New Venture Finance: Startup Funding for Entrepreneurs

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. Examine the many financing options available to get your new venture funded. Learn the basics of finance, valuations, dilution and non-dilutive funding sources. Understand capital structure for new ventures, term sheets and how to negotiate them, and the differences between early-stage versus later-stage financing. Develop an understanding of how to develop winning investor pitches, who and when to pitch, how to avoid common mistakes that limit the effectiveness of the pitch, and how to ‘get to the close’. Key questions answered within the course include: When to raise outside capital? What kind of investors invest by stage and where to find them? What are your fundraising options? What are the key components of the term sheet? How to perform company valuations? How to pitch to investors? What techniques help the entrepreneur ‘get to the close’? With this course, students experience a sampling of the ideas and techniques explored in the University of Maryland's master's degree in technology entrepreneurship, an innovative 100% online program. Learn more at http://mte.umd.edu/landing

• Understand finance basics and valuations
• Identify different funding sources
• Recognize capital structure and term sheets
• Develop investor negotiation skills
• Distinguish between funding stages
• Create effective investor pitches and close deals

• Basic computer and internet skills
• Ability to read English instructions and complete activities