How to finance your venture ?

About this course: The course aims at providing knowledge and experience to entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs generally start with a mission, a new idea that they want to bring to the world. If the idea is original, it is probably not expected by the market, which has to be educated. This is a very costly experience. Entrepreneurs need to gather capital at the start of the journey. They need to articulate clear plans, define objectives and resources and raise money accordingly. They also need to manage cash for two reasons: i) because the better it is managed, the less you need to raise with outsiders; ii) because generation of cash flow is the pillar of the valuation of the company. And we should add that the practical reason why a company gets bankrupted is because it runs out of cash.. The course is based on this belief. We look at the myth of the balance sheet and explain the dynamics of cash flows and the way they should be managed. We also investigate the basics of venture capital and provide a practical roadmap to entrepreneurs. Many courses are dedicated to the same topic. Our originality is that we operate in the advisory board of the private equity firm, Xerys and are board members of their venture companies. In addition, Michel was the country head for Merrill Lynch in France while Philippe served in the same function at UBS. The former as head of investment banking, the latter as head of global markets.

Created by:  École Polytechnique

• Taught by:  Michel Fleuriet, Administrator PE Fund Xerys

  Finance

• Taught by:  Philippe Tibi, Professeur chargé de cours

Level Intermediate Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 3.3 stars Average User Rating 3.3See what learners said Coursework

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École Polytechnique L’École polytechnique associe recherche, enseignement et innovation au meilleur niveau scientifique et technologique mondial pour répondre aux défis du XXIe siècle. En tête des écoles d’ingénieur françaises depuis plus de 200 ans, sa formation promeut une culture d’excellence scientifique pluridisciplinaire, ouverte dans une forte tradition humaniste.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


HOW TO READ A BALANCE SHEET
Welcome! This first week will help you understanding the different types of financial documents and the information each contains with one goal in mind: make more informed decisions about your venture.


5 videos, 1 reading expand

1. Reading: MoocKnowledge survey
2. Video: Why create a company?
3. Video: Figuring the balance sheet
4. Video: Cash conversion cycle
5. Video: Working capital requirement
6. Video: Non-current assets

Graded: Why create a company?
Graded: Figuring the Balance Sheet
Graded: Cash Conversion Cycle
Graded: Working Capital Requirement
Graded: Non-Current Assets

WEEK 2


VALUE CREATION AND CASH FLOW



In this module you will learn: How does your venture create wealth? What is a business plan? What is wealth? What are the main financial metrics of wealth creation? How does your venture create cash? What is the Burn rate? Why should you finance your venture through equity? And why not debt?


6 videos expand

1. Video: How does your venture create wealth?
2. Video: The main financial metrics of wealth creation
3. Video: How does your venture create cash?
4. Video: Burn rate
5. Video: Why equity?
6. Video: Why not debt?

Graded: What is a business plan?
Graded: What is wealth?
Graded: The main financial metrics of wealth creation
Graded: How does your venture create cash?
Graded: Burn rate
Graded: Why Equity?
Graded: Why not Debt?

WEEK 3


GROWTH AND MARKET POWER
Understand that growth and size do influence market power and cash flows/profits as a consequence


1 video expand

1. Video: 1.Growth, market power and financing

Graded: Quiz Growth, market power and financing

WEEK 4


THE ENTREPRENEUR AND THE FINANCIERS
Understand the details of the relation between the entrepreneur and the financier, private equity in the first stages, then the public market at the time of the IPO. Understand the expectations, the documentation and the basis of price discovery


2 videos expand

1. Video: 4.The entrepreneur and the financier: A long term relationship
2. Video: 5.The IPO: The beginning of a new story

Graded: Quiz The entrepreneur and the financier
Graded: Quiz The IPO

WEEK 5


VENTURE CAPITAL FINANCING
Understand via real life examples the respective objectives of the entrepreneur and the financiers. Examine the trade off between ownership and growth and get an understanding of the different stages of investment.


2 videos expand

1. Video: 2.The entrepreneur dilemma: Growth vs Ownership
2. Video: 3.Investment stages

Graded: Quiz Growth vs Ownership
Graded: Quiz Investment stages

WEEK 6


Case Study



1 reading expand

1. Reading: Final survey

Graded: The IPO of Square