Financing the Entrepreneurial Business

Create the perfect conditions for financing entrepreneurial businesses. Navigate and explore each stage of the deal cycle, from both sides of the table.

Create the conditions for a successful deal

Are you a high-potential entrepreneur seeking investment? Or an angel, venture capitalist or private equity investor eager to maximise returns? Come together in this practical programme.

Benefits for you

• Understand the full ‘venture capital cycle’ and the market for entrepreneurial finance: its players, their motivations and its impact.
• Gain practical tools and frameworks. Learn to structure successful deals, understand valuation techniques and leverage funds to improve returns.
• Value what an early-stage venture or buyout is worth – and learn how to buy a business with other people’s money.
• Explore exit strategies, initial public offerings, and trade sales. Share experiences from both the entrepreneur and the investor viewpoint – all within one classroom.
• For investors: Grasp what drives entrepreneurs, and build your network to enhance your deal flow.
• For entrepreneurs: What drives investors? Discover what angels and venture capitalists are looking for, how to identify one who will add value and how to build ‘win-win’ outcomes.
• For advisors and those in government support organizations: How can you successfully participate in the entrepreneurial ecosystem? What value can you add? How can the entrepreneurial financing mindset enhance your organization?

Benefits for your organisation

• Attract and retain top talent.
• Deepen your understanding of the big picture of financing innovative and high growth ventures.
• Improve your organisation’s ability to secure better valuations and choose optimal financing options.
• Learn to avoid costly pitfalls and make the right exit choices.
• Enhance your deal flow and financing options through a strong and dynamic international network.

What you learn

• Gain hands-on exposure to the entrepreneurial financing process from beginning to end – giving you the expertise to create value and grow the pie.
• Explore a range of scenarios, including financing start-ups, social enterprises, management buy-outs, and growth capital deals.
• Investigate actual deals in emerging markets, Europe and the US, and improve your global deal-making perspective.
• Discover how to value privately-held companies and examine the non-financial factors impacting those valuations.
• See due diligence from both sides of the table, explore term sheets and shareholder agreements, and learn how to structure and price financing options and manage multiple rounds of financing.
• Become a savvy investor – look at different considerations and pitfalls, and understand the psychology of deal-making.
• Plan your exit strategy, focusing on initial public offerings and trade sales.

How you learn

• Experience the dynamism and lively rapport that comes with case-method learning.
• Accelerate your learning by completing a valuation assignment ahead of time and taking it apart at the very first session.
• Undertake a final hands-on assignment that cements your learning.
• Meet, discuss and share experiences with industry professionals from the venture capital, private equity, impact investing, family office, and entrepreneurial communities.
• Collaborate and apply your learning as part of an intimate, dynamic learning group.
• Gain real-world insights into actual deals that our expert faculty know intimately.
• Learn from faculty who offer a unique combination of academic rigour and practical experience and expertise.

Your learning experience

• Learn from Professor Luisa Alemany: Academic Director of the LBS Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, author of the first European textbook on ‘Entrepreneurial Finance’ and an experienced investor in start-ups.
• Learn from Professor John Mullins: award-winning teacher, three-time entrepreneur, noted scholar and author, and one of the world’s foremost thought leaders in entrepreneurship and new venture growth.
• Build your knowledge base and leverage global networks in London, a commercially-driven and vibrant business capital.
• Join the dynamic LBS community and boost your confidence to seek out deals across different cultures and markets.
• Gain unique insights – entrepreneurs and investors come together to share experiences, build knowledge and make connections.
• Experience both group work and individual study – take time to reflect on your own learning journey.