Our participants tell us that taking this program together with their colleagues helps to share common language and accelerate impact.
We hope you find the same. Special pricing is available for groups.
The benefit of learning together with your friend is that you keep each other accountable and have meaningful discussions about what you're learning.
Courtlyn
Promotion and Events Specialist
Due diligence can create transparency and insights when evaluating potential investments. The process helps investors drive profitability and minimize risk, and startups can use it to improve their potential for securing funding. Despite these benefits, many do not build due diligence into their dealmaking strategy. According to PwC, 8 out of 10 companies fail the M&A process due to a lack of pre-transition due diligence.
Designed and led by expert faculty Angela Lee, Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Business School and founder of 37 Angels, a startup investment network that has evaluated over 25,000 deals, the VC Due Diligence (Online) program provides a framework for learning the due diligence process, focusing on the core elements that help indicate whether a deal has the potential to succeed in today’s volatile market.
Percentage of executives who predict an increase in M&A activity in their industry in the next 12 months
PE & VC professionals who spend more than three-fourths of their time on due diligence, portfolio monitoring, deal sourcing, and valuation.
At the end of this program, you will be able to:
Understand the makeup of a due diligence team, the people, their roles, how they work together, and if they possess that “it factor” you are seeking.
Learn to assess the market based on factors investors use when performing diligence of a problem.
Discover how startups measure their progress and the success of their customer acquisition plans.
Dive deeper into term sheets. Which instrument should you raise on? How much has the founder raised and at what evaluation?
Learn the qualitative and quantitative measurements for evaluating a venture fund or general partner, whether you are an employee, a limited partner, or a startup.
Explore the last decade of innovations in sourcing, selecting, and supporting startups, and learn how to review your anti-portfolio.
Understand the makeup of a due diligence team, the people, their roles, how they work together, and if they possess that “it factor” you are seeking.
Dive deeper into term sheets. Which instrument should you raise on? How much has the founder raised and at what evaluation?
Learn to assess the market based on factors investors use when performing diligence of a problem.
Learn the qualitative and quantitative measurements for evaluating a venture fund or general partner, whether you are an employee, a limited partner, or a startup.
Discover how startups measure their progress and the success of their customer acquisition plans.
Explore the last decade of innovations in sourcing, selecting, and supporting startups, and learn how to review your anti-portfolio.
For full curriculum details, please download the brochure.
Live teaching sessions
Weekly assignments
Try-it activities
Learning journal
Peer Learning
Discussions and networking opportunities
Year-long access to faculty webinars
Angela Lee
Professor of Professional Practice in Finance, Faculty Director, The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center, Columbia Business School
Angela Lee is an award-winning professor and former Chief Innovation Officer at Columbia Business School, where she teaches venture capital and leadership programs. Angela started her career in Product Management and then moved to consulting at McKinsey & Company. She launched four startups and is also the founder of 37 Angels, an investing network that has evaluated over 20,000 startups and invested in 90 startups.
She serves as a venture partner at Fresco Capital, an early-stage venture fund that focuses on the future of work, digital health, and sustainability. She was awarded the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence at Columbia Business School in 2020 and won the Singhvi Prize for Scholarship in the Classroom in 2022.
Angela has spoken at the White House and NASA. She is an expert in teaching online and making learning scalable. She is a sought-after expert on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, MSNBC, and Fox Business. She was also recognized by Inc. as one of the 17 Inspiring women to watch, by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the six Innovative women to watch, and by Crain’s as a notable women in tech.
Upon completion of this program, participants will receive a certificate of participation from Columbia Business School Executive Education, which also counts towards two days for a Certificate in Business Excellence.
Download BrochureYour verified digital certificate of completion will be issued in your legal name and emailed to you, at no additional cost, upon completion of the program as per the stipulated requirements. All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of Columbia Business School Executive Education.
After reviewing the information on the program landing page, we recommend you submit the short form above to gain access to the program brochure, which includes more in-depth information. If you still have questions on whether this program is a good fit for you, please email learner.success@emeritus.org, and a dedicated program advisor will follow-up with you very shortly.
Some programs do have prerequisites, particularly the more technical ones. This information will be noted on the program landing page, as well as in the program brochure. If you are uncertain about program prerequisites and your capabilities, please email us at the ID mentioned above.
Note that, unless otherwise stated on the program web page, all programs are taught in English and proficiency in English is required.
More than 50 percent of our participants are from outside the United States. Class profiles vary from one cohort to the next, but, generally, our online certificates draw a highly diverse audience in terms of professional experience, industry, and geography — leading to a very rich peer learning and networking experience.
Check back to this program web page or email us to inquire if future program dates or the timeline for future offerings have been confirmed yet.
Each program includes an estimated learner effort per week. This is referenced at the top of the program landing page under the Duration section, as well as in the program brochure, which you can obtain by submitting the short form at the top of this web page.
We have designed this program to fit into your current working life as efficiently as possible. Time will be spent among a variety of activities including:
The program is designed to be highly interactive while also allowing time for self-reflection and to demonstrate an understanding of the core topics through various active learning exercises. Please email us if you need further clarification on program activities.
More than 300,000 learners across 200 countries have chosen to advance their skills with Emeritus and its educational learning partners. In fact, 90 percent of the respondents of a recent survey across all our programs said that their learning outcomes were met or exceeded.
All the contents of the course would be made available to students at the commencement of the course. However, to ensure the program delivers the desired learning outcomes the students may appoint Emeritus to manage the delivery of the program in a cohort-based manner the cost of which is already included in the overall course fee of the course.
A dedicated program support team is available 24/5 (Monday to Friday) to answer questions about the learning platform, technical issues, or anything else that may affect your learning experience.
Peer learning adds substantially to the overall learning experience and is an important part of the program. You can connect and communicate with other participants through our learning platform.
Each program includes an estimated learner effort per week, so you can gauge what will be required before you enroll. This is referenced at the top of the program landing page under the Duration section, as well as in the program brochure, which you can obtain by submitting the short form at the top of this web page. All programs are designed to fit into your working life.
This program is scored as a pass or no-pass; participants must complete the required activities to pass and obtain the certificate of completion. Some programs include a final project submission or other assignments to obtain passing status. This information will be noted in the program brochure. Please email us if you need further clarification on any specific program requirements.
Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive a smart digital certificate. The smart digital certificate can be shared with friends, family, schools, or potential employers. You can use it on your cover letter, resume, and/or display it on your LinkedIn profile.
The digital certificate will be sent approximately two weeks after the program, once grading is complete.
No, only verified digital certificates will be issued upon successful completion. This allows you to share your credentials on social platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
No, there is no alumni status granted for this program. In some cases, there are credits that count toward a higher level of certification. This information will be clearly noted in the program brochure.
You will have access to the online learning platform and all the videos and program materials for 12 months following the program start date. Access to the learning platform is restricted to registered participants per the terms of agreement.
Participants will need the latest version of their preferred browser to access the learning platform. In addition, Microsoft Office and a PDF viewer are required to access documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDF files, and transcripts.
Yes, the learning platform is accessed via the internet, and video content is not available for download. However, you can download files of video transcripts, assignment templates, readings, etc. For maximum flexibility, you can access program content from a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile device.
Video lectures must be streamed via the internet, and any livestream webinars and office hours will require an internet connection. However, these sessions are always recorded, so you may view them later.
Yes, you can register up until seven days past the published start date of the program without missing any of the core program material or learnings.
The program fee is noted at the top of this program web page and usually referenced in the program brochure as well.
Yes, you can do the bank remittance in the program currency via wire transfer or debit card. Please contact your program advisor, or email us for details.
Yes! Please email us with the details of the program you are interested in, and we will assist you.
Please email us your invoicing requirements and the specific program you’re interested in enrolling in.
Yes, the flexible payment option allows a participant to pay the program fee in installments. This option is made available on the payment page and should be selected before submitting the payment.
Please connect with us via email for assistance.
You may request a full refund within seven days of your payment or 14 days after the published start date of the program, whichever comes later. If your enrollment had previously been deferred, you will not be entitled to a refund. Partial (or pro-rated) refunds are not offered. All withdrawal and refund requests should be sent to admissions@emeritus.org.
After the published start date of the program, you have until the midpoint of the program to request to defer to a future cohort of the same program. A deferral request must be submitted along with a specified reason and explanation. Cohort changes may be made only once per enrollment and are subject to availability of other cohorts scheduled at our discretion. This will not be applicable for deferrals within the refund period, and the limit of one deferral per enrollment remains. All deferral requests should be sent to admissions@emeritus.org.
Flexible payment options available.