What to Expect
RISE Co-Founder Carl Firch and former COO Lexie Howell originally envisioned creating a new national case competition that would bring the country's top undergraduate real estate programs to Dallas.
The inaugural competition featured eight participating universities, including an SMU team made up of five RISE students: Cole Records, Kelsey Meehan, Ayaan Sheikh, Vivaan Gupta, and Colin Behrens.
The challenging case centered on a complex, distressed office mezzanine debt scenario, requiring teams to build out comprehensive and creative pitches. In the end, the SMU RISE team made it all the way to the finals, going head-to-head against NYU. Ultimately, they placed first and took home the $5,000 grand prize.
Participating Schools
This year's pitches were held at Old Parkland, a restored campus known for its architecture. For students entering real estate, presenting there offered a look at the industry at a high standard.
