Venture Capital Education

MonicaLRoze·Oct 03, 2020

Posted in:Favors

I'm looking for courses to learn more about the VC world, whether it be to get a job in VC or to start my own fund for my venture. I see there are a ton out there, everything from Coursera and Udemy to Ivy League programs. Any input on the best courses to. learn about the industry?

rachel·Oct 04, 2020

@abbyrose and @iynna - would love to hear your takes on this!

abbyrose·Oct 05, 2020

Absolutely! Would second the recommendation for Venture Deals by Brad Feld. Venture is really the type of thing you learn better on the job vs. in the classroom, though. It's a very network and people-driven business-- talking to people who work in the space is the best way to learn about it, and is also the best way to eventually secure a job in venture. I'd recommend taking the time you would have spent on doing a course and instead using it to reach out to folks on LinkedIn, Twitter, Elpha and other platforms for coffee chats or quick calls to get real perspectives from people who actually work in VC on the day to day, and also to grow your network so that you're well-positioned for a job at these funds if any open up.

Halle·Oct 05, 2020

+1 to all of this, especially building meaningful connections with people in the industry!

LisaJensen·Oct 06, 2020

+1 to the Venture Deals Course - I highly recommendLike most things, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it!Also recommend the most recent edition of Venture Deals (the book). Good resource to reference.

MonicaLRoze·Oct 06, 2020

Thank. you!

Iynna·Oct 04, 2020

Thanks @rachelclifton for the tag :) Good question @MonicaLRoze! You must read Venture Deals (Brad Feld) and I am just getting started with Secret of Sand Hill Road (Scott Kupor from a16z) but so far excellent.Enjoy!

MonicaLRoze·Oct 06, 2020

Thank you !

KaylaBrianne·Oct 07, 2020

Secrets of Sand Hill Road is a great, in-depth explanation of VC. Highly recommend!

AmaKessie·Oct 05, 2020

Hello @MonicaLRoze! I am currently enrolled in the Venture Deals program through Kauffman Fellows and Techstars. It is a remote course and requires about 3-5 hours a week. It is coupled with videos on different topics that pertains to Venture Capital. There is also the Venture Deals book you can get as well.

Van·Oct 08, 2020

Same here. I am enrolled in the same course. Rather than just listening to videos, they have you create teams and submit assignments together.

AmaKessie·Oct 21, 2020

Hello Van! Are you currently in this cohort? If so, I would love to connect on LinkedIn

jemstone·Oct 05, 2020

I have been doing what I call a "DIY VC" degree this year alongside launching my first fund and making our first 10 investments (so far). I started by taking an angel investing course with Class Rebel (and full disclosure - recently invested in the company!) and followed up on all typical book/article recommendations and following a ridiculous number of VCs on Twitter. But honestly the thing that has helped me the most are podcasts - listening to the actual investment strategies and stories from VCs in their own words. My favorites are 20MinVC, TechCrunch/Equity, Upside, Acquisition, Full Ratchet, Your First Million, Venture Stories, LA Venture, and basically any random podcast interviewing a women investor!

MonicaLRoze·Oct 06, 2020

This is amazing, thank you!

Halle·Oct 05, 2020

i've gotten this question quite a lot since getting into VC so i put a couple of my favorite online resources in a google doc, happy to share if you DM me your email!

SuWernKhor·Oct 12, 2020

Hi Halle! I'm also interested in the online resources!