COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA295T.11

COURSE TITLE: Venture Captial

UNITS OF CREDIT: 1 Units

INSTRUCTOR: Scott Kupor

E-MAIL ADDRESSES: scott@a16z.com

CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: bCourses

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: The course will meet over 2 Sundays 4/23 and 4/30 9AM-5PM

PREREQUISITES: None

CLASS FORMAT: We will incorporate case-based readings, lectures and student participation

REQUIRED READINGS: Course Packet; no textbook

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: 100% of the grade will be based on class participation

SAMPLE SYLLABUS: bCourses Electives Forum

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES: This course teaches students the full life-cycle of venture capital. We will begin with the role of venture capital in the broader US economy, who the players are in the ecosystem and how venture capital funds are raised and managed. We will then have a series of modules through which we’ll understand how venture capitalists evaluate companies, make decisions and structure deals (including a full understanding of the economic and governance issues associated with a term sheet). We will explore the lifecycle of venture-backed companies, from inception through development/scaling and ultimately through to exit via IPO, M&A or wind-down. Throughout this lifecycle, we’ll cover the role of the entrepreneur and venture capitalist as well as other constituents (e.g., employees and shareholders). Finally, we’ll review the evolution of the venture capital industry and what that may mean for future entrepreneurship.

CAREER FIELD: This course is useful for anyone considering starting a venture-backed company, joining a venture-backed company or becoming a primary investor or advisor (e.g., accountant, lawyer, consultant) to venture-backed companies.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Scott Kupor is the managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he is responsible for all aspects of running the firm. He previously worked as vice president and general manager at Hewlett Packard. Scott joined HP in 2007 as part of the $1.6 billion acquisition of Opsware, where he was senior vice president of Customer Solutions. In this role, Scott had global responsibility for the company’s professional services, technical pre-sales and customer support organizations. Scott joined Opsware shortly after the company’s founding and held numerous executive management positions including vice president financial planning and vice president corporate development. In these roles he led the company’s private financing activities as well as its initial public offering in 2001. Prior to Opsware, Scott represented software companies in both financing and mergers and acquisitions transactions at Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers. Scott graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in public policy. He also graduated from Stanford Law School and is a member of the California Bar Association.