GE 598 VFS — Venture Funded Startups

COURSE REFERENCE NUMBER (CRN): 49137

Course Description: Venture Capital has become an increasingly important source of financing for technology based startups over the past 15 years. However the process and task of raising venture capital remains largely a black art to students and first time entrepreneurs. Without much prior knowledge they are often forced to negotiate terms of investment with professional investors largely on their own, sometimes making costly mistakes! This course is designed to introduce students to the concepts, tools, and language used by Venture Capitalists (VC’s). In particular we will look at how VC’s evaluate, value, and structure new companies.

Home Page: http://online.engineering.illinois.edu/webcourses/ge598vfs/

Prerequisites: Undergraduate degree.

Credit: 1 hour (counts toward the certificate in Strategic Technology Management)

Instructor: Sanjiv Chopra