Startup Investment Training Course

Participants can test whether a startup's market opportunity and operating model support investable growth.

• Business Model Canvas used to test value creation and capture
• Total addressable market estimated through top-down and bottom-up methods
• Customer segments, buying roles and willingness-to-pay evidence examined
• Unit economics calculated using contribution margin, CAC and lifetime value
• Cohort analysis used to assess retention, churn and revenue expansion
• Competitive positioning tested with Porter's Five Forces and differentiation evidence

Participants can conduct proportionate commercial and management due diligence for an early-stage investment.

• Founder assessment considers capability, commitment, integrity and decision-making history
• Reference checks structured around performance, leadership and execution evidence
• Product-market fit assessed through customer interviews and usage indicators
• Technology diligence identifies architecture, scalability, security and technical dependencies
• Sales pipeline quality tested using conversion stages and contract evidence
• Regulatory exposure mapped for fintech, health technology and data-driven businesses

Participants can evaluate startup forecasts, cash burn and the funding required to reach milestones.

• Three-statement forecasts adapted for limited operating history and uncertain revenue
• Revenue drivers linked to pricing, customer acquisition and retention assumptions
• Monthly cash-burn analysis distinguishes fixed costs from variable expenditure
• Funding runway calculated from opening cash, burn rate and committed receipts
• Milestone-based financing tied to product, revenue and regulatory targets
• Downside scenarios test delayed sales, higher churn and fundraising shortfalls

Participants can develop and explain a valuation range using methods appropriate to startup maturity.

• Pre-money and post-money valuation mechanics applied to priced equity rounds
• Comparable-company analysis normalises revenue multiples for growth and maturity
• Venture capital method derives present value from targeted exit returns
• Scorecard method adjusts local benchmarks for team, market and traction
• Scenario analysis weights upside, base-case and downside exit outcomes
• Discounted cash flow limitations examined for pre-profit, high-growth companies

Participants can model ownership outcomes across financing rounds, option grants and conversion events.

• Capitalisation tables record founders, investors, options and convertible instruments
• Fully diluted ownership calculated before and after proposed financing rounds
• Employee option pools modelled before-money and after-money valuation effects
• Convertible notes analysed for discounts, valuation caps and conversion triggers
• SAFE instruments compared with priced rounds and convertible debt structures
• Pro rata rights modelled for follow-on participation and ownership maintenance

Participants can interpret principal term-sheet provisions and identify their financial and governance consequences.

• Term-sheet architecture separates economic rights, control rights and closing conditions
• Liquidation preferences compared across non-participating and participating structures
• Anti-dilution provisions assessed using broad-based weighted-average and full-ratchet formulas
• Board seats, observer rights and reserved matters allocated between parties
• Vesting schedules protect investors against founder departure and underperformance
• Information rights specify reporting frequency, budgets and investor inspection access

Participants can identify material legal, tax and operational issues requiring specialist review before closing.

• Corporate records checked for incorporation, share ownership and authority defects
• Intellectual property ownership verified through assignments, licences and contractor agreements
• Material contracts reviewed for termination rights, concentration and change-of-control clauses
• Data protection controls assessed against applicable privacy and cybersecurity obligations
• Tax diligence considers permanent establishment, incentives and outstanding liabilities
• Closing conditions, representations and warranties allocated through transaction documentation

Participants can prepare and defend an investment recommendation for an investment-committee decision.

• Investment memoranda present thesis, evidence, valuation, risks and recommendation
• Key assumptions documented with source evidence and sensitivity ranges
• Risk registers distinguish commercial, financial, legal and execution exposures
• Expected return calculated using ownership, dilution and exit-value scenarios
• Deal conditions specify milestones, documentation and pre-closing information requirements
• Investment-committee questions anticipated through clear evidence and decision alternatives

Participants can monitor startup investments and frame follow-on or exit decisions using portfolio evidence.

• Portfolio construction balances stage, sector, concentration and reserve capital
• Quarterly reporting tracks revenue, cash, product milestones and key risks
• Follow-on decisions assess performance, ownership targets and financing terms
• Bridge financing evaluated against runway, milestones and signalling risk
• Exit routes compared across trade sales, secondary transactions and IPOs
• Personal application plan identifies tools for immediate investment-pipeline use