Syracuse startups are invited to Venture Deals 2020 with Brad Feld, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Foundry Group and Jason Mendelson, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Foundry Group. The free seven-week program presented by Kauffman Fellows and Techstars starts September 13 and is now open for enrollment. Sign up here. The unique course demystifies venture capital deals and startup financing to give both first-time and experienced entrepreneurs a definitive guide to secure funding. Taught by renowned venture capitalists Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, authors of Venture Deals, the course reveals the secrets behind how venture financings really work. Feld, a well-known speaker and author of several books in the Startup Revolution series, began financing technology startups in the early 1990s, first as an angel and later as an institutional investor. He was one of the co-founders of Techsters.
In the class forums, you will have exclusive opportunities to ask Brad Feld detailed questions about specific investment strategies. In addition, you can engage Feld and Mendelson and other celebrated investors in live video chats held during the seven-week course. You will make connections and collaborate with an international network of entrepreneurs and classmates, learn strategies that will help you take your pitch or deal to the next level. Whether you’re looking for financing for your venture, or looking to fund an entrepreneur, you’ll get smarter about the process by taking Venture Deals.
This course will enable you to:
- Participate in live chats with the instructors and celebrated VCs Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson
- Network with entrepreneurs and financiers from around the world with whom you will work with on real projects
- Get a firm grasp of how venture capital deals and other financings come together
- Find the right VC for your company
- Learn strategies for getting the best deal possible
- Learn how to structure financings using term sheets, capitalization tables, and syndication all with the goal of minimizing risks
You will work in virtual teams and gain leadership and assessment skills you can apply to your own fundraising strategies for your business. Designed by experienced venture capitalists for new and professional entrepreneurs, the seven week curriculum will improve your ability to consummate a transaction in venture capital financing while avoiding common mistakes.
In addition to professionals wanting to enter the venture capital field and entrepreneurs looking to raise venture capital funding, this course also benefits anyone who wants to learn more about financing, including lawyers, accountants, angel investors, bankers, policy makers, regulators and educators.
This online class will be team oriented and practice based. Videos and readings reveal the players behind venture transactions; how VC funds work; how both VC’s and entrepreneurs can and should structure the deal, as well as what needs to be done post-investment. Much of your learning will take place as you work with your virtual teams to secure the best terms for a venture capital funding for your startup.
Workload is approximately 4-6 hours per week.
Syllabus
Week 1 – Introduction of key players/Form or join a team
Week 2 – Fundraising/Finding the Right VC
Week 3 – Capitalization Tables/Convertible Debt
Week 4 – Term Sheets: Economics & Control
Week 5 – Term Sheets Part Two
Week 6 – Negotiations
Week 7 – Letter of Intent/Getting Acquired
The Instructors:
Brad Feld has been an early-stage investor and entrepreneur for over 30 years. Prior to cofounding Foundry Group, he cofounded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures. Brad is also a cofounder of Techstars and cohosts the Give First podcast. Brad is a writer and speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship. He’s written a number of books as part of the Startup Revolution series and coauthored Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist. He blogs regularly at Feld Thoughts.
Jason Mendelson is a former venture capitalist, co-founder of a technology company, lawyer and software engineer. Jason was a Founding Partner of Foundry Group, a Boulder-Colorado based venture capital firm that focuses on making technology investments and identifying and supporting the next generation of venture fund managers. In addition, Jason was a co-founder of SRS Acquiom and a Managing Director and General Counsel for Mobius Venture Capital. Prior to this, Jason was an attorney with Cooley. Early in his career, Jason was a software engineer at Accenture. Now Jason spends his time as an up-and-coming musician and as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School. Jason was co-founder of Defy Ventures Colorado and is on the board of the Leeds Business School at CU, as well. Jason holds a B.A. in Economics, and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.
Kauffman Fellows and Techstars:
Kauffman Fellows is the largest and most connected network of venture capital investors and innovation leaders in the world. With 589 Fellows operating in 46 different countries, it is anchored by a two-year program designed to radically accelerate innovator success through self-reflection, peer learning, mentoring, and a structured curriculum. Today the Kauffman Fellows Network, including mentors and faculty, consists of over 1000 of the most prominent VC firms and investors globally. Kauffman Fellows’ goal is to enable and grow entrepreneurial ecosystems throughout the world, leveraging the best minds and characteristics of the leading investors in venture capital industry.
Techstars is a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to live. With dozens of mentorship-driven accelerator programs and thousands of startup programs worldwide, Techstars exists to support the world’s most promising entrepreneurs throughout their lifelong journey, from inspiration to IPO. Techstars provides access to tens of thousands of community leaders, founders, mentors, investors, and corporate partners, allowing entrepreneurs to accelerate the pace of innovation and Do More Faster™. Techstars supports every stage of the entrepreneurial journey – from early stage grassroots community development to more formal opportunities that provide education, experience, acceleration, funding, and beyond.