Simon School
245 Gleason Hall, Rochester, NY, 14627, United States
Overview
Overview The Simon School Venture Fund (SSVF) is an evergreen fund managed by 2nd-year MBA students at the Simon Business School, University of Rochester. The Fund, initially capitalized by alumni donations, is guided by a Board of Directors consisting of successful entrepreneurs, VC investors, and accomplished professionals in other fields. Mission The SSVF provides a unique experiential educational opportunity for graduate level business students interested in entrepreneurship and venture investing. Student Analysts, Sr. Analysts, and Managers interact directly with entrepreneurs seeking investment, perform due diligence analysis, pitch and defend potential deals to Board members, participate in investment decisions, and are responsible for ongoing portfolio monitoring and management. Direct participation in Fund activities, operations, and management allows students to utilize and build on the skills learned in business school to produce cohesive, comprehensive, and well-reasoned analyses of potential deals - with the end goal of making sound investment decisions. Why the Simon School Venture Fund? The SSVF leverages the capabilities of other Simon Business School student organizations and the University of Rochester's vast resources and alumni network to assist with portfolio company development. In addition to funding, SSVF’s portfolio companies can benefit from an exchange of business skills/services for real-world project experience. Whenever possible, we try to utilize available business student teams to work on ad-hoc projects that would benefit the company but may be too costly to hire out, or too time consuming for busy management teams that are already spread thin. In addition and when appropriate, we may also make valuable warm introductions to others in our extensive network to assist with other aspects of business development.
- Total investments
- 1
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 1
Investment portfolio
- Health Care Originals
Participated · Equity · Feb 2025
Health Care Originals builds wearable devices that leverage acoustic technology and AI-driven edge computing to continuously monitor deep organ sounds and detect early signs of respiratory distress, often months before attacks. The company translates proprietary acoustic data into actionable, personalized insights for people with asthma and COPD. Among users, 100% report better sleep, 90% report reduced wheezing, and two-thirds experience zero asthma attacks within six months. HCO reports $5.5M in contracted annual recurring revenue (CARR), a robust IP portfolio of 14 granted and 10 pending patents, and says it is near-term profitable. Co-founder and CEO Sharon Samjitsingh, an asthma survivor, says the company intends to scale and seize a large market opportunity. HCO also offers public participation in its financing via Wefunder and positions its platform to improve patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs.
Team
Dan Lazarek
Founder & Chairman of the Board
LinkedIn