ONLINE COURSE
Venture Capital Masterclass
Learn the essential skills of early stage investing to accelerate your career and navigate the recruiting process
- Step-by-step video tutorials
- Templates & examples
- Self-paced course
INTRODUCING
A Premium, Self-Paced Online Course Taught By An Industry Expert
Gain skills and knowledge to excel on the job or in the recruiting process
VC Fund Structure & Returns
Term Sheets
& Deal Structuring
Financial Modeling
& Due Diligence
Navigating Capitalization Tables
Pre- and Post-Money Valuation
Sourcing Prospects & Market Theses
Picking Companies To Invest In
Interview Questions & Case Studies
WHO IS THIS FOR
Designed for Up-And-Coming or Aspiring Early Stage Investors
The course is designed for a variety of backgrounds. No prior investing experience is required. Bankers, consultants, tech leaders, early startup employees, undergrads, or MBAs are welcome here. Designed to help you succeed on the job and in interviews to get the job.
Illustrative firms/roles this course is designed to help you succeed in
Pre-Seed/Seed
First Round Capital
Precursor Ventures
Initialized Capital
Village Global
Series A
Sequoia
a16z
Benchmark
Kleiner Perkins
Accelerators
Y Combinator
Techstars
500 Global
PearX
VC Scout Programs
Sequoia Scouts
Accel Scouts
Bain Capital Ventures Scouts
Craft Ventures Scouts
CURRICULUM
Learn the Essentials of Early-Stage Investing, Without Years of Experience
The course is comprised of easy-to-follow video tutorials. Each section includes supplemental templates, spreadsheets, and PDFs for download.
- 66 course lessons
- 12+ video hours
- Excel templates & walkthroughs
This module covers the foundational elements of how venture capital funds are structured, including the roles of limited partners (LPs) and general partners (GPs), and the life cycle of a VC fund. It also explores how returns are generated and measured, such as IRR (Internal Rate of Return) and multiples. Understanding these concepts is crucial for knowing how VC funds operate and how investors make money, which is essential for career growth in venture capital.
This module focuses on the key components of term sheets and the intricacies of structuring deals. It includes details on valuation, equity, liquidation preferences, and other critical terms. Mastery of this area is important for negotiating and closing investment deals effectively, a core skill for any venture capitalist.
In this module, participants learn how to create and analyze financial models to evaluate potential investments. It also covers situations where modeling is or isn’t appropriate. Further, it covers the due diligence process, which involves verifying the financial health and growth potential of startups. These skills are vital for making informed investment decisions and managing risk.
This module teaches how to read and interpret capitalization tables, which outline the equity ownership structure of a company. It covers topics such as dilution, convertible notes, and option pools. Understanding cap tables is essential for assessing the impact of new investments on ownership and control, which is critical for strategic decision-making.
This module explains the concepts of pre-money and post-money valuation, which are fundamental to understanding how much a startup is worth before and after an investment round. It includes practical exercises in calculating valuations. This knowledge is important for setting investment terms and evaluating the financial implications of funding rounds.
Participants in this module learn strategies for identifying promising investment opportunities and developing market theses to guide their investment strategy. This includes researching industries, networking, and leveraging data sources. Effective sourcing is a key skill for finding high-potential startups and staying ahead of market trends.
This module provides a framework for evaluating startups, focusing on factors such as team, product, market, and traction. It includes case studies and practical exercises to hone decision-making skills. Choosing the right companies to invest in is crucial for achieving strong portfolio performance.
This module prepares participants for interviews with startups and includes analysis of real-world case studies. It covers how to ask insightful questions and assess the answers to gauge a startup’s potential. This is important for building strong relationships with founders and making informed investment decisions based on qualitative insights.
PAST STUDENTS
We're Trusted By Students From Top Firms & Schools
Existing Investors
Investment Bankers
MBAs & Undergrads
Consultants
IMPROVE YOUR RESUME
Earn Verified LinkedIn Credentials While You Learn
Looking to boost your resume and demonstrate your skills? At the end of each module, you’ll take a quiz to assess your knowledge. By receiving a passing score, you will earn a LinkedIn Verified Certificate. Certificate does not expire.
About THE INSTRUCTOR
Mike Hinckley Is a Growth & VC Expert, Based in San Francisco
10+ years of finance & growth stage experience
General Atlantic
Investor at leading growth venture firm with $86b in assets
Airbnb
Operator at General Atlantic's portfolio company
Wharton MBA
Graduate of top business school
100% Money Back Guarantee
If you aren’t satisfied, for any reason, just send me an email at himike@growthequityinterviewguide.com within 14 days of your purchase and you’ll get a full refund.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any questions not answered below, feel free to email me at himike@growthequityinterviewguide.com, and I’ll answer as soon as I can!
The course is for anyone who an aspiring or up-and-coming early stage investor. This can include angel or VC investing.
The skills you'll learn will prepare you to excel in interviews or on-the-job in junior to mid-level roles. Specifically:
- Undergrad analyst or internship
- Pre-MBA associate (on-cycle or off-cycle)
- Post-MBA roles
It's designed for a diversity of backgrounds, including for folks from banking, consulting, tech/startups, undergrad/MBA, or other forms of investing.
The course is designed to equip you all the skills you'll need to excel in interviews or on-the-job in junior to mid-level roles at VC firms (or angel investor). Specifically:
- Undergrad analyst or internship
- Pre-MBA associate (on-cycle or off-cycle)
- Post-MBA associate or VP
In a sense, this course is quite advanced in that it teaches the exact techniques and frameworks used by the best early stage investors.
However, there are only a few pre-requisites. You must possess Excel spreadsheet skills and understand general business terms.
The course is designed to be flexible. One could complete it over a weekend, if a student focused and worked diligently. Many students do, especially those who in interviews.
However, the subject matter and lessons are "meaty" enough, such that if one has more time (weeks or months), one could take their time and go even deeper. There are several practice exercises which can serve as a roadmap for one's education over a longer time period.
For reference, the course itself includes several hours of video content, with several accompanying written text lessons. This doesn't include the time you take to do the practice case studies (which I recommend!).
You qualify for a refund if, within 14 days of purchase, you do the following:
- You request a refund via email himike@growthequityinterviewguide.com, and
- You complete Quiz 1 of the course (this ensures you've actually engaged with the material)
Also, please note that all course material downloads are watermarked with your first name, last name, and email address. We add names found on circulated course materials to our internal blacklist, as well as partner sites in the industry.
You'll get immediate access to the course right after you purchase!
You get lifetime access!
That way, you have peace-of-mind to purchase now and utilize the course materials to prepare for interviews over multiple recruiting cycles!
tl;dr - there is some overlap, but it's quite limited.
The shared modules focus on sourcing investment prospects and how to create a market thesis.
However, in general, my flagship Growth Equity course focuses on rigorous 3-statement financial modeling for growth stage investing.
While we do cover some light modeling here, this VC course is primarily about skills & techniques that are more relevant to early stage investing -- namely, term sheets, cap tables, VC-specific case studies for interviews, etc.
Email me at himike@growthequityinterviewguide.com and I'll get back to you ASAP
