Techstars and Kauffman Fellows are offering a free Venture Deals online course offered by Brad Feld, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Foundry Group and CoFounder of Techstars, and Jason Mendelson, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Foundry Group, and Techstars mentor. The on-course will run September 8 through November 1, 2019. Syracuse entrepreneurs who would like to take the on-line program together, can also watch it in the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at SU Libraries. If interested in participating in the LaunchPad, e-mail LaunchPad@syr.edu in addition to registering on-line for the course.
The 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, the course reveals the secrets behind how venture financings really work. Participants will have exclusive opportunities to ask Feld detailed questions about specific investment strategies. In addition, they can engage Feld and Mendelson and other celebrated investors in live video chats held during the seve- week course, and learn strategies to take a pitch or deal to the next level.
The course will enable participants to:
- Participate in live chats with the renowned instructors
- Network with entrepreneurs and financiers from around the world 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
- Work in virtual teams and gain leadership and assessment skills to apply to fundraising strategies
Designed by experienced venture capitalists for new and professional entrepreneurs, the seven-week curriculum will help transact venture capital financing while avoiding common mistakes. The online class will be team oriented and practice based. Videos and readings will help participants understand:
- 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
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
Sign up for the course here: https://kftechstars.novoed.com/#!/courses/venture-deals-fall19/flyer
Instructors
Brad Feld, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Foundry Group
Feld has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures. Fled is also a co-founder of Techstars. In addition to his investing efforts, He has been active with several non-profit organizations and currently is chair of the National Center for Women & Information Technology, co-chair of Startup Colorado, and on the board of Kauffman Fellows and UP Global. He speaks and writes extensively on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship, and has written several books including co-authoring Venture Deals. Feld holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Management Science from MIT.
Jason Mendelson, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Foundry Group
Mendelson is a co-founder of Foundry Group an early stage venture capital firm located in Boulder, Colorado. In his previous life, he has been a managing director at Mobius Venture Capital, a lawyer at Cooley LLP and a software engineer at Accenture. He also co-founded Shareholder Representative Services. In addition to his investing career, Mendelson has co-written the book Venture Deals and is an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School where he teaches a course on venture capital. He is also the Chairman of the Entrepreneurial Board at Silicon Flatirons. Mendelson 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.