Garber Venture Capital Fund
The Garber Fund is one of the nation’s largest and most active student-centric venture fund. As part of its mission, the center oversees the Garber Venture Capital Fund. Established in 1999 with a generous endowment from Dr. John Garber and his wife Bette, this venture fund brings to reality the process of venture capital investing in start-up companies.
Smeal graduate students have the opportunity to engage in the venture capital process by enrolling in the 3-credit on-line course Entrepreneurial Finance course MGMT 870. Entrepreneurs from several prospective companies pitch their business ideas to the class. From these prospects, students select the companies that are of greatest interest for investment consideration, and form teams to conduct due diligence of those companies during the 7-week course. At the end of the course, the student teams present their findings and investment recommendations to their peers and vote on which of the companies, if any, warrant an investment of up to $100,000. The decision process includes determining an investment vehicle which is most appropriate (debt or equity), the amount of the investment, and other appropriate criteria.