Building Your Venture Capital Investment Thesis
To work in venture capital, it is critical to have an investment thesis. The investment thesis helps you to define your brand and functions as a key resource in fundraising for your own fund, in interviews, and in hiring. This program provides you with the knowledge needed to build an investment thesis that is both impactful and actionable. You will learn best practices and gain insights from industry experts on what has and hasn’t worked for them and leave equipped to recognize, build, and execute a successful investment thesis of your own.
This program is fast-paced, dynamic, and practical. It offers a unique learning experience by combining interactive lectures and discussions with case studies, planning exercises, and other group work. You will hear from world leaders in the VC space, guided by Columbia Business School Professor Angela Lee. Lee, who is the faculty director of the School's Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, has won the Dean’s Teaching Award and brings over 20 years of innovation, strategy, and entrepreneurship experience to the classroom.
The program equips you with the knowledge, skills, and tools to build and write your own investment thesis, grounded in your unique perspective. You'll walk away with a better understanding of your expertise, interest, and network and the knowledge of how to position yourself in the competitive venture capital landscape.
After attending the program, you will be ready to:
- Make decisions as a founding general partner of a fund
- Communicate your brand to VC funds, investors, and entrepreneurs
- Determine which funding type makes the most sense for your investment focus
- Develop insights about a specific investment focus
- Write a compelling investment thesis to land your first job in venture capital
- Measure the efficacy of your investment thesis over time so you can adapt to emerging trends
Components of a Thesis
What are the choices founding general partners have to make when thinking about what to invest in?
Funding Types and Broad and Narrow Theses
What is the difference between venture capital, venture debt, and revenue-based financing, and what other sources of funding are available to entrepreneurs? What is the benefit of having a broad or narrow investment thesis, and how does this differ at the partner, fund, and firm level?
Unicorns or Zebras?
How do unicorns and zebras differ? How do VCs think about which to invest in and what are the tradeoffs?
Building a Thesis that Adapts
How does one build an investment thesis that stands the test of time? How do you start to build your own investment thesis? How can you build expertise and network around a space?
For a complete program schedule download the agenda.
This program is designed for executives who want to work in venture capital, launch their own fund, or further their careers in the space. The program focuses on how to write your own investment thesis and how to think about critical decisions VC partners make.
It is encouraged that participants take the Venture Capital: Investing In Early Stage Startups program before they enroll in this program. Alternatively, participants should be familiar with these topics coming into the program: how to diligence a startup, cap table math, term sheets, and startup valuation.
Upon completion of this program, you will earn three credits towards a Certificate with select alumni and tuition benefits. Learn more.