Venture Capital Analyst Course

Lesson 1 • Fund Structure and Economics

Explains how VC funds are legally organized and how GPs earn returns. Connects fund mechanics to investment decision incentives.

Lesson 2 • Startup Funding Stages

Traces the capital journey from pre-seed through growth equity. Clarifies how stage determines deal terms, risk, and analyst responsibilities.

Lesson 3 • VC Returns and Power Law

Introduces the statistical reality that a few investments drive fund returns. Grounds all subsequent evaluation frameworks in return expectations.

Lesson 1 • TAM, SAM, and SOM Analysis

Builds the three-tier sizing model used in investment memos. Connects each tier to realistic revenue projections for portfolio companies.

Lesson 2 • Competitive Landscape Mapping

Provides tools to identify, categorize, and assess competitive threats. Enables analysts to evaluate defensibility of a startup's market position.

Lesson 3 • Market Dynamics and Timing

Analyzes structural forces that create or destroy market opportunity over time. Helps analysts assess whether a startup is entering at the right moment.

Lesson 4 • Identifying Target Markets

Teaches how to define market boundaries and segment customer populations. Prevents common errors of markets that are too broad or too narrow.

Lesson 1 • Business Model Archetypes

Surveys SaaS, marketplace, consumer, deep tech, and other common VC-backed models. Establishes the baseline for model-specific evaluation criteria.

Lesson 2 • Scalability and Margin Structure

Evaluates whether a model can grow revenue faster than costs. Distinguishes between operationally scalable and capital-intensive growth paths.

Lesson 3 • Unit Economics Deep Dive

Calculates and interprets CAC, LTV, payback period, and contribution margin. These metrics are the primary lens for assessing business model health.

Lesson 4 • Revenue Model and Monetization

Examines how startups price, package, and collect revenue. Links monetization design to unit economics and long-term margin potential.

Lesson 1 • Team Dynamics and Completeness

Evaluates co-founder relationships, role coverage, and organizational gaps. Identifies team risks that could derail execution regardless of market opportunity.

Lesson 2 • Why Team Is a Primary Signal

Establishes the empirical case for team quality as a leading predictor of startup success. Frames people evaluation as a rigorous analytical discipline.

Lesson 3 • Founder Background Analysis

Teaches how to research and interpret founder credentials, domain expertise, and track record. Connects background signals to execution probability.

Lesson 1 • Key SaaS and Startup Metrics

Covers ARR, MRR, churn, NRR, and other operating metrics critical to VC analysis. Connects each metric to valuation and investment decision-making.

Lesson 2 • Revenue and Expense Analysis

Dissects revenue quality, growth drivers, and cost structure in startup financials. Builds the skill to separate signal from noise in reported numbers.

Lesson 3 • Financial Projection Evaluation

Stress-tests founder projections against historical performance and market benchmarks. Teaches analysts to build independent views on achievable growth.

Lesson 4 • Cash Runway and Burn Rate

Calculates and interprets net burn, gross burn, and runway in months. Directly informs timing of follow-on investment and dilution risk.

Lesson 1 • Cap Table and Dilution Analysis

Models ownership stakes, option pools, and dilution across funding rounds. Enables analysts to assess founder and investor alignment at each stage.

Lesson 2 • Valuation Principles in VC

Explains why standard DCF methods are limited for startups and what replaces them. Sets expectations for the inherent uncertainty in early-stage valuation.

Lesson 3 • Comparable Company Analysis

Builds a comps table using revenue multiples from public and private market data. Teaches selection criteria and adjustment for stage and growth rate.

Lesson 4 • Venture Capital Method

Applies the classic VC method to back-solve for entry valuation from target returns. Connects exit assumptions to required ownership at entry.

Lesson 1 • Modeling Deal Economics

Builds a returns model that integrates term sheet provisions with exit scenarios. Produces the quantitative foundation for investment committee recommendations.

Lesson 2 • Convertible Instruments

Analyzes SAFEs, convertible notes, and their conversion mechanics. Compares instrument types across risk, simplicity, and founder-friendliness dimensions.

Lesson 3 • Economic Provisions Analysis

Models the impact of valuation, liquidation preferences, and anti-dilution clauses. Quantifies how economic terms affect founder and investor payoffs.

Lesson 4 • Control and Governance Provisions

Examines board composition, protective provisions, and information rights. Connects governance terms to investor ability to protect and add value.

Lesson 1 • Deal Sourcing and Screening

Covers inbound and outbound sourcing strategies and initial screening criteria. Builds the pipeline management skills that precede deep diligence.

Lesson 2 • Due Diligence Framework

Structures the full diligence process across commercial, technical, legal, and financial dimensions. Ensures no critical risk area is overlooked before investment.

Lesson 3 • Investment Committee Dynamics

Prepares analysts to present, defend, and refine recommendations under IC scrutiny. Develops the communication skills needed to drive decisions in a partnership setting.

Lesson 4 • Portfolio Monitoring and Follow-On

Establishes post-investment responsibilities including board support and follow-on evaluation. Closes the investment lifecycle loop from entry through ongoing ownership.