauder's experiential learning initiatives such as the CDL course will have a long-lasting impact not only for the students and educators, but also for the betterment of our community, especially as the world continues to rapidly change.”
Making a meaningful impact
Recent cohorts in the Climate Stream have resulted in a meaningful equity investment into two innovative ventures: Lite-1, a venture offering transformational change by introducing clean colourants created by micro-organisms, and Vesta, a carbon removal venture focused on ocean climate restoration with carbon-removing sand.
The founder of Lite-1, Roya Aghighi, was proud of the students for the work they provided during this portion of her CDL experience. “The students presented Lite-1 as if they were part of our team,” says Aghighi. “They were very dedicated to find accurate market research reports reaffirming market validation for our technology. It’s very promising to see organization like UBC starting to back early-stage start-ups like Lite-1 who offer a great deal of potential for building a cleaner future for all.
The benefits of the investments are two-fold, as students gained valuable insight into the unique needs of a start-up. “Pitching Lite-1 to investors, having a debate and discussion, and seeing that work pay off with an investment was incredibly rewarding,” says Tong. “I learned so much from being immersed in the start-up ecosystem and building connections with founders and ventures, and I completed the course more confident and excited to pursue entrepreneurship myself.”
Made possible by the UBC Sauder community
Praveen Varshney of Varshney Capital Corp. made this program possible with a generous donation matched by UBC Sauder. “This experience would not be possible without Praveen Varshney’s generosity,” says Kopke. “We are grateful that he shares our passion for experiential learning and for his continued support of the initiatives to help scale ambitious tech-based ventures while building the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.”
Long-term investment needs
As a non-profit program, return on investments will go directly to the student fund to continue to offer meaningful experiential learning opportunities through this course. “As UBC Sauder continues to support the next generation of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, the goal is to scale the program to maximize impact and offer the opportunity to students in perpetuity,” says Varshney. “Our hope is that these meaningful outcomes inspire others to contribute to the program as well.”
UBC Sauder’s Creative Destruction Lab – Vancouver offers an unparalleled network of mentors, academic experts and students to help founders transform their enabling technologies into innovative companies. Donations support entrepreneurs in the crucial early stages of bringing their scientific breakthrough, intellectual property or revolutionary business model to market, while giving students real-world experience.