This course looks at the process of discovering, assessing and helping to grow new businesses through private funding.

Challenges for Finance Managers:

  • How venture capital is different from other types of private investment
  • Analysing start-up companies in which traditional metrics are not available
  • Understanding the risks and returns of venture capital investments
  • Gaining insight into the negotiation of term sheets, deal structures and investor rights
  • Gaining understanding about how venture capital backed companies are nurtured

About This Course

Riverstone’s Venture Capital course is a practical, easy-to-digest introduction to the venture capital investment process for professionals. Participants explore how venture capital funds are organized and run, how deals are sourced and evaluated, and how term sheets and deal structures are negotiated and structured. The course covers the stages of investment in a venture-backed company from seed funding through to growth-stage and exit and the skills needed to analyse early stage opportunities and appreciate the investment process. The program will include case studies and examples.

  • Acquire knowledge of venture capital and the investment process
  • Develop the skills to assess early stage business opportunities from the perspective of investors
  • Enhance interactions with venture capital investors, entrepreneurs and consultants
  • Assist those working in venture capital or startups or those interested in doing so
  • Gain insight into the venture capital market and how it works
  • Analyse early stage investment opportunities with useful evaluation tools
  • Evaluate term sheets, structures and rights of investors
  • Explore how venture capital firms work with companies through their development
  • Evaluate exit strategies and how venture capital firms make a return

Module – 1

Venture Capital (VC): Introduction

  • Overview of venture capital industry
  • Various industry terminology and meanings
  • Importance of venture capital and its process

 

Module – 2

Venture Capital: Stages of a Business

  • Various stages of startup and types of VCs financing
  • Suitability of VC at different stages of business
  • The right time to engage with VC Mapping of startup stages with different types of VCs

 

Module – 3

The Investment Cycle

  • Phases of the VC investment cycle
  • Understanding the investment process
  • Key points focused at each stage
  • Critical issues with VCs

 

Module – 4

Deal Sourcing and Analysis

  • Strategies in deal sourcing
  • Online deal sourcing vs. traditional deal souring
  • Deal selection process
  • Key factors focused by VCs

 

Module – 5

How to Prepare the Best Pitch Deck

  • How to prepare a compelling pitch deck and presentation for presenting to potential VCs
  • Important points to note for drafting a successful investor pitch deck
  • Things to avoid when preparing an investor pitch deck

 

Module – 6

Venture Capital Modelling (VCM): A Brief Description of Startup Business Plan

  • Venture capital modeling and its lifecycle?
  • Significance of broad head VCM
  • Example of free cash flow in startups

 

Module – 7

Valuation of Startups Business Valuation

  • Different types of startups valuations
  • Difference between traditional and startups valuations
  • How to conduct company valuation and what is its structure
  • How to build capitalization table venture capital

 

Module – 8

Critical terms of VC Term sheet

  • What is a VC term sheet?
  • Assessing the key components and terminologies of a VC sheet
  • Economic jargons, investor rights, and protection terminologies

 

Module – 9

Investment Structures of VC

  • Studying the structure of a venture capital investment fund
  • Role of the management company and the portfolio company
  • Reviewing the role of LPs and GPs in a VC investment

 

Module – 10

How to prepare and conduct Due Diligence

  • Types of due diligence conducted
  • Key points to focus on
  • How to balance between scope and goal, time and costs

 

Module – 11

How to Calculate Returns

  • How to conduct the return analysis
  • Various adjustments in the calculations
  • Key mistakes to avoid

 

Module – 12

How do VCs Value Add and Monitor Investments

  • How do VCs make value addition to their investments?
  • Role of VCs in a company’s fundraising strategies and recruitment
  • Studying KPI reports and monthly company reports
  • Analyzing financial hardships of companies and their solutions

 

Module – 13

Exit from Startups by VCs

  • Assessing the role of startup acquisitions as exit strategies
  • Discussing trade sales, IPOs, and mergers and acquisitions as exit strategies
  • When to exit from startups in a VC investment

 

Module – 14

Equity and Nonequity Choices of Funding

  • Studying the different equity and nonequity funding options
  • Reviewing a company’s existing funding options
  • What are the benefits of choosing the equity funding option

Delivered as an open course at various locations throughout Australia, an in-house course at your site, or an e-learning course. The duration and delivery of the course can be tailored to your time-frame.

  • Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
  • Tuesday, December 8, 2026.