This course offers Georgia Kickstart Fund members experiential learning in early-stage startup investing, covering angel investment, and venture capital basics. Students gain skills in opportunity assessment, conduct due diligence, and present reports on startups seeking grants from the Georgia Kickstart Fund.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Graduate students will complete a graduate case study project.
Athena Title
Startup Investing
Undergraduate Prerequisite
Permission of department
Graduate Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the mechanics of angel investing and venture capital investment.
Students will appraise internal and external factors that influence a new venture’s chances of success using readings, term sheet modules, and the cap table crash course to interpret complex information such as ownership, dilution, and payout scenarios.
Students will describe instruments of investment for an early-stage deal, including (but not limited to) convertible notes, SAFE notes, and priced rounds.
Students will prepare a rigorous diligence report on a startup being considered for an investment, analyzing markets, business models, traction metrics, competitive landscapes, financial projections, and deal terms to diagnose risk and upside.
Students will discuss terms typically found in an early-stage term sheet and evaluate likely consequences of those terms.
Topical Outline
Startup lifecycles from founding to exit
Types of startup investors, including angel investors, venture capitalists, and accelerators
Entrepreneurial opportunity assessment and due diligence, including understanding startup metrics and KPIs
Instruments of early-stage investment, including convertible notes, SAFE notes, and priced rounds
Anatomy of a term sheet
Valuation methods for startups
Portfolio management
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
