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Venture Fluent

9.7

(31 ratings)

·

6 Weeks

·

Cohort-based Course

Venture Fluent is a live, online, cohort-based course that demystifies the jargon, and lingo of venture capital.

Hosted by

Jorge M. Torres

Lecturer at Yale University

Course overview

Get fluent in the language of venture capital.

Learn the terms, frameworks, and mindsets used by the best VCs in this live course so you can begin investing in startups created by high-potential entrepreneurs.

Who is this course for?

01

You've had professional success and want to start angel investing, create your own fund, or find a role in the VC industry.

02

You've studied VC on your own but crave the community of peers who can support you as you accelerate your learning.

03

You're ready to create a go-to-market plan for finding and supporting the world's best entrepreneurs.

Student Outcomes

Deconstruct the lingo of investing in early-stage innovative businesses.

Successful venture capital investors use the right language to appeal to entrepreneurs, engage with co-investors, and find new opportunities. You'll emerge from the course not only knowing the lingo but also how to use it to advance your professional goals.

Create a body of work that you'll use to demonstrate your investing acumen.

With my guidance, you'll create an investment thesis and write an investment memo. Together, they will form a portfolio that demonstrates how you think about startups and your talent for identifying the ones that have the most potential to deliver outsize investment returns.

Deploy insights gleaned from experienced investors.

You'll be in conversation with VC investors who have successfully traveled the road you're on. We'll cultivate a high-trust classroom environment that encourages them to share insights they don't share anywhere else — insights you'll start using right away.

Collaborate with peers who will serve as a life-long support network.

By learning with your cohort, you will complete the course along with peers who share your objectives. They will serve as future thought partners, co-investors, and industry friends for the life of your investing practice.

Course Outline (Cohort 3) June 28 — August 2, online, 11:00 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. EDT

01

June 28 (Wednesday): Orientation; VC Industry Landscape; Thesis-Driven Investing

Topics: Course norms and expectations; fund structures, corporate forms and their interrelationships; investment thesis construction and strategy of the firm.

02

July 12 (Wednesday): Talent & Originating Deals

Topics: Finding deals; identifying high-potential entrepreneurs; psychology of high-impact founding teams.

03

July 19 (Wednesday): Stewardship & Due Diligence

Topics: Fiduciary duties; differentiating risk; frameworks for underwriting transactions.

04

OPTIONAL BONUS SESSION — July 22 (Saturday): Early-Stage Venture Capital Transactions

Topics: Equity vs. debt; key economic and control terms; driving alignment with entrepreneurs.

05

July 26 (Wednesday): The Limited Partner Perspective

Topics: Taxonomy of limited partners (LPs); motivations and objectives of LPs and how they underwrite investments in venture funds; characteristics of VC managers who generate outsize returns; building strong working relationships with LPs.

06

August 2 (Wednesday): Launching a Career in Innovation Investing & Course Conclusion

Topics: Fund entrepreneurship; navigating professional networks; student presentations; next steps and the Venture Fluent network.

Learn from your instructor.

Jorge M. Torres

Jorge M. Torres

Lecturer at Yale University

Becoming a great venture capital investor begins with mastering the language and jargon investors use to establish credibility and work with confidence. After almost decade practicing law, I joined Silas Capital as an early hire on the investment team and won a prestigious Kauffman Fellowship before ever doing my first deal. I did this by reading everything I found that could help me become fluent in the language of early-stage investing. That approach served its purpose, but it took way too long to identify the best sources of knowledge and it was incredibly isolating to learn by myself.


Now I teach venture capital at Yale and at other places to cohorts of peers who want to learn together and who benefit from my curated syllabus of the best readings in the field. I’ve taught hundreds of students how to move their professional goals forward, whether that's securing a role at a VC firm, making their first angel investment, or launching their own fund.


Read my LinkedIn profile to learn more about my career, and visit my personal website to see who's engaged me to teach venture capital to newbies and experienced professionals alike.

Learn from expert guest speakers.

9.7

(31 ratings)

Read testimonials from real students.

        Jorge's contacts/network yield amazing guest speakers; he makes the subject matter accessible and breaks down things in a simplified manner; his engaging style and his emphasis on ensuring everyone understands . . . as well as making time to answer every question- no matter how complex- is equally impressive. Loved the course!!!
Heidi Diamond

Heidi Diamond

Independent investor (Beta cohort)
        This course was excellent!! As someone new to VC, this short course taught me all of the fundamentals and gave me the resources to continue my learning and development. Jorge is an amazing instructor, and he expertly managed curating and teaching the course. Well worth the investment, especially if you have little to no background in VC.
Gabrielle Fong

Gabrielle Fong

Senior Associate, First In (Beta cohort)
        Deeply appreciated this course, the quality of the instruction, the great speakers, the background materials, and my thoughtful cohort-mates. What a rare treat to be able to hear from VCs in candid conversations and to ask them questions in real time. So glad I took it, totally worth it!
Wendy Maldonado-D'Amico

Wendy Maldonado-D'Amico

Freelance consultant (Beta cohort)
        Venture Fluent is a great course and exactly what I was looking for. Jorge Torres has an ability to distill complex topics into easy to understand lessons that drive thought provoking discussions and maximize class time. If you are looking to build on a fundamental understanding of VC, this is the course!
Maura Comerford Devlin

Maura Comerford Devlin

Vice President, 43North (Beta cohort)
        Jorge has created an exciting and digestible introduction to VC course. The different resources that he laid out where perfect for the sessions and it's great that you retain access to everything even after the class finishes[.] Jorge created an atmosphere of cooperation, friendliness and excitement within the cohort from the beginning[.]
Paulo Gaviria

Paulo Gaviria

Leadership Fellow, gHSmart (Beta cohort)
        This course provides a great overview for those interested in VC. The course is accessible and breaks down a complicated and intimidating field. I left feeling inspired and hopeful about a career in angel investing and venture capital. I feel that I have more tools to navigate this new world and I have confidence to move towards my career dreams. 
Fatema Basrai

Fatema Basrai

Managing Director, Innovate Health Yale and the Yale Sustainable Health Initiative (Beta cohort)
        This course not only oriented me to major discussions and frameworks regarding VC, but it also helped me begin to think critically about them and form my own positions. Having completed this course, I feel very confident in my ability to speak about VC and to pursue my interests in a more intentional way.
Brian Dolan

Brian Dolan

Energy Consultant, Guidehouse (Beta cohort)
        The course was excellent! Jorge is a great instructor. He made the course more fun and informative at the same time. 
Nese Ozler

Nese Ozler

Director, Group Partnering and Devices at Deutsche Telekom (Beta cohort)

Course Design

5- 7 hours per week

  • 6 Live Sessions, 1x per Week

    2 hours of live instruction per week

    Each module includes a live online session where you'll encounter a mix of interactive lecture, group-work, and guest speakers.

  • Optional Office Hours

    30 mins per week

    After each live session concludes, Jorge will stay with the class for an additional 30 minutes to answer any and all questions.

  • Curated readings

    1 hour per week

    Curated readings placed on the syllabus and designed to help you get the most out of the live sessions while going deeper on the topics that interest you the most.

  • Hands-On Projects

    2-3 hours per week

    Projects help you apply what you're learning. You'll emerge from the course with a portfolio or work you can use to engage entrepreneurs, co-investors, and limited partners. In the past, student projects have involved constructing investment theses and writing investment memos.

  • Go at your own pace.

    Dedicate as much time as you want.

    This is a "one size fits many" course! These days, everyone has a ton of demands on their time. The course is structured so you can get the highest return on the amount of time you have available to commit the course.

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Free resource

Learn how to value a startup like a VC.

Valuation is a critical step in successful investing—even if a company succeeds, valuation can make the difference between a huge outcome and barely making money.

 

In this exercise, I unpack the lingo and illuminate the frameworks top venture investors use to do their work.


This free resource is based on a popular lesson from Venture Fluent, my live, online venture capital course.


In the lesson, you will:


1.   Learn about the considerations that go into valuation;

2.   Review video walkthroughs of the valuation process; and

3.   Apply your learnings

Get the Mini-Lesson & Exercise

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I get out of the course?
Will you teach me how to pitch my business to VCs?
Will you introduce me to LPs or other investors?
I work full-time; what is the expected time commitment?
What happens if I can’t make a live session?
Who is the course not for?
What’s the refund policy?
Is this course affiliated with or endorsed by Yale University?
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Venture Fluent

Get reimbursed by your employer

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