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David J. Brophy was a University of Michigan professor of finance in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He was also director of the university's Center for Venture Capital and Private Equity Finance as well as founder and director of the Growth Capital Symposium, later known as the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium and the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (both MGCS). This collection documents the various Growth Capital symposia and primarily consists of brochures, conference information books, correspondence, notes, pamphlets, and promotional materials. Also included are audiovisual materials that document the Growth Capital symposia, lectures, National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (NASBIC) events, and the University of Texas at Austin's Moot Corp Competition.

The David Brophy papers primarily document the various Growth Capital symposia (GCS) and consist largely of information books distributed to conference attendees, brochures, correspondence, notes, pamphlets, and promotional materials. The material is dated from 1984-2019, although materials related to the 1996, 2000, and 2001 conferences are absent.

Information books make up the bulk of this collection. Each book typically contains an agenda, a welcome letter, sponsor information and advertisements, speaker biographies, and profiles of companies—including university spinouts—seeking financial sponsorship from investors. The kind of information presented in each profile is varied, but often includes a description of the speaker and company, a brief description of key personnel, products or services, relevant market as well as competition information, financial highlights, and capital needs. Companies that are seeking investment include those relating to automotive technology; clean technology; information technology (IT), including healthcare IT; medical devices; and software. The collection also includes a small amount of material—primarily information books—related to the Florida Growth Capital Symposium, Iowa Growth Capital Symposium, and European Growth Capital Symposium. Unless otherwise explicitly noted in the finding aid, however, the bulk of the materials in this collection relate to the Growth Capital Symposium (GCS)—later known as the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium and the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (both MGCS)—that was held in Michigan.

The collection also includes audiovisual materials that document the Growth Capital symposia, lectures delivered by speakers such as Dr. Brophy and former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (NASBIC) events, and the University of Texas at Austin's Moot Corp Competition (now known as the Venture Labs Investment Competition).