Show Me The Money: Fundamentals of Funding Startups
Overview
Funding can be one of the most daunting parts of starting a business. This unit provides step-by-step guidance on how to work out the financial needs of a particular startup and how to meet them. Students will hear from successful entrepreneurs and present their ideas to real-world investors for feedback. They will gain insight into how angel investors, investment managers, and venture capitalists make investment decisions. In each micro unit, they will learn new tools and frameworks, and then apply them to industry-relevant case studies and problem sets.
Requisites
02-November-2025
31-May-2026
01-November-2026
Unit learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Experiment and build financial models for start-ups (Micro 1)
- Identify and evaluate different sources of funding to support start-ups (Micro 2)
- Critically evaluate and determine the funding needs of start-ups (Micro 3)
- Determine the value of a start-up and negotiate with potential investors (Micro 3)
- Work individually or collaboratively to prepare a term sheet to raise equity (Micro 3)
Teaching methods
All applicable locations
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
On Campus Class |
4.00 | 6 weeks | 24 |
Online (asynchronous lecture) |
2.00 | 6 weeks | 12 |
Unspecified Activities (Independent Learning) |
19.00 | 6 weeks | 114 |
| Total | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULOs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Study | Individual | Pass/Fail | 2,3 |
| Project | Group | Pass/Fail | 1,3,4,5 |
| Online Quizzes | Individual | Pass/Fail | 1,3,4 |
Content
- Financial statements
- Financial performance analysis
- Forecasting methods
- Opportunity evaluation and financial consequences
- Assessing funding needs
- Early stage start-up valuation and valuation methods
- International sources of funding
- Harvesting
- Pitching to investors
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.