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St.Petersburg School of Economics and Management

An investor and an attractive business idea: effective communications in the world of investments

In June, Associate Professor Markovskaya E.I. and Phd  student, guest tutor Meriam Sheriff from the Department of Finance conducted business games "Investor and an Attractive Business Idea" as part of the English-language course "Corporate Finance" (3rd year, BP "Economics"). In the format of model negotiations and pitch session, students acted as initiators of projects, and investors and lenders evaluated business ideas in accordance with the methods they developed for assessing an investment project and the financial condition of a potential Borrower.

Markovskaya Elizaveta Igorevna, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Finance, National Research University Higher School of Economics:

 “We have set a very serious task for the teams of investors and lenders - to develop and present a methodology by which they assessed both the financial condition of potential borrowers and their investment projects. Without exception, all investors and lenders took the task we set very seriously and presented detailed methods and approaches. And I and my colleagues from business structures are conducting a business game for the first time in the 3rd year. We were pleasantly surprised by the high level of preparation of project teams, as well as teams of investors and lenders for the business game. My colleagues unanimously gave the highest ratings to the teams of investors and lenders, as they worked very deeply on their role, developing detailed methodologies for assessing both the financial condition of a potential Borrower and an investment project. I would like to wish all teams to learn from each number to see the meaning. At the June master class on business assessment in Skolkovo, A. Damodaran described this skill as follows: if business development is presented in the form of a narrative, then each part of the narrative must correspond to certain numbers, and vice versa, each number explains a certain stage of business development.

Udalov Andrey Alexandrovich, PhD, MBA, director of the Agat Investment Fund:

“I was pleased with the performance of the teams in terms of relying on existing practical experience or internships in real companies. The participants in the game well assigned roles in the teams and clearly answered the questions posed. I emphasize that the participants should be very well versed in the data that they included in their presentations Accordingly, the less text, tables and numbers on one slide, the easier it is to do it. Separately, we were pleasantly surprised by the teams of "investment banks" who prepared detailed systems for assessing borrowers. What is important - their own development and classification. In general, all teams were seriously preparing for the defense. projects in front of "investors", Funds and Banks. I hope that the skills of such speeches and defense will be useful to the guys in real defense of business projects. "

Voronova Olga Nikolaevna, Head of Marketing Department of Lengiprotrans JSC:

“This time the third year students had the game and I was pleasantly surprised by the level of English and the ability to express my thoughts. The presentations were clear and concise, nothing superfluous. For a real life pitching situation, it was worthwhile to prioritize the presentation of information differently and to strengthen accents in the places where the investor must make a decision. But it is precisely for this that such games are held, in order to understand and take this into account in the future.

The work of the teams is of particular admiration. Each of the participants showed knowledge of their area of ​​work and was able to answer questions. And even in a difficult online mode, a new program for all, all problems and tasks were solved smoothly and promptly.

In addition to entrepreneurs, credit institutions also participated in the game. Their presentations were shorter, but the role's task is no less important - to decide whether to invest in a particular project, to assess the risks and reality of financial calculations. All the guys are great, and each one approached his role responsibly. I hope everyone enjoyed the game as much as I did! After all, by and large, business is nothing more than a game) " 

Meriam Cherif, PhD student, guest tutor ( seminars on Corporate Finance ), manager in «Tools for Brokers» Corp. 

«I have got the pleasure and honor to participate in the business games which was organized by professor Elizaveta Markovskaya . The business games was a good evaluation method, the dynamic procedure of the tasks and presentation make it more interesting from the sides of the students . In addition, treating real cases of real companies allow the students to be more prepared in the future of their career life . The students showed good skills whether in pitching, presenting or in financial questions and debates ». 

Tinkoff Bank (group 184, Kucherenko Maria, Daryeva Anna, Yaremenko Ekaterina, Orekhovskaya Milena, Gordienko Elizaveta, Ioannou Polina):

«Thanks a lot for a such interesting game that would give us important practical knowledge in presentations of our projects and their estimations for investors!

- interesting and rewarding experience

- communication with a person from a business environment

- ability for startups to get feedback

- motivation to act!»

SBK Invest Group (group 184, Sergachev Boris, Loktionov Kirill, Lobanova Ksenia, Khlebnikova Sofia, Kinyagulova Karina):

This was an interesting experience. It was nice to get a feedback from an expert, to learn some new facts about presenting the project to make it better. We think this game helps students to understand the basics of interaction between companies and creditors. Thank you!

*Material was made by As. Professor Markovskaya E.I.