Level Up as a Growth-Oriented Investment Manager
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December 17, 2024
9 to 12 Months
Online and In Person
The Venture Capital Private Equity Program from Columbia Business School Executive Education will prepare you to succeed in a dynamically transforming investment arena. In this comprehensive 9- to 12-month program, you will learn how to identify and evaluate what makes a good investment, develop valuation frameworks, structure term sheets, manage portfolios, and learn soft skills such as pitching deals, storytelling with data, and networking. In addition to the core modules and electives, you will engage in a specialized elective that delves into either venture capital (VC) or private equity (PE) as per your career goals.
Columbia Business School alumni have added valuable contributions to the venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) sectors, and the school’s location in New York City—the financial hub of the world—provides a close-up demonstrative understanding of the industry. Through this immersive program, taught by Columbia faculty, you will learn to leverage challenges and turn them into positive outcomes.
Venture Capital
Private Equity
Core Curriculum
Kick-start your program journey with 12 weeks of online learning, imparting essential skills for investment management
Weekly Live Sessions
Experience live online sessions with periodic guest lectures from faculty, industry leaders, and career advisors
World-Renowned Faculty
Learn from Columbia faculty, thought leaders, and industry experts
Specialized Electives
Take a deep dive into understanding leveraged buyouts (LBOs) or VC decision making, depending on your industry or future goals
Capstone Project
Work on a capstone project where you apply program learnings to a real-world case
Peer Learning
Interact with and learn from high-achieving peers from around the globe and build your network
Choice of Electives
Select from topical electives to gain relevant skill sets specific to your role
Success Coach
Craft your learning journey in line with your career goals with a success coach assigned to your cohort
Practitioner Insights
Learn from faculty and industry experts during the program to gain actionable insights and implement learning into practice
Flexible Learning Journey
Customize your program experience by selecting from a range of topical electives and gain skill sets specific to your career goals
Networking Event
Interact with faculty, peers, and global industry leaders at an optional two-day on-campus networking event
CIBE Holder Benefits
Receive Certificate in Business Excellence benefits upon completion and become part of a distinguished global community
What Is Venture Capital?
Making sound investment decisions requires knowing the mechanics of VC. By examining key VC components and the role they play in vetting investment opportunities, you will develop in-depth knowledge of the deal flow process and its risks and rewards.
What Makes a Good VC Investment?
Due diligence is an essential step in VC investing. By imparting guiding principles and key benchmarks, including market sizing and the net promoter score, you will acquire the tools needed to conduct a systematic evaluation of any investment opportunity.
What Matters in a Term Sheet?
Term sheets play a critical role in the negotiation process, benefiting both investors and startups. This module looks at the critical points to include when negotiating financial and governance terms, ensuring that your final agreement offers your organization and its investment maximum protection.
How Do You Value a Startup?
Valuing a startup is a complex endeavor. By examining different valuation approaches and how they can be leveraged together, you will acquire a set of best practices for assessing the value of a venture.
How Do You Manage a Portfolio?
Successful VC investing goes beyond making the deal. By looking at the contributions each party must make to manage an investment, you will build a tool kit of practical strategies for maximizing your return on investment (ROI).
Lessons Learned from 15,000 Pitches
Gaining an edge in the field means translating core concepts into actionable strategies and putting them into practice. This module allows you to learn from actual VC successes and failures, preparing you to make real-world connections and embark on your journey into VC investing.
Private Equity Foundations
PE investing has evolved. By examining modern PE investing, you will develop an in-depth understanding of how to navigate the complex PE landscape and identify the factors you must consider when making an investment decision.
What Makes a Good Private Equity Investment?
Not all deals should be pursued. By exploring the essential elements of a good PE investment and the potential impacts of environmental, social, and governance (ESG), you will gain the expertise you need to identify opportunities with the strongest value potential.
How Do You Put the Deal Together?
PE deals require time and relationship management. This program explores the intricacies of dealmaking, equipping you with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully source and execute a deal.
How Do You Create Value in Private Equity?
Managed well, portfolio organizations can deliver significant value. Through a thorough examination of price and value fundamentals, you will acquire a set of business strategies you can leverage to maximize your ROI.
What Does Success Look Like?
Success might look a little different in PE investing. Covering the range of possibilities, this module will help you understand the numerous pathways to PE value and success.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
PE deals carry a greater potential for risk. Through a close examination of risk management best practices, you will develop a set of strategies that will help protect your investment.
After completing the foundational models in VC and PE, you can choose between two comprehensive specialized electives, each meticulously crafted for VC and PE, respectively. These electives delve deeper, presenting you with critical insights that go beyond the basics.
● VC Decision Making: This elective will help you learn how to create a successful investment strategy to improve venture fund performance. You will establish your individual investment criteria and intelligently diversify your portfolio.
or
● Leveraged Buyouts: This elective will help you build a comprehensive understanding of leveraged buyouts (LBO) and the process of completing them. You will learn how to evaluate a potential LBO opportunity in PE and effectively execute the deal.
A relevant choice of online electives will enhance your learning journey and assist in gaining knowledge and skills essential for your career growth. In these two six-week electives, you will dive deep into content that will expand your horizon, provide a global perspective, and sharpen your investment skills. These electives will help channel new growth areas for you to rise up the ladder or pivot your career. The choice of electives includes:
A choice of one in-person open-enrollment elective will enable you to focus on a specialization of your interest and help unravel the intricacies of your selected topic. Designed to enhance your understanding of the VC and PE sectors, it will help position you as a serious investment strategist aiming to take your organization to newer heights. A list of select current availabilities is below:
*Meet your cohort peers and faculty in person on the Columbia Business School campus in New York City during an optional two-day networking event. This event provides you an opportunity to network with your peers as well as professionals from other cohorts to create a lifelong community of global executives.
Donna M. Hitscherich
Donna M. Hitscherich currently serves as a senior lecturer of finance, co-director of the Private Equity Program, and a Bernstein Faculty Leader at the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Center for Leadership and Ethics at Columbia Business School. Hitscherich's topics include corporate finance, business law, M&A, and advanced corporate finance.
Prior to her present position as a senior lecturer, Hitscherich had a career in investment banking, holding positions at CS First Boston, J.P. Morgan & Co., and Banc of America Securities. At J.P. Morgan, she helped found the takeover defense team and served as a senior member of the advisory review committee, which was responsible for all of the M&A fairness opinions issued by the company. As a managing director in the mergers and acquisitions group of Banc of America Securities, she was secretary of the firm’s fairness-opinion review committee and a major contributor to the firm’s training programs for managing directors and associates.
Angela Lee
Angela Lee is a professor of practice at Columbia Business School, where she teaches venture capital and leadership programs. Lee started her career in product management and moved to consulting at McKinsey. She has launched four startups and is also the founder of 37 Angels — an investing network that has evaluated over 15,000 startups, invested in 70+ startups, and activates new investors through a startup investment boot camp. She also serves as a venture partner at Fresco Capital, an early-stage venture fund that focuses on the future of work, digital health, and sustainable loops.
Lee has spoken at the White House and NASA and is an expert in online teaching and making learning scalable. She is a sought-after expert on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, MSNBC, and Fox Business. She was recognized by Inc. as one of 17 Inspiring Women to Watch in 2017, Six Innovative Women to Watch in 2015 by Entrepreneur, and Notable Women in Tech in 2019 by Crain’s. In 2020, she was recognized with the Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence at Columbia Business School.
Daniel is a seasoned investment executive/portfolio manager and university educator/administrator. He has more than 30 years of venture capital and private equity experience and more than seven years of higher education experience.
Greta is the senior associate director in the Private Equity Program at Columbia Business School. She interfaces with alumni, industry professionals, and students who are working in or aspire to work in the field of private equity.
Michael is an independent consultant in the financial services, technology, and healthcare industries, working with clients in the United States and internationally.
Upon completion of the Venture Capital Private Equity Program, participants are awarded the Certificate in Business Excellence from Columbia Business School Executive Education. The certificate is a recognition of their achievement and the investment they and their organization have made in their education and development.
As a Certificate in Business Excellence holder, you will receive a 25 percent tuition benefit for full-price Executive Education in-person programs lasting three and four days and all full-price online programs. Exclusions apply **
Certificate holders will also be awarded select Columbia Business School Alumni benefits.
Download BrochureYour digitally verified certificate will be issued in your legal name and emailed to you, at no additional cost, upon completion of the program, including all modules of the program (online, in person, or live online, inter-module). All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of Columbia Business School Executive Education.
Ideal candidates for the Venture Capital Private Equity Program are professionals who have recently embarked on their journey in private investing and are eager to take significant strides in the VC and PE sectors. The program is beneficial for executives in investment banking, finance, private equity, venture capital, financial consulting, risk advisory, etc., who aim to gain a holistic understanding of sourcing, managing, and structuring deals. You will emerge with the knowledge and practical experience needed to elevate your career and accelerate your firm’s impact.
Participants should have:
The enriching environment of the networking event provides participants with the invaluable opportunity to build a robust network with global executives who bring diverse experiences, cultures, and perspectives. Engaging in thoughtful discussions, they can exchange cutting-edge insights and knowledge that are integral in staying abreast of industry trends. The networking event showcases the vibrant community that participants of the Venture Capital Private Equity Program become an invaluable part of.
Past participants of the Venture Capital Private Equity Program come from diverse backgrounds, industries, and experiences. The cohort’s diversity ensures that you interact with like-minded peers and gain new perspectives for your organization’s unique challenges.
Average years of work experience:
Top industries:
Top functions:
Top countries:
Note: Data from across previous cohorts
Round 1
Closed
Round 2
Closed
Round 3
Deadline: November 26, 2024
Application fee: US$100
Round 4
Deadline: December 16, 2024
Application fee: US$100
The program fee covers teaching fees, all academic material, and access to online coursework. The fee does not include accommodations for the two-day annual in-person reunion and networking event, travel expenses (domestic, international, visa fee, and more), and other expenses not specifically mentioned in the program fee.
The Venture Capital Private Equity Program has been designed with your busy schedule in mind. You will be required to commit no more than three to five hours per week, enabling you to benefit from this transformative program while fulfilling your day-to-day work responsibilities. The impactful program offers a blend of self-paced modules and live interactions.
The 9- to 12-month learning journey includes live online and video online sessions with renowned faculty, industry experts, and global peers. You can take advantage of weekly live sessions and the Slack channel to ask questions and discuss ideas with your cohort participants. Real-world examples and a debrief of the program learnings are delivered through a combination of recorded video and live online lectures. The program concludes with an optional two-day on-campus networking event on the Columbia Business School campus in New York City.
The program fee covers teaching fees, all academic materials, and access to online coursework. The fee does not include accommodation for the two-day in-person networking event, travel expenses (domestic, international, visa fee, etc.), or other expenses not specifically mentioned in the fees.
You can pay the full program fee up front or pay in easy installments. If you would like to approach your organization with a sponsorship request for this program, here is a customizable template that you can use.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to take any more electives than the specified number. The electives are designed to help you gain specialized skills in areas that are aligned with your career so that you can dedicate focused time for learning and honing those
Yes. There is closed captioning and transcripts for all prerecorded videos, and closed captioning for recordings of live sessions is also available.
Emeritus collects all program payments, provides learner enrollment and program support, and manages learning platform services.
For the program refund and deferral policy, please click the link here.
Program fees for Emeritus programs with Columbia Business School Executive Education may not be paid for with Title IV financial aid funds. Participants may be able to pay the program fee with funds from the GI Bill, the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Act of 2008, or similar types of military education funding benefits. Participants must contact the Columbia University’s Office of Military and Veterans Affairs to determine benefit eligibility.
Flexible payment options available.