Venture Capital: Investing in Early-Stage Startups

From Startup Potential to Investment Decision

Early-stage investing is built on uncertainty. Investors must judge founders, markets, business models, traction, and growth potential long before outcomes are clear. The challenge is not simply finding promising startups—it is knowing how to evaluate risk, structure deals, and build a portfolio that can absorb failure while capturing outsized returns.

The Venture Capital: Investing in Early-Stage Startups programme provides a practical introduction to how venture capital deals are sourced, assessed, negotiated, and managed. Across five days, you'll explore due diligence, startup valuation, term sheets, investor–founder negotiations, pitching, and portfolio construction.

Through case studies and practical exercises, you'll develop a clearer understanding of how venture investors make decisions and support early-stage companies from initial investment through portfolio growth.

You'll learn how to:

• Understand the role of venture capital in funding innovation and startup growth.
• Identify the main participants in the VC ecosystem and how they interact.
• Evaluate founders, teams, products, and business models through due diligence.
• Understand common early-stage investment instruments such as equity, convertible notes, and SAFEs.
• Analyse the purpose and structure of venture capital term sheets.
• Apply valuation approaches suited to early-stage startups.
• Strengthen negotiation skills for investor–founder discussions.
• Understand how investors pitch funds and opportunities to limited partners.
• Build and manage a diversified venture capital portfolio.
• Monitor and support portfolio companies after investment.