Best venture capital online courses (with certificates)

Want to break into venture capital, become a venture capital analyst, or get funding for your startup as a founder? Learn from the latest Venture Capital experts online with certified courses.

Wall Street Oasis Venture Capital Crash Course

Wall Street Oasis' Venture Capital crash course is taught by experts. It's a series of videos (with subtitles included), and at the end you get a Venture Capital certificate to put on your LinkedIn.

Price

Free

Duration

Less than 1 week

Curriculum

History of VC: learn from examples of the most successful VC-backed companies. You'll also see examples of the power law in practice.

Fund structures: how funds work and operate. You'll learn about Limited Partners, General Partners, and more.

Roles in VC: curious about the skills required to be a VC? Here's where you'll learn about VC Analyst, VC Associate, VC Principal: Vice President, VC Partner, and any other roles. You'll also learn about the deal pipeline.

Early-stage venture capital financial instruments: terms like priced rounds, valuations, convertible debt, convertible equity, venture debt, and more are covered.

Term sheets: understand economics and control for term sheets, and see an example of a term sheet to work with.

Pros

Beginner-friendly.

Course created by experts.

If you have a question, you can get a response from a pro.

It is self-paced and flexible.

Cons

There are no deadlines, so you may not complete the course.

There are a lot of videos to watch, which can get overwhelming.

This is an introductory crash course, so you don't get to really practice your own work.

Website

https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/courses/free-online-classes/venture-capital-crash-course

EntryLevel Venture Capital Analyst

EntryLevel's Venture Capital Analyst course is a hands-on program where you get to work on an investment memo and more. Although it is flexible and not a live online course, you still stick to deadlines and have to complete the course within 6 weeks.

Price

Free if you finish

Duration

1-6 weeks

Curriculum

Introduction to venture capital: understand how firms invest in startups, the General Partner and Limited Partner relationships, the Power Law Curve, and all about startups.

Market and trend analysis: conduct a market analysis to find trends and deal activity in a market of your choice. You'll practice identifying key players in a market.

Evaluating companies: learn what real-world VCs look for in early-stage startups. You'll also learn about how Venture Capital firms build dealflow so you can source startups and screen them in a market of your choice.

Due Diligence: after sourcing a startup, you'll write an investment memo and move onto the Due Diligence stage.

Breaking into venture capital: hear from real-world venture capital analysts and fund managers about how they broke into venture capital. They share their advice and learnings for how you can become a venture capital analyst.

Pros

Beginner-friendly.

Course created by experts which you get to learn from.

Flexible, online course with deadlines so there is some structure.

You work on real-world projects and complete the course with a Venture Capital Analyst portfolio of work.

You get the certificate even if you opt for the refund (free certificate).

Cons

6 weeks might be too long - or too short - of a course duration for some.

You pay first, but you only get the refund when you complete the course (to motivate you to reach your learning goals).

Website

https://www.entrylevel.net/experiences/vc

Coursera Advanced Venture Capital course

Coursera's Advanced Valuation and Strategy - M&A, Private Equity, and Venture Capital online course is offered by Erasmus University Rotterdam. Although not strictly a Venture Capital course (it teaches game theory), this course will help you improve your business decision making. You will learn new valuation methods that are useful for venture capitalists, CEOs, investment bankers, and more.

Price

Free

Duration

1-6 weeks

Curriculum

Introduction to venture capital: understand how firms invest in startups, the General Partner and Limited Partner relationships, the Power Law Curve, and all about startups.

Market and trend analysis: conduct a market analysis to find trends and deal activity in a market of your choice. You'll practice identifying key players in a market.

Evaluating companies: learn what real-world VCs look for in early-stage startups. You'll also learn about how Venture Capital firms build dealflow so you can source startups and screen them in a market of your choice.

Due Diligence: after sourcing a startup, you'll write an investment memo and move onto the Due Diligence stage.

Breaking into venture capital: hear from real-world venture capital analysts and fund managers about how they broke into venture capital. They share their advice and learnings for how you can become a venture capital analyst.

Pros

Comprehensive and detailed on the topic of finance, economics, and business - which is expected of a more advanced course.

Flexible online course that you can do on your own time.

Cons

Not beginner-friendly; more for advanced students with an understanding of corporate valuation and strategy.

Lack of structure - you need to be disciplined to complete the course (similar to all Coursera courses).

Website

https://www.coursera.org/learn/advanced-valuation-and-strategy

500 Global's VC Unlocked courses

500 Global is a Venture Capital firm that invests in tech and innovation. They offer courses to train the next generation of investors, whether you're a complete beginner or trying to level up your current skills.

Price

$490

Duration

1-3 months

Curriculum

There are 4 courses available in the following topics:

VC Fund Structure and Returns: learn more about how funds are set up and practice fund modeling.

Navigating Term Sheets for Investors: improve your negotiation skills and learn more about the term sheet to better communicate with startup founders.

Introduction to Capitalization Tables (Cap Tables): learn to read, create, and get insight from capitalization tables.

Selecting Startups: this course is more of a simulation where you are the investor and you go through an Investment Committee Simulation. You'll attend demo day with real startups and be able to assess startups more confidently.

Pros

You get real-world exposure to startups and learn from Venture Capital experts.

Courses are online, therefore flexible and done on your own pace.

Cons

The price point may not be affordable to everyone.

Website

https://500.co/venture-education/online-certificate-courses

Alison Introduction to Venture Capital

Alison's free and certified Venture Capital course focuses on finance for small business owners. You'll learn how businesses raise funds and the types of investors.

Price

Free

Duration

1-6 weeks

Curriculum

Introduction: you will go over the learning outcomes of this venture capital course.

Raising money for a startup: you will learn about seed rounds, Series A, Series B, and more.

Exits: you will learn about IPOs.

Finance: learn more about equity, debt, bonds, stocks, bankruptcy, and more.

Pros

Beginner-friendly.

Online course, so there is flexibility.

Cons

You need an 80% or higher in each course assessment to get the Venture Capital certificate.

You do not get real-world experience and practice; there is only a quiz and no project component.

Website

https://alison.com/course/introduction-to-venture-capital-revised

TechStars Venture Deals course

The Venture Deals online course by TechStars helps you demystify venture capital for both aspiring VC Analysts and startup founders. Expect to learn terms like term sheets, cap tables, SAFEs, convertible notes, and more to help entrepreneurs secure funding from investors.

Price

Free

Duration

1-6 weeks

Curriculum

Introduction: learn about the course structure and meet the venture capital expert instructors.

Capital ecosystem: learn more about people and roles in Venture Capital and how to engage with investors.

Fundraising: learn about how to fundraise, options available for founders, valuation, and cap tables.

The deal: learn about term sheets and how to negotiate the deal.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and mental health: the Venture Capital experts discuss DEI topics and other important things to keep in mind as a beginner VC Analyst or entrepreneur going into venture capital.

Pros

You lose access after 6 weeks, so you're more motivated to learn within the timeframe.

Course is taught by experts who have years of experience in the venture capital field.

Cons

There is less face-to-face interaction, because you're expected to work on it by yourself or asynchronously with a team.

Website

https://venturedeals.techstars.com/courses/venture-deals-fall-2022

EDUCBA Venture Capital Course (with case studies)

A 2-course bundle with lifetime access to venture capital course content. You'll learn to perform venture capital modeling with pre- and post-money valuation. You'll also calculate investor return.

Price

$49 with discount, $499 regular price

Duration

Less than 1 week

Curriculum

Course 1 - Venture Capital Modeling: learn about what venture capital is and how to do venture capital modeling. You get to learn from a cash flow example and learn terms like company valuation, pre- and post-money valuation, capitalization table, and investor return. You'll also learn return analysis, total equity valuation, and internal rate of returns.

Course 2 - Advanced Venture Capital Modeling: this course is more detailed, so you'll learn about stages of financing and the deal process in detail. Entrepreneurs and startup founders will find this useful as it lists out what to consider, as well as teaching income statements, balance sheets, debt schedule, expenses, business development compensations, and more.

Pros

Comprehensive overview of venture capital modeling with finance focus.

You get to work on a case study project yourself.

Cons

Not beginner friendly - you need basic knowledge of finance.

There's more focus on finance rather than using this knowledge to fundraise for your own startup.

Website

https://www.educba.com/finance/courses/venture-capital-course/

VC University practical training on venture finance

VC University teaches entrepreneurs, angel investors, VCs, fund managers, and attorneys the basics of venture finance.

Price

$1,500

Duration

1-3 months

Curriculum

Venture fund fundamentals: learn all about venture funds, including how they're structured and managed.

Startup fundamentals: learn about how startups who've received venture capital funding are formed, managed, and funded.

Venture deal fundamentals: learn key terms, processes, and structures of venture finance.

Modeling venture deals: learn from case studies and capitalization table exercises to fully understand the economics of venture finance.

Advanced topics in venture capital: learn about the impacts of public policy, corporate venture, investor governance, venture capital careers, valuations, and more.

Pros

Options for live engagement (office hours, webinars, alumni network) while still being flexible, self-paced, and online.

You get access to the course platform for 5 months, despite the course only needing 10 weeks to complete.

Cons

Price - expensive.

Timezones may not work for everyone for the optional live components.

Website

https://venturecapitaluniversity.com/online-course/

Udemy The Art of Raising Capital

A short, 1.5-hour tutorial about what venture capitalists and investors look for in startups and companies. Perfect for entrepreneurs and startup founders who want to make their company investable.

Price

Free

Duration

Less than 1 week

Curriculum

Learn how to build companies that are investable - and become an investable startup founder and entrepreneur.

Learn what investors are looking for when evaluating a business opportunity.

Think about how to de-risk your business and present business opportunities to investors.

Understand the step-by-step process for how to raise capital.

Pros

Short - can be done in a few hours.

Beginner-friendly. You can learn the basics quickly.

Cons

You only get the certificate if you pay for it.

Website

https://www.udemy.com/course/the-art-of-raising-capital/

edX Financing Innovative Ventures

As a startup founder and entrepreneur, learn how to create a financial plan for your startup and raise the right funding from the right investors. You'll learn how to properly pitch your company and understand investors.

Price

Free, or $200 for certificate

Duration

1-6 weeks

Curriculum

The Early Stage Investment Landscape: learn key terms and how investors evaluate new companies.

Sources of Capital for Startups and Corporate Ventures: learn what options for funding are available to you, from angel investors to venture capitalists. You'll learn the pros and cons of each.

Getting Funded – Steps in the Funding Process: learn the tools and techniques for how to get funding for your startup. Learn to create a funding strategy for your company.

Pitching Investors and Closing the Round: get a step-by-step guide for how to pitch your startup to investors. Learn the dos and don'ts of pitching.

Pros

It's self-paced and online.

Beginner-friendly for people without a finance or accounting background.

Cons

You only get the certificate if you pay for it.

Website

https://www.edx.org/course/financing-innovative-ventures

Date originally published:
Jan 24, 2023
Date last updated:
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