Stanford-affiliated emails only
VC3 is on Saturday, April 13th, from 2 - 6 PM PST, with an optional dinner from 6 - 7 PM PST.
Ballroom in Old Union Clubhouse**.** The address is 524 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA 94305.
Each round will be 15 minutes. Each startup is recommended to pitch for 7 minutes. The remaining time will be left for judges to ask questions and give feedback. After each round, startups will rotate tables to face another judge.
VC3 is a rapid-fire, educational pitch competition between various Stanford startups and prominent VCs.
The ratio of startups to VCs is 1:1, and every 15-20 minutes, startups rotate between judges to deliver their pitch and get feedback.
As an educational program, VC3 is designed so that founders can get honest feedback from investors in a low-stakes, more personal environment.
‼️ Conversations regarding funding can happen after, but not during the event. This is to reduce the stakes, and truly provide an educational experience for startups. Startups should, however, feel free to connect with any contacts they met at the event afterwards. ‼️
Previous VC3 judges include investors from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Y Combinator, General Catalyst Partners, and more.
Regardless of industry, stage, or funding level, any startup can apply to VC3 as long as one of the founders is currently affiliated with Stanford. Any student at any of Stanford’s schools, both grad and undergrad, qualifies. Researchers and professors also qualify. If you are unsure if your team meets the qualifications, please email [email protected].
Following the initial form application, a select number of startups will move onto interviews with the VC3 team. Decisions regarding accepted applicants will be made after those interviews have been conducted. NOTE: Applications and interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis, so apply earlier rather than later!
Startups who are accepted to VC3 will get to pitch and get feedback from top VCs in the valley in a low-stakes, personal environment. In addition to a spot at the pitch competition, startups accepted to VC3 will also have access to various angel VC mentors, pitch-deck resources & practice pitch opportunities, and access to the broader ASES mentorship network!
Everyone remembers events where 51849393 different people are trying to chat with the same person- that’s awkward and annoying and the opposite of VC3. We believe that each startup should get quality, individual time and feedback from the judges. VC3 is purposely limited in size so that the ratio of startups to VCs is 1:1, and the number of startups accepted typically hovers around 15.
After speaking to founders and startups, we at ASES also realized that one problem many startups face is a lack of feedback from investors. Startups we talked to would go into funding meetings, give their presentations, leave, and get a rejection, without ever knowing why. As an educational event, VC3 prohibits asking for funding at the event. This is so that founders and investors can freely speak and give feedback without the financial pressure of needing to ace a funding round on the founder’s side or needing to be intensely diligent or formal on the investor side.