Private Equity and Venture Capital Course

Lesson 1 • Private Equity Asset Class Overview

Map the full spectrum of PE strategies from buyouts to growth equity. Positions PE within a portfolio context for institutional and individual investors.

Lesson 2 • Historical Performance and Market Cycles

Analyze long-run PE and VC return data relative to public benchmarks. Prepares students to contextualize performance claims and vintage-year effects.

Lesson 3 • Venture Capital Ecosystem and Stages

Define VC funding stages from pre-seed through late-stage and their risk profiles. Connects startup lifecycle to investor return expectations.

Lesson 4 • Private vs. Public Capital Markets

Contrast liquidity, disclosure, and pricing mechanisms across market types. Establishes the rationale for private capital as a distinct asset class.

Lesson 1 • Fund Economics: Fees and Carried Interest

Calculate management fees, carried interest, and preferred returns under various waterfall structures. Directly links fund economics to GP and LP incentive alignment.

Lesson 2 • Limited Partnership Structure Mechanics

Explain the limited partnership as the dominant fund vehicle and its tax and liability features. Anchors all subsequent discussion of fund economics and governance.

Lesson 3 • Limited Partnership Agreement Essentials

Dissect the key provisions of an LPA including investment restrictions, governance, and LP rights. Enables students to identify investor-protective and GP-favorable clauses.

Lesson 4 • Regulatory and Compliance Obligations

Outline registration, reporting, and fiduciary duties imposed on fund managers by financial regulators. Prepares students to recognize compliance risk in fund operations.

Lesson 1 • Subscription and Closing Mechanics

Navigate subscription agreements, capital call notices, and first and final close procedures. Ensures students can manage the legal and operational steps of fund closing.

Lesson 2 • Fund Strategy and Positioning

Define target market, differentiated thesis, and competitive positioning before approaching LPs. Establishes the strategic foundation that drives all fundraising materials.

Lesson 3 • Investor Targeting and Segmentation

Segment LP universe by type, mandate, and check size to prioritize outreach efficiently. Teaches students to match fund strategy to LP investment programs.

Lesson 4 • Ongoing Investor Relations and Reporting

Design LP reporting frameworks covering quarterly updates, annual meetings, and capital account statements. Builds skills for sustaining LP trust across the fund lifecycle.

Lesson 1 • Management Team Evaluation

Assess founder and executive quality through reference checks, behavioral interviews, and track record review. Establishes people evaluation as a core screening discipline.

Lesson 2 • Investment Committee Memo Preparation

Structure a preliminary investment memo that synthesizes screening findings for IC review. Bridges the sourcing phase to formal due diligence authorization.

Lesson 3 • Building a Proprietary Deal Flow Engine

Design networks, referral systems, and outbound origination strategies that generate proprietary deal flow. Positions sourcing as a competitive advantage rather than a reactive process.

Lesson 4 • Competitive Dynamics and Market Mapping

Analyze industry structure, competitive positioning, and market share to evaluate target attractiveness. Connects Porter's Five Forces and similar frameworks to investment screening.

Lesson 1 • Operational and Technology Due Diligence

Evaluate supply chain, IT systems, cybersecurity posture, and scalability of operations. Uncovers hidden costs and integration risks before deal close.

Lesson 2 • ESG and Reputational Due Diligence

Assess environmental, social, and governance risks and reputational exposure of the target. Integrates ESG findings into investment decision-making and value creation planning.

Lesson 3 • Commercial Due Diligence

Validate market size, customer demand, competitive position, and growth assumptions through primary and secondary research. Anchors financial projections in market reality.

Lesson 4 • Financial Due Diligence

Audit historical financials, normalize EBITDA, and stress-test management projections. Produces the adjusted financial baseline used in valuation and deal structuring.

Lesson 1 • Core Valuation Methodologies

Apply DCF, comparable company, and precedent transaction analyses to private company targets. Builds the multi-method valuation toolkit used across PE and VC contexts.

Lesson 2 • Venture Capital Valuation Methods

Apply the venture capital method, scorecard, and Berkus approaches to early-stage companies. Addresses the unique challenges of valuing pre-revenue and pre-profit startups.

Lesson 3 • Deal Structuring and Term Negotiation

Design equity, debt, and hybrid structures and negotiate key economic and control terms. Connects valuation outputs to the legal and financial architecture of a transaction.

Lesson 4 • Term Sheet Drafting and Negotiation

Draft and negotiate term sheets covering economics, governance, and protective provisions. Prepares students to lead term sheet discussions with founders and co-investors.

Lesson 1 • Operational Value Creation Levers

Apply revenue growth, margin improvement, and working capital optimization initiatives across portfolio companies. Builds the operational toolkit that differentiates top-quartile sponsors.

Lesson 2 • Post-Investment Onboarding and 100-Day Plan

Structure the first 100 days post-close to establish governance, set priorities, and build management trust. Converts deal thesis into an actionable operational roadmap.

Lesson 3 • Portfolio Monitoring and Reporting

Build monitoring systems that track KPIs, flag underperformance, and support GP reporting to LPs. Ensures proactive portfolio oversight rather than reactive crisis management.

Lesson 4 • Financial Engineering and Capital Structure

Optimize debt levels, refinance facilities, and manage dividend recapitalizations to enhance returns. Connects capital structure decisions to IRR improvement throughout the hold period.

Lesson 1 • IPO and Public Market Exit Mechanics

Navigate the IPO process from underwriter selection through lock-up expiry and secondary offerings. Prepares students to manage public market exits and post-IPO LP distributions.

Lesson 2 • Running a Competitive Sale Process

Manage a structured auction from buyer targeting through final bid and exclusivity. Develops the process management skills needed to maximize competitive tension and price.

Lesson 3 • Return Calculation and Fund Performance

Calculate IRR, MOIC, DPI, RVPI, and TVPI at the deal and fund level and attribute performance drivers. Closes the investment lifecycle loop by connecting exit proceeds to fund metrics.

Lesson 4 • Exit Option Evaluation Framework

Compare strategic sale, secondary buyout, IPO, and recapitalization exits across value, timing, and risk dimensions. Builds a structured decision framework for exit selection.