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 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.
Free
Less than 1 week
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.
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.
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.
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/courses/free-online-classes/venture-capital-crash-course
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.
Free if you finish
1-6 weeks
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.
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).
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).
https://www.entrylevel.net/experiences/vc
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.
Free
1-6 weeks
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.
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.
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).
https://www.coursera.org/learn/advanced-valuation-and-strategy
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.
$490
1-3 months
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.
You get real-world exposure to startups and learn from Venture Capital experts.
Courses are online, therefore flexible and done on your own pace.
The price point may not be affordable to everyone.
https://500.co/venture-education/online-certificate-courses
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.
Free
1-6 weeks
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.
Beginner-friendly.
Online course, so there is flexibility.
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.
https://alison.com/course/introduction-to-venture-capital-revised
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.
Free
1-6 weeks
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.
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.
There is less face-to-face interaction, because you're expected to work on it by yourself or asynchronously with a team.
https://venturedeals.techstars.com/courses/venture-deals-fall-2022
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.
$49 with discount, $499 regular price
Less than 1 week
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.
Comprehensive overview of venture capital modeling with finance focus.
You get to work on a case study project yourself.
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.
https://www.educba.com/finance/courses/venture-capital-course/
VC University teaches entrepreneurs, angel investors, VCs, fund managers, and attorneys the basics of venture finance.
$1,500
1-3 months
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.
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.
Price - expensive.
Timezones may not work for everyone for the optional live components.
https://venturecapitaluniversity.com/online-course/
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.
Free
Less than 1 week
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.
Short - can be done in a few hours.
Beginner-friendly. You can learn the basics quickly.
You only get the certificate if you pay for it.
https://www.udemy.com/course/the-art-of-raising-capital/
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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.
Free, or $200 for certificate
1-6 weeks
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.
It's self-paced and online.
Beginner-friendly for people without a finance or accounting background.
You only get the certificate if you pay for it.
https://www.edx.org/course/financing-innovative-ventures
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