Oct 21, 2026 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Join us as we officially launch Fall VC Families and reveal this quarter’s families! VC Families is an EVC initiative that pairs 1Ys actively recruiting for VC roles with 2Y mentors who have been through the process. Each family has one 2Y mentor and up to four 1Y mentees. We're announcing families in the middle of Pitch Night so come support your founder community and hear who you've been paired with! At the mixer, you’ll: Find out who’s in your family and meet your mentor and fellow mentees Set goals and meeting plans for the fall Connect with the wider VC community at Booth Over the fall, families will meet monthly to dig into Booth and industry opportunities, build knowledge of the VC landscape, shape your background into a compelling VC story, and practice investment discussions and interviews. Our goal is to create a support system that helps our community navigate ambiguity and stay motivated. Come meet your family!
(Chicago Booth School of Business users only)
Oct 21, 2026 6:00pm - 8:30pm
🚀 **EVC PITCH NIGHT: Random Ideas. Real Pitches. Big Money.** Think you have what it takes to pitch a startup and convince investors to back you? Join EVC for a fast-paced startup pitching competition! Participants will be assigned **random startup ideas** and have **5–8 minutes** to convince the room their business is worth investing in. 💰 **Everyone is a VC!** Each attendee gets $10 million in virtual capital to invest across competing startups, in $1 million increments. 🏆 **Two ways to win $100:** * **People's Choice:** Attract the most virtual investment from fellow participants. * **Judges' Choice:** Impress our five judges on data, market opportunity, team, business model, and exit potential. 📅 **October 21 | 6–8 PM** 🎤 **Want to pitch?** Sign up at least 30 minutes before the event. No startup experience required! **Free food provided!**
Oct 22, 2026 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Join the Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club for a lunch conversation with Dave Tarsa, Senior Associate at Marlinspike, a veteran-led venture capital firm based in the Washington, DC area. Dave is a Booth MBA alum and a West Point graduate. He spent ten years in the U.S. Army with the 75th Ranger Regiment. At Marlinspike, he works on due diligence, valuation underwriting, deal flow and portfolio operations. Founded in 2020, Marlinspike invests in dual-use technologies: companies that solve hard national security problems while also serving large commercial markets. The firm recently closed an oversubscribed $127 million Fund II to back early-stage companies in national security and next-generation industrials. Its portfolio includes: Anduril: autonomous defense systems Volund Manufacturing: low-cost turbojet engines for drones and attritable defense platforms Armada: edge computing for remote and contested environments Chariot Defense: battlefield energy and power systems used by the U.S. Army Topics we'll cover: Why defense tech and dual-use investing are growing so fast How a specialist fund sources and evaluates national security deals How startups get through government procurement and reach commercial scale Career paths from the military into venture capital and defense tech This session is a good fit for students interested in venture capital, deep tech, government innovation, or building a company that sells to both the public and private sectors. Lunch will be provided.
(Chicago Booth School of Business users only)
Oct 28, 2026 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Cold outreach is one of the hardest parts of breaking into VC, and everyone has picked up lessons along the way. Join fellow EVC members to share cold networking best practices, from finding the right people to contact to writing emails that get replies and following up. Bring your wins, your misses, and your questions. All EVC members are invited!
(Chicago Booth School of Business users only)
Events
All Chicago Booth students are encouraged to sync their calendars with the EVC group so you won't miss any events. Events may be scheduled on short notice and an integrated calendar is the best way to stay involved. The EVC Events Calendar is compatible with Google Calendar, iCal, Outlook, and Tungle.
SeedCon
SeedCon, co-hosted with the The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is a conference designed to bring together successful entrepreneurs and seasoned venture capitalists to share ideas and advice, foster creativity, and ignite the entrepreneurial spirit within.
SeedCon took place on Friday, January 24, 2020 at 1871 in Chicago. Scott Case, founder of Priceline, was the keynote speaker.
Although the format of SeedCon may change from year to year, in the past, we have hosted discussion panels, keynotes, and fireside chats on topics such as lean startup methodology, the merits of incubator and accelerator programs, how to find technical talent, and much more.
Venture Capital Investment Competition
The Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) is a student-run event during the winter quarter, coordinated by the EVC Group and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
The VCIC is intended to give students the experience of thinking and acting as venture capitalists and to identify top students to represent Chicago Booth at the regional and national intercollegiate MBA competitions. Serving as VCs during the competition, students interact with real, local startups and have the opportunity to be evaluated by experienced Partners, Managing Directors, and Investors from Midwest facing VC firms.
Chicago Booth VCIC teams have won the regional competition 6 times, including most recently in 2020, crediting Chicago Booth's internal competition with being an essential tool for their success.
Treks
Treks, an exclusive benefit of being an EVC member, offer an extraordinary opportunity for bonding with fellow classmates and making invaluable connections in the professional space.
The EVC group typically sponsors several unique treks, though the exact number of treks may change from year to year depending on demand and opportunity:
• VC Treks: SF, LA, NYC
• Startup Treks: SF, LA, NYC
As the number of Chicago Booth students interesting in developing their own start-ups or entering Venture Capital have grown, demand for these treks has far outpaced capacity. Students are now asked to complete a questionnaire application for all treks and are limited to one trek per calendar year. Priority is also awarded to those planning to make entrepreneurship or venture capital their summer internship or career upon graduation.
In the past three years, EVC Treks have visited the top VC Firms and emerging startups including
Lunch and Learns + Bootcamp Series
Life can get pretty busy at Chicago Booth and EVC wants to ensure that you can get your events without having to compromise class time. Hosted throughout the term, EVC will bring accomplished entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from throughout the country. These events are typically led by a moderator and opened up to Q&A for the final 15-20 minutes of the session. It's a great way to spend a lunch, meet like-minded classmates, and connect with seasoned experts.
We also run a weekly startup and VC bootcamp series in the fall to get all members up to speed, which is led by the co-chairs as well as outside professionals.
Recent notable speakers have included:
• Steven Galanis, CEO Cameo
• Sam Yagan, Founder OK Cupid
• Maria Katris, Founder of Built In
• David Rabie, CEO Tovala
• John Ciasulli, CEO Nubundle / Uptake
• Oliver Samwer, Founder Rocket Internet
