CMU finance students bring home two competition wins

Central Michigan University finance students recently won two competitions. A three-student team took first place at the Venture Capital Case Competition at Wayne State University for the second year in a row. Students from CMU's student-managed investment funds also won the portfolio competition at the Student Managed Investment Fund Conference in Chicago.

Venture capital: Back-to-back wins in Detroit

Wayne State University's Mike Ilitch School of Business in Detroit launched the Venture Capital Case Competition in 2025, bringing together students to test their skills in evaluating investment opportunities. This year's competition featured teams from Wayne State University, Oakland University, Michigan State University, Grand Valley State University and Central Michigan University. CMU has claimed first place in both years of the competition's history. This year's winning team was Caleb Baron, Mark-Allen Gay Jr. and Ryan Karwowski. Gay, a junior double majoring in finance and sales, was also part of the CMU team that won the inaugural competition last year. This time he came back as the only returning competitor.

Three startups, two days to prepare

The competition asks student teams to act as venture capital investors. Each team has to decide which early-stage company it would back and on what terms.

"We were given three different startup companies on the Wednesday before the competition," said Karwowski, a finance senior. "We had all of Wednesday and Thursday to go over the slide decks, financials, cap tables and all other provided information."

On Friday, the teams met all three founders and heard them pitch. Each team then held a one-on-one interview with every founder, run like a real VC meeting. Afterward, teams prepared a deliverable naming the company they would invest in, the terms of the deal and the reasons for their choice. Judges weighted the founder's questioning, the final deliverable, and presentation equally.

Detail and professionalism set CMU apart

Karwowski said the team's preparation showed in the final round.

"It was clear to see we had the most detailed presentation out of all teams," he said. "We prided ourselves on digging into the weeds and finding as much information as we could. Judges also pointed out our professionalism and presentation skills, noting they were much higher than other teams. I think both the professionalism and the attention to detail are skills we all gained here at CMU."

Gay credited both his coursework, and the access CMU students have to faculty. He also pointed to his work with CMU's student-managed investment funds and to Brad Taylor, Magnusson Director and finance faculty member.

Investment funds: A win in Chicago

At SMIFC in Chicago, CMU's investment fund students won the portfolio competition with a poster and presentation on the Oros Fund. CMU's team included Ethan Schweitzer, Vaughn Krepps, Luke West, Nate Green, Blake Jimenez and Alex VanZandt.

CMU students manage three real-money investment funds through the College of Business Administration: the Celani Fund (large-cap stocks), the Seger Fund (small- and mid-cap stocks) and the Bob Oros Investment Fund. Alumnus Bob Oros founded the Oros Fund in 2021 with a $225,000 gift. Students now manage more than $400,000 in it, focused on fixed income and alternative investments. Taylor advises all three funds.

At SMIFC, teams present one of their portfolios on a poster and answer judges' questions about it. This year, they focused on the Oros fund.

"We wanted to make sure our poster flowed well and was easy to follow," said Vaugh Krepps. "We did this by first detailing our economic outlook and investment thesis, then showing how we allocated our funds based on that outlook and finally displaying the results of those allocations."

The two-day conference also brings in speakers from investment firms, banks, insurance, real estate and the Federal Reserve. For Nate Green, who has competed in about seven different finance competitions through the funds over three years, that exposure has paid off. Attending SMIFC last year led to a connection with The Garrett Companies, the event's lead sponsor. That turned into a summer internship in Denver and a full-time offer starting in January.

Green's experience illustrates how participating in the funds can open doors beyond the classroom. For Luke West, who helped design the team's poster, the lesson is to embrace those opportunities, even when the path forward isn't entirely clear.

"Say yes to opportunity, especially when it feels intimidating," West said. "You don't need to have it all figured out beforehand. The learning happens along the way."