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Oxford Survey Examines Student-Run VC Funds
More universities have begun to establish investment vehicles using endowments and donations, and the University of Oxford Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation released a report recently on some of the university student-led venture capital funds. The report, based on a survey of 13 VC funds in which students manage, administer, and make investment decisions, aims to provide an overview of the student-led venture investing community - its goals as well as its returns.
Altogether, these funds have invested in 36 companies and have had 5 profitable exits. The median initial fund size was $1.3 million, and today the median worth is $2.4 million. While one fund was associated with a college class and had over 200 students participating, the average had about 20 students involved.
Conclusions from the study include:
Universities participating include the Penn State's Garber Venture Fund, Miami University's Student Venture Fund, New York Universitiy's Student Social Venture Fund, and The University of Akron's Hop-On Student Venture Fund.
According to the authors of the survey, they hope that the report helps increase the quality and performance of the student-run funds and that in response, the broader VC community will offer advice to universities which have these funds.
The complete survey is available here.
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