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Venture Fund Investing: Aligning Founders and Institutional Investors
Nadia Koritareva
Nadia Koritareva
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Venture Fund Investing: Aligning Founders and Institutional Investors

Develop an understanding of the fundamental principles that drive Venture Capital fund investing and get insights into ways to bridge the incentives gap between entrepreneurs and institutional investors.

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Apply now
Mondays
 at
1:00
P.M.
 ET /
10:00
A.M.
PT
8 weeks, 2-3 hours per week
Intermediate
No experience required
No experience required
Some experience required
Degree and experience required

Description

Innovation is powered by funding yet the relationship between startup founders and investors is often marked by misaligned incentives and conflicting interests. Receiving funding from reputable Venture Capital (VC) firms is a strong positive signal of success for any entrepreneur, yet many founders could benefit from gaining a deeper understanding of what institutional VC investors look for when identifying their next big investment opportunity.  

In this Build Project, you will put yourself in the position of a private institutional investor and analyze the performance factors of a successful venture portfolio, practice negotiating a term sheet, and develop an investment memo pitching a compelling startup investment opportunity to an Investment Committee. With the guidance of a professional with private institutional investing experience, you will calculate a venture portfolio’s performance metrics and practice identifying and pitching startup investments. You will master the fundamentals of key startup valuation metrics and portfolio management basics such as calculating pre-/post-money valuations, portfolio performance metrics, and others. This project will stimulate the operations of a venture capital firm and provide holistic insights into the skills both venture investors and founders need for success in the competitive venture ecosystem.

Session timeline

  • Applications open
    September 5, 2024
  • Application deadline
    September 19, 2024
  • Project start date
    Week of July 8, 2024
    Week of
    October 7, 2024
  • Project end date
    Week of

What you will learn

  • Identify the most common investment instruments that private venture funds invest in and master basic valuation principles.  
  • Identify the different incentives that motivate founders and venture fund investors and understand how to bridge the gap between them.
  • Analyze a startup term sheet to assess the value proposition of an investment proposal.
  • Develop and present a compelling investment memorandum, proposing a startup investment opportunity to an institutional investor audience.
  • Use Microsoft Excel to evaluate a venture portfolio’s key performance metrics.

Project workshops

1
Introduction to Venture Capital Firms and Funds
2
Venture Capital Portfolio Construction and Management
3
Key Portfolio Performance Metrics
4
Investment Instruments and Startup Valuation Principles
5
Term Sheet Fundamentals
6
Negotiations Between Founders and VCs
7
Startup Investment Memorandum
8
Investment Pitch Presentations

Prerequisites

  • Fundamental understanding of private/venture markets and business concepts (e.g., coursework focused on the basic understanding of key business concepts, economic, and financial inputs, key investment metrics, etc.).
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.
  • Strong interest in venture capital and/or entrepreneurship and desire to build a holistic understanding of the various angles of the venture industry.

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About the expert

Nadia is a NYC-based Finance Fellow at Open Avenues leading projects in the area of Venture Capital Investing.

Nadia has 2 years of investing experience in finance (Endowments & Foundations) and currently works in fintech on AngelList's GP Relations team, working with private fund investors in the Venture Capital space.

Fun fact: Nadia was in a mineral water commercial when she was 8, which was the peak of her career as a creative.

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