University Growth Fund

What University Growth Fund does

University Growth Fund (UGF) is a private, student-run venture capital fund founded in 2015 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, with additional offices in San Diego, California, and Atlanta, Georgia. The fund invests growth-stage capital, typically at Series A through pre-IPO stages, into companies across Consumer Products, Consumer Tech, Semiconductors, and Enterprise Software, while also participating opportunistically in adjacent verticals such as AI-enabled healthcare (Nest Health) and geothermal energy (Zanskar). The organization publicly lists a portfolio of roughly 20-30 named companies that includes OpenAI, Airbnb, Spotify, Lyft, Databricks, Pinterest, Snap, Toast, Turo, Fastly, Ethos, Klarna, Poshmark, and Postmates, and describes itself as a "full-fledged investment firm with millions of dollars" in deployed capital.

UGF operates two programs: a semester-long Investment Training Program in which students progress through Intern, Analyst, Associate, and Senior Associate roles while sourcing deals, conducting due diligence, writing investment memos, building pitch decks, modeling financials, and voting on real investment decisions; and an annual VC Case Competition (VCCC) held across its three cities, a 6-week structured competition with deal sourcing and due diligence workshops, regional semifinals, and national finals awarding $2,500 / $1,500 / $1,000 in prize money. Both programs are free to participating students, and the fund is affiliated with the University of Utah Growth Capital Partners Foundation, which manages the university's $1.9 billion endowment.

From a business model and technology standpoint, UGF is fundamentally a capital allocator and educational program rather than a technology product company. Its revenue model is venture capital investment returns through equity appreciation in portfolio companies, and it has no disclosed management fee or carry structure, no proprietary technology platform, and no disclosed AUM. The technology footprint is limited to a public website (ugrowthfund.com), the Hire Trakstar application portal for student recruiting, a YouTube channel (VCPete), and a podcast (VC Podcast on Spotify), with no APIs, integrations, or AI/ML capabilities disclosed.

Name

University Growth Fund

Legal name

University Growth Fund

Website

https://ugrowthfund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

University Growth Fund is a private, student-run venture capital fund founded in 2015, operating from Salt Lake City, San Diego, and Atlanta to invest growth-stage capital alongside other investors and to train undergraduate and graduate students in live deal diligence and investment decision-making.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Growth Equity Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Education / EdTech Growth Equity (FSANACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB), Education & Workforce Development Impact Funds (FSANAJAJ)

Keywords

• Student-run venture capital
• Growth equity investing
• Venture capital training
• Multi-sector growth investing
• University-affiliated fund

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Investment Returns: UGF operates as a student-run venture capital fund making real investments in portfolio companies. The fund generates returns through equity appreciation in portfolio companies. As a fund affiliated with the University of Utah's endowment ecosystem (via University of Utah Growth Capital Partners Foundation), it reinvests capital gains and manages a portfolio of growth-stage investments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

University Growth Fund is a student-run venture capital fund that operates a semester-long Investment Training Program and an annual Venture Capital Case Competition. Students serve as the primary operators, sourcing deals, performing due diligence, writing investment memos, building pitch decks, modeling financials, and voting on actual capital deployment in growth-stage companies (Series A through pre-IPO) across Consumer Products, Consumer Tech, Semiconductors, and Enterprise Software. The fund co-invests alongside other smart-money investors and has deployed millions of dollars across approximately 20–30 portfolio companies including OpenAI, Airbnb, Spotify, Toast, Lyft, and Databricks.

Product overview

University Growth Fund is a student-run venture capital fund that operates as a multi-sector growth-focused investment firm. The organization consists of two main offerings: the core Investment Training Program where students analyze real deals and vote on investments in companies across sectors (Consumer Products, Consumer Tech, Semiconductors, Enterprise Software), and the Venture Capital Case Competition (VCCC) which is an annual educational competition held in Utah, San Diego, and Atlanta with regional semifinals and national finals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Training Program A semester-long, free internship program for full-time undergraduate and graduate students located near Salt Lake City, San Diego, or Atlanta. Participants learn venture capital fundamentals, conduct real due diligence, write investment memos, build pitch decks, model financials, and vote on actual investment decisions in growth-stage companies across Consumer Products, Consumer Tech, Semiconductors, and Enterprise Software. Roles progress from Intern to Analyst to Associate to Senior Associate, with mentorship, weekly trainings, and 1-on-1 mentorship from senior staff.
• Venture Capital Case Competition (VCCC) An annual six-week educational competition run across three U.S. cities (Salt Lake City, San Diego, and Atlanta) in which student teams learn deal sourcing, due diligence, and investment pitching. Includes four educational workshops, a top-3 companies submission, investment memo, and final pitch deck; regional semifinals advance top teams to national finals judged by a panel. Open to any full-time undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at any higher education institution.

Quantifiable outcome

• UGF alumni have been placed at top firms including Bain & Company, Partners Group, NewView Capital, BlackRock, Cascadia Capital, and others.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Utah / University of Utah Growth Capital Partners FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2025UGF is connected to the University of Utah through the University of Utah Growth Capital Partners Foundation, the independent foundation managing the university's $1.9 billion endowment. The foundation formed a private for-profit entity with Otro Capital to fund and generate additional revenue for the university's athletics department, with UGF's involvement indicating an affiliated investment relationship within the broader university endowment ecosystem.
• Top-tier Consulting and Finance Firms (Talent Pipeline)minorOthersUGF alumni have been placed at major consulting and finance firms including Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, Partners Group, NewView Capital, BlackRock, Cascadia Capital, PWP, Bank of America, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Evercore, JPMorgan, Kirkland & Ellis, Lazard, and Lockheed Martin. These represent career pipeline outcomes rather than formal commercial partnerships.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Long Journey Ventures: Early-stage fund backing founders outside traditional networks; comparable as a smaller, thesis-driven US fund investing in growth and pre-seed rounds with lean operations.
• Notation Capital: Early-stage NYC-based venture fund investing across consumer and enterprise; comparable in fund size, multi-sector growth-equity focus, and US-centric investing.
• Dorm Room Fund (by Contrary): Student-run venture fund originally backed by First Round Capital that invests in student-led startups; the closest direct analog to UGF's student-operated VC model with a strong university talent pipeline.
• Rough Draft Ventures: General Catalyst's student-venture program investing early checks in college-founder startups; comparable in student-driven sourcing and university recruitment approach to UGF.
• Contrary Capital: Student-led venture firm with a network of university ambassadors and analysts deploying capital into early-stage companies; matches UGF's emphasis on student operators making real investment decisions.
• 1517 Fund: Thiel-affiliated fund investing in young founders, often skipping or recently leaving college; shares UGF's focus on next-generation talent as a deal-sourcing and investing thesis.

Emerging players

• Socium Ventures: Impact-focused VC and documented co-investor with UGF on Nest Health's Series A; comparable as a mission-driven emerging manager doing growth-stage rounds.

Broad incumbents

• Lerer Hippeau: Established early-stage venture firm in NYC investing across consumer and enterprise; comparable as a multi-sector growth-equity investor but with a far larger AUM and broader portfolio.

Others

• University of Utah Growth Capital Partners Foundation: The university-affiliated foundation linked to UGF that manages portions of the University of Utah's endowment; comparable as the institutional capital and ecosystem anchor adjacent to UGF's investment operations.
• Hire Trakstar: Recruiting and applicant-tracking platform that powers UGF's student application portal; comparable as the enabling technology infrastructure underlying UGF's talent acquisition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xinstagram.com/ugrowthfund
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCAHrQUxcm_Oa1t3emwttpAQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/university-growth-fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments19 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about University Growth Fund