FINAN 5881 - Managing the Venture Process

This capstone course provides students with hands-on experience in managing the process of evaluating and funding start-up companies with venture capital funds both for the University Venture Fund and as Program Related Investments for private foundations. Working in teams, the class will be an applied experience in understanding the rigor of due diligence for private companies and the time demands and deadlines for the same. The class is structured as a year-long venture capital management project supported by a series of seminars taught by regular faculty, venture capitalists, and CEOs of portfolio companies. Topics will include identification of new ventures, due diligence procedures, firm valuation methods, evaluating management teams, financing alternatives for different stage ventures, and other relevant topics to be determined by the instructional team.