MGMT 465 - Managing the Venture Financing Process

Fall, Spring, Summer
Prerequisite(s): MGMT 241, MKTG 231, FINA 320. Over the last two decades, venture capital has become an important segment of the financial system, and the economy at large. The venture capital industry provides vital equity financing to privately held companies and covers a surprisingly large spectrum of deals. In this class students will learn about the main challenges faced by venture capital practitioners, taking sometimes the investor perspective, sometimes switching perspective by looking at deals from the perspective of companies or even limited partners. Students will become familiar with the terminology and institutional background of the industry, and learn to understand the underlying economic issues. While this course does not aim to provide a detailed treatment of financial valuation techniques, it will discuss many of the financial trade-offs that arise in the context of venture capital deals. It will also relate these financial trade-offs to the broader strategic decision made by entrepreneurs and venture capital investors.