What's it like to take your seat at the investors' table and evaluate business plans from more than thirty early-stage and seed businesses?

Four first-year Oregon MBA students--Whitney Alexander, Derek Schloss, Kyle Spradling, and Ryan Strub--got the chance to find out, when they spent their winter and spring terms working alongside the Willamette Angel Conference's 2013 investors' group.

To gain a thorough grounding in angel investing basics, the students attended a series of three training sessions in January.

Fast forward to early March, when the first due diligence meeting kicked off: "From the first half-hour, I was already blown away," recalled Spradling, who ended up leading one of the due diligence teams. "Just being there with the investors and seeing what they were doing--it was incredible," he said.

The Oregon MBA volunteers will be able to see the results of their work on May 9, when five finalists present their plans at this year's conference.

"If you're planning to enter investment competitions and eventually start your own business, gaining this kind of perspective is truly invaluable," said Alexander.