Venture Capital and Strategic Fundraising Decisions
About This Course
Most founders treat fundraising as a communications problem: how to convince an investor to provide capital. But sophisticated investors are not evaluating communication skill; they are evaluating whether the business is fundable, whether the financial model is coherent, whether the valuation is defensible, and whether the founder understands the risk implications of the terms proposed.
This course treats fundraising as a strategic, financial, and risk discipline. It covers how the venture capital ecosystem and fund economics shape investor behaviour, the capital instruments available across financing stages, and term sheet structuring and negotiation with full view of the governance and economic consequences. It develops the analytical core of fundraising: collecting and analysing the market, financial, legal, and team data that due diligence demands, identifying the trends and exceptions that change an investment case, and testing the assumptions behind every projection. Trainees apply scenario analysis and stress testing to burn rate, runway, and investor return models, analyse market conditions and market risk developments that affect fundraising timing, and assess the risks in venture debt and capital structures, forming recommendations on those risk issues and monitoring the liquidity risk indicators that signal cash pressure early.
By the end of the course, trainees will be able to analyse the venture capital ecosystem and the market and risk developments that shape capital raising decisions, collect and analyse the data that withstands due diligence, structure and negotiate financing instruments with a clear view of their risk implications, and design disciplined fundraising strategies deliberate about timing, valuation, dilution, and risk, applying organisational policies and procedures to manage and control those risks, to raise capital on stronger terms and steward the investor relationships and governance that follow.
What You'll Learn
- Analyse the venture capital ecosystem, fund structures, fund lifecycle, and investor types to inform capital raising decisions
- Interpret fund economics (fees, carried interest, 2-and-20, follow-on reserves) to anticipate investor behaviour
- Select financing instruments across stages (convertible notes, SAFEs, preferred equity, bridge rounds, venture debt) and model cap table evolution, ESOP sizing, and dilution to exit
- Apply valuation mechanics and construct evidence-based negotiation positions
- Evaluate term sheet provisions (liquidation, anti-dilution, pro rata, board, drag-along) under different exit scenarios
- Assess the risks in venture debt, including covenants and warrant coverage, and form recommendations on those risk issues
- Apply organisational policies and procedures to identify, assess, and control the financial and non-financial risks of capital raising
- Collect and analyse the market, financial, legal, and team data that due diligence examines, identify trends and exceptions, test the model assumptions, and organise the findings into a structured data room
- Build financial projections, investor return models, and waterfall models, applying scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis, and stress testing to the assumptions
- Model burn rate and runway under different scenarios and monitor the liquidity risk indicators that signal cash pressure
- Analyse market conditions and market risk developments, with TAM, SAM, SOM, and defensibility analysis, to position and time the raise
- Execute fundraising strategy (targeting, narrative, closing) and manage investor relationships, governance, and exit pathways (IPO, acquisition, secondary)
Entry Requirements
● Minimum age: 21
● 3 years of working experience in a senior leadership, finance, strategy, or business development role, with demonstrated involvement in capital decisions, financial planning, or strategic decision-making
● Working understanding of basic financial concepts (financial statements, cash flow, P&L, spreadsheet-based financial modelling), evidenced through prior business school training, finance certification, or on-the-job application
● Familiarity with the operational realities of a startup, scale-up, SME, or growth-stage business
● Computer literate, with the ability to work with spreadsheet-based financial models, analytical templates, and pitch decks
● Proficient in written and spoken English at a professional working level
● Diploma or equivalent professional qualification, or equivalent demonstrated industry experience
● Targeted at PMEs (founders, entrepreneurs, SME owners, finance and strategy professionals supporting capital raising)