VENTURE CAPITAL TRAINING
WHAT IS VENTURE CAPITAL?
Venture capital refers to money provided by investors to small businesses. Venture capital investors can be large corporations, groups of wealthy investors, Venture Capital funds, investment banks or high net worth individuals (often called angel investors). Typically these investors focus on early stage businesses looking for startup capital, though this is not always the case. Because many of the investments of a venture capital firm are greenfield projects, they are inherently high risk in nature and investors seek a higher rate of return. The presence of Venture Capital firms is important to small businesses which often do not have access to traditional capital markets or debt services. VC firms typically make money by taking an equity position of the company in exchange for the capital provided.
SKILLS ARE REQUIRED TO WORK IN VENTURE CAPITAL
It is very unusual to join a VC firm straight out of college and there seems to be a varied standard path. However, many individuals gain employment after working a few years in a related field such as investment banking, strategy consulting, corporate development, or other areas of finance and development. People seeking to enter a VC firm can also come from other areas of the business world (IT, Life Sciences, Healthcare, etc.) since those skills will be relied upon due to Venture Capital firms being highly specialized. Those individuals who come from areas outside the finance industry will need additional instruction in corporate valuation and financial modeling. One way to acquire these skills is in the IFI Investment Banking Training Course.
HOW CAN THE IFI TRAINING COURSE HELP ME IN MY CAREER IN VENTURE CAPITAL?
Participants seeking to enter a position at a venture capital firm will need the quantitative and analytical skills that are taught in our investment banking course. Financial modeling, corporate valuation and balance sheet analysis will need to be mastered for a successful start to a career in venture capital.