SEMESTER: Spring 2018

COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA295T.11

COURSE TITLE: Venture Capital

UNITS OF CREDIT: 1 Unit

INSTRUCTOR: Scott Kupor

E-MAIL ADDRESS: scott@a16z.com

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: The course will meet on 22 and 29 April from 9am to 5pm.

Please note the unorthodox format of this course, which meets all day on two Sundays. You must attend both sessions in their entirety in order to earn a passing grade.

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

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.

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.

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.