Entrepreneurship: Securing Funding

Service Description

Start-ups can benefit from a wide variety of financing options on the path to profitability, but how do you know which one to choose? This course explores different financing models, including bootstrapping, organic growth, debt and risk capital, and also provides a clear overview of equity financing including the key types of investors: angels, venture capital, and crowdfunding. You’ll learn about terms, and term sheets, exit modes and what exit strategy might be best for you. By the end of this course, you’ll have an understanding of what success looks like and how it can be financed. You’ll also be ready for the capstone project, in which you will get feedback on your own pitch deck and may even be selected to pitch to investors from venture capital firms. You'll learn why there's no single formula for a successful pitch, the best techniques for formulating good surveys, and strategies for creating prototypes for physical goods, software, and services. By the end of this module, you'll be able to identify the key components of a successful pitch, know how to use surveys effectively to test your idea, and come up with a plan for building a prototype of your own product or service. Final project, you will assemble a pitch deck for a new venture, including the key deliverables (e.g., customer needs, concept description, financials, and so forth). You will review your peers' projects according to YEE’s rubric. The program finishes with a virtual graduation ceremony where participants’ families are invited to celebrate with their youth and hear about what they’ve accomplished during the program!