The University of San Diego’s Student International Business Council (SIBC) recently hosted an engaging forum featuring student teams from USD, Notre Dame, and Benedictine College, focused on identifying high-growth investment opportunities born from the structural landscape of the INVEST Act. Designed to modernize capital access and stimulate innovation, the act particularly benefits small businesses and emerging growth companies outside traditional coastal tech hubs. The forum brought together alumni, donors, and industry professionals to serve as judges, evaluating how each team isolated scalable companies with strong competitive advantages, robust leadership, and viable paths toward commercial profitability.
Each college offered a distinct perspective by evaluating a specific geographic footprint defined by the U.S. Census map. The USD team analyzed the Pacific and Mountain divisions, strictly excluding highly saturated hubs like California and Washington to uncover hidden gems in underfunded regions. Their analysis evaluated key market size metrics—including Total Addressable Market (TAM), Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) frameworks—to identify five high-potential startups. By evaluating national and state-specific regulatory landscapes alongside clear risk mitigation strategies, the students mapped out actionable corporate investment profiles perfectly aligned with the core mandate of the INVEST Act.
