ISB students invited to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ OMX

Team Visolis the winning team of the Global Venture Labs Investment Competition (GVLIC) had their moment of glory when they were invited to ring the closing bell at the NASDAQ OMX Stock Exchange in New York last week. The competition was organized by the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas, Austin.

The team comprising four students from the ISB Class of 2013 and a student of MIT Sloan School of Management are developing the next generation of biocatalysts that can convert renewable feedstocks into chemicals and fuels at a price point competitive with petroleum-based processes. The team from ISB will offer a way to reduce the environmental impact with sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products for a wide range of industries.

Over the years, ISB students have won several national and international business plan competitions. The school’s strong focus on entrepreneurship has shown delightful results with around 350 alumni of ISB running their own ventures successfully.

The members of the winning team, Akshat Pipersenia, Amrita Dutta, Aditya Jain, Ashish Kohli of the ISB, and Deepak Dugar of MIT Sloan School of Management were accompanied by Rob Warren Director of GVLIC along with several members from McCombs and alumni from the ISB. They received a prize package worth $75,000 including: $25,000 in cash, one year of office space and $25,000 in consulting services.

GVLIC is an annual, graduate student-centric event designed for new ventures from around the world to obtain funding and feedback from investors and successful entrepreneurs. The competition simulates the real world process of raising venture capital. This year, the competition witnessed participation from 40 teams from 11 countries across the world.