Venture Capital Executive Program
The Venture Capital Executive Program is designed for investment professionals, economic policy advisors, and entrepreneurs striving to gain advanced, results-oriented training in the venture capital process.
Venture Capital is crucial to creating and maintaining a vital entrepreneurial economy, providing opportunities for technology entrepreneurship, to the growth and development of many ventures, large and small, to the business development strategies of major corporations, and to providing superior investment returns to long-term sophisticated investors such as college endowments and public pension funds. But this market is opaque and rapidly changing. Financial commitments are illiquid and often locked up for long periods. Access, whether for investment, seeking financing, or career development is closed to those without privileged entree.
This course is an essential tool for experienced investors, corporate executives and serious entrepreneurs to gain understanding and access to this unique, important and vital sector. You will learn from an expert blend of academics and practitioners. The program is structured to put you face to face with key players in the industry and to provide the opportunity for interaction and engagement. This course is a gateway to action.
Program Description
The Venture Capital Executive Program provides education and training in the art of venture capital investing. In addition to the excellent Berkeley faculty, the course exposes participants to expert venture capital investors, institutional investors managing venture capital portfolios, lawyers specializing in venture investing and venture fund formation, and entrepreneurs. The program utilizes varied educational settings including case studies, panel discussions, electronic data bases research tools, and small sub-group workshops.
In one brief week, the program provides a sweeping overview of the venture capital marketplace, training in opportunity assessment, valuation, deal structuring, corporate governance, and harvesting investments. The program will address how corporate strategy of large corporations can embrace venture investing, working with entrepreneurs and venture investors to further corporate aims. It will be useful to serious individual investors seeking to develop a professional approach to venture investing.
At the end of the program, participants will be awarded a certificate of completion by the UC Berkeley Center for Executive Education.
Program Topics
Participants will study how to evaluate and organize investments in the following fields:
- IT, Software, Telecom and Wireless
- Life Sciences and Biotech
- Energy, Green and Nanotech
- New Media, Content and Community on the Internet and Wireless
Who Should Attend
- Venture Capital Investors
- Portfolio Managers seeking to or with responsibility for managing Investment in venture capital
- Professional Advisors, including lawyers, accountants and investment bankers
- Corporate Executives involved in business development and strategic investment in new ventures
- Economic Development Policy Advisors seeking to enhance new venture creation
- Serious individual venture investors
Advantages
This powerful weeklong program takes full advantage of the resources at the University of California, Berkeley, the world's leading research university, and its location in the San Francisco Bay Area, which vividly illustrates venture capital investment success, with extremely high rates of growth and business innovation.
Key Skills
- Achieving Liquidity
- Realizing and Accelerating Returns
- Managing the VC Opportunity for the Long Term

