This course is for aspiring or active entrepreneurs who wants to understand how to secure funding for their company. This course will demystify key financing concepts to give entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs a guide to secure funding.
This course is part of the Entrepreneurship: Launching an Innovative Business Specialization
New Venture Finance: Startup Funding for Entrepreneurs
Offered By
Entrepreneurship: Launching an Innovative Business SpecializationUniversity of Maryland, College Park
About this Course
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Skills you will gain
Venture CapitalInvestorInvestmentEntrepreneurship
Shareable Certificate
Earn a Certificate upon completion
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Flexible deadlines
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Approx. 14 hours to complete
Suggested: 3-5 hours/week
English
Subtitles: English
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
8 hours to complete
The Early Stage Investment Landscape
This session provides insights into the investment landscape, to include how investors and lenders evaluate new ventures. Key terminology and principles are addressed to provide learners without an accounting or finance background with an understanding of these areas.
8 hours to complete
14 videos (Total 124 min), 43 readings, 2 quizzes
14 videos
Welcome to New Venture Finance3m
Special Interview with Andrew Sherman, Attorney and Author24m
The investment landscape4m
Do you speak the language of raising start-up capital?15m
Why should you start with the business plan?5m
What do venture capitalists look for in a "good plan"?7m
What financial statements do investors want to see?6m
How do you develop a balance sheet?4m
What should an income statement present?6m
What is the purpose of the cash flow statement?5m
What corporate structure should I use?8m
Special Interview with Michael Labriola, Attorney21m
How do investors view your early stage venture?9m
43 readings
Meet Michael Pratt3m
Course overview3m
Our suggested book for the course3m
Connect with your classmates3m
Explore the Online Master of Professional Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship5m
E&Y Global Venture Capital Insights10m
The Shifting Investor Landscape10m
New Venture Landscape10m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Forbes - 10 Terms You Must Know Before Raising Startup Capital10m
Tech Republic - Startup and Venture Capital Terms You Should Know10m
Washington, DC Archangels - Financing Terms10m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Forbes - How To Build A Billion Dollar Business Plan: 10 Top Points10m
U.S. Small Business Administration - How to Write a Business Plan10m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Global Entrepreneurship Institute - What Financials Do We Need For Investors?10m
Tomasz Tunguz - The 10 Most Important Metrics In A Startup’s Financial Statements10m
Lecture Slides1m
Lecture Slides1m
Forbes - Mastering the Balance Sheet Can Make or Break A Startup10m
TD Bank - How to Develop a Balance Sheet10m
Lecture Slides1m
TD Bank - Sample Balance Sheet10m
Purchase Area Development District - Balance Sheet Template in PDF10m
Money-Zine - Building an Income Statement10m
Forbes - Top 5 Reasons EBITDA is a Great Big Lie10m
Lecture Slides1m
Accounting Coach - Introduction to Cash Flow Statement10m
Lecture Slides1m
Entrepreneur - How to Choose the Best Legal Structure for Your Startup10m
Launchhouse - Deciding the Best Business Structure for Your Startup10m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Seedcamp - How Does an Early-stage Investor View Early-stage Companies10m
Quora - What Metrics Do VCs Look for in Early-stage Companies?10m
Both Sides of the Table - The Four Main Things Investors Look for in a Startup10m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
NEWCO Project Worksheet10m
2 practice exercises
Early Stage Investment Landscape20m
NEWCO Project12m
3 hours to complete
Sources of Capital for the Early Stage Company
This session examines the options that entrepreneurs face in where to raise their financial capital from in the early stages of their venture. From friends and family, to angel investors and venture capitalists, the pros and cons of each source of capital are explored.
3 hours to complete
8 videos (Total 75 min), 16 readings, 2 quizzes
8 videos
Where to find investors?7m
Why consider friends and family as investors?4m
What’s bootstrapping?8m
Are incubators and accelerators a fit?8m
Special Interview with Rick Gordon of Mach3717m
What are angel investors?10m
Are you ready to raise capital?9m
16 readings
Entrepreneur - Four Common Venture Capital Myths10m
Madison Park Group - Guide to Venture Capital10m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
2 practice exercises
Sources of Capital20m
Project - Sources of Capital8m
4 hours to complete
Getting Funded – Steps in the Funding Process
This session discusses the techniques and tools to secure funding for a new venture. This provides insights into how entrepreneurs can create a comprehensive funding strategy for their new venture.
4 hours to complete
9 videos (Total 83 min), 21 readings, 2 quizzes
9 videos
Special Interview with Jonathan Aberman, Venture Capitalist13m
What is due diligence?6m
What is your company worth?10m
How to negotiate a term sheet?9m
How to establish common stock?7m
When to use convertible notes?12m
What is preferred stock?15m
When to use alternative sources of capital?7m
21 readings
Lecture Slides1m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Startup Valuation Calculator10m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
K9 Ventures - Thoughts on Convertible Notes10m
Series Seed - Why Series Seed is better than capped convertible notes10m
Sample - Form of convertible promissory note10m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
CB Insights - Top 15 Corporate VCs10m
CB Insights - Evaluating the effectiveness of corporate venture capital investment in tech10m
Optional Reading: Sherman10m
Lecture Slides1m
2 practice exercises
Principles of Funding Strategies20m
Create a Funding Strategy for a New Venture Concept10m
3 hours to complete
Pitching Investors and Closing the Round
This final session instructs learners on how to share their investment opportunity with investors and partners. With practical tips on the do's and don'ts of pitching, learners are able to develop a compelling story for their new venture.
3 hours to complete
6 videos (Total 43 min), 16 readings, 2 quizzes
6 videos
Guest Lecture with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker - What are Investors Looking for in a Business Plan?1m
How to create the pitch deck?9m
How to tell your story?4m
What are the do’s and don’ts of the pitch?12m
How to close the round?7m
16 readings
Entrepreneur - What Investors Really Want10m
Lecture Slides1m
Forbes - The ultimate pitch deck to raise money for startups10m
BestPitchDecks.com - The best startup pitch decks10m
Lecture Slides1m
Inc. Magazine - How to tell your company’s story10m
Lecture Slides1m
KC Source Link - Pitches gone wild: What not to do when you pitch your startup to investors10m
Inc. Magazine - Simple pitch tips that will attract investors to your startup10m
Lecture Slides1m
Entrepreneur - Closing a startup financing deal10m
Lecture Slides1m
Series A Startup - CEO Salary10m
Startup Equity for Employees10m
Series Seed (full set of deal documents)10m
Learn More5m
2 practice exercises
Fundamentals of "The Pitch"20m
Create "The Pitch" for a New Venture Concept2m
Reviews
4.6
TOP REVIEWS FROM NEW VENTURE FINANCE: STARTUP FUNDING FOR ENTREPRENEURS
by MMMay 9, 2016
I learned a lot about the finances of a startup, how to create a balance sheet, raise fund, evaluate a company, allocate stocks, etc...\n\nI highly recommend this course
by STApr 3, 2016
A very good course. It gives a very good insights into the finance required for start-ups. This course is a must for all the future entrepreneurs.
by GGFeb 5, 2019
This is a great course that I recommend for any person who wanted to learn the basis how to create an Startup and their funding process
by MSMar 19, 2017
Outstanding. An excellent mix of reading and videos. Gave me professional, technical skills in the esoteric field of entrepreneurship.
by MOAug 10, 2017
There's so much I learnt that I total had no idea...I highly recommend this course for everyone who loves entrepreneurship
by AHAug 27, 2016
Great contents! It is very well developed by new additional resources and links comparing to last year. Thanks Coursera!
by BSJun 26, 2017
Very detailed explanation of financial jargon. Also discussion of tricky situations. Good suggestions and references.
by JJMar 5, 2016
The lectures were very useful and very clear. I learned a lot from this course. Thank you Prof. Pratt and Coursera.
About University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 47 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.8 billion operating budget, secures $500 million annually in external research funding and recently completed a $1 billion fundraising campaign.
About the Entrepreneurship: Launching an Innovative Business Specialization
Develop your entrepreneurial mindset and skill sets, learn how to bring innovations to market, and craft a business model to successfully launch your new business.
The Entrepreneurship Specialization examines the entrepreneurial mindset and skill sets, indicators of innovation opportunities, critical steps to bring innovations to the marketplace, and innovation strategies to establish and maintain a competitive advantage. Fundamentals of new venture financing are explored with attention to capital structures for new ventures, term sheets and how to negotiate them, and the differences between early-stage versus later-stage financing. You will develop an understanding of how to develop winning investor pitches, who and when to pitch, how to avoid common mistakes, and how to ‘get to the close’. In the final Capstone Project, you will apply the tools and concepts from the specialization courses by crafting a comprehensive, customer-validated business model, and creating a business plan and investor pitch.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
