Equinet Academy
Raise capital with strategic discipline
Course Description
What is This Course About?
Most founders approach fundraising as a communications problem: how do you convince an investor to give you money? That framing leads to mediocre pitch decks and disappointing investor conversations, because sophisticated investors are not evaluating how well you can communicate. They are evaluating whether your business is fundable, whether your financial model is coherent, whether your valuation is defensible, and whether you understand the terms you are asking them to accept.
This course treats fundraising as what it actually is: a strategic and financial discipline. Capital raising decisions determine ownership structure, dilution outcomes, growth velocity, governance obligations, and long-term exit value. The founders who execute funding rounds successfully are those who understand how the venture capital ecosystem operates, can model the financial consequences of different capital structures, and approach investor negotiations with substantive knowledge rather than hopeful optimism.
You will analyse developments in the investment market, understand how VC funds are structured and how fund economics shape investor behaviour, evaluate capital raising instruments from convertible notes to preferred equity across startup financing stages, structure and negotiate term sheets with full understanding of their governance and economic consequences, model burn rate and runway under different scenarios, and design fundraising strategies that are disciplined about timing, valuation, and dilution.
Target Audience
Who This Course is For
This course is designed for founders and senior leaders preparing for institutional fundraising, specifically those who need both the financial modelling and negotiation capability to execute effectively.
- Startup founders preparing for Pre-Seed to Series C fundraising
- Entrepreneurs evaluating convertible notes, SAFEs, or venture debt and needing the analytical framework to choose correctly
- SME owners assessing equity versus structured capital for growth funding
- Finance and strategy professionals supporting capital raising who need the complete fundraising framework
- Founders preparing for board engagement who need governance literacy alongside financial fluency
Foundational financial literacy is required. Module 6 (Finance for Non-Finance Managers) or equivalent is the recommended prerequisite.
Prerequisites
What You’ll Need to Get Started
This capstone module assumes foundational financial literacy and clarity on venture growth objectives.
- Completion of Module 6 (Finance for Non-Finance Managers) or equivalent foundational financial literacy
- Understanding of revenue models, cost structures, and cash flow, the ability to read a P&L and understand what it means
- Basic awareness of equity ownership and dilution, understanding that raising capital reduces founder ownership
- Defined growth and funding objectives, a sense of why you need capital, and what you intend to do with it
Course Highlights
What You’ll Learn
By the end of this course, trainees will be able to:
- Analyse venture ecosystem conditions in Singapore and Southeast Asia, and interpret market indicators to evaluate fundraising timing
- Explain how VC fund structure and economics shape investor behaviour, and apply that knowledge as a negotiating counterparty
- Differentiate between investor types across stages – angels, family offices, seed funds, Series A to C VCs, growth equity, and corporate venture capital – and match investor mandate to fundraising strategy
- Interpret fund economics, including management fees, carried interest, portfolio construction, and follow-on reserves, and explain how these mechanics drive investor behaviour
- Select appropriate capital raising instruments across financing stages, from equity and preferred shares to convertible notes, SAFEs, venture debt, and revenue-based financing
- Apply pre-money and post-money valuation mechanics and construct evidence-based valuation positions for investor negotiations
- Assess the risk implications of debt leveraging, including covenant obligations, warrant coverage, and scenarios where venture debt constrains strategic options
- Evaluate term sheet provisions, including liquidation preferences, anti-dilution clauses, pro rata rights, board composition, and drag-along and tag-along provisions
- Model cap table evolution across multiple financing rounds, including ESOP pool sizing and dilution impact through to exit
- Prepare for investor due diligence across market, financial, legal, and team dimensions, including data room construction
- Build financial models supporting fundraising conversations, including 3-5 year projections, scenario analysis, and investor return modelling
- Monitor burn rate and runway under multiple scenarios and apply liquidity risk discipline to fundraising timing
- Execute a fundraising strategy covering investor targeting, pitch narrative, round management, term sheet negotiation, and closing
- Manage investor relationships and governance obligations, including board engagement, update cadence, and crisis communication
- Model investor returns across IPO, acquisition, and secondary exit pathways and connect exit strategy to capital raising decisions
Course Objectives
What You’ll Take Away
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Analyse the venture capital ecosystem, fund structures, and startup financing stages to inform capital raising decisions
- Evaluate valuation frameworks, deal structuring mechanisms, and due diligence processes in venture financing
- Design and execute disciplined fundraising strategies supported by financial modelling, governance literacy, and long-term value creation discipline
Skills You’ll Acquire
By completing this capstone module, you will develop the capital-raising capabilities that enable you to approach investor conversations as an informed counterparty rather than a supplicant.
VC ecosystem literacy
Understand fund mechanics, investor incentives, and market conditions as strategic inputs to fundraising decisions
Capital instrument evaluation
Compare equity, SAFEs, convertible notes, and venture debt with a full understanding of their economic and governance consequences
Valuation defence
Build and present a defensible valuation position supported by multiple methodologies
Term sheet analysis
Evaluate every clause in a term sheet for its economic and governance impact before negotiating
Cap table modelling
Model dilution evolution across multiple rounds and understand founder ownership at every stage
Financial projection and return modelling
Build the financial models that give investor return analysis credibility
Burn rate discipline
Monitor liquidity risk proactively and time fundraising to maximise negotiating leverage
Fundraising strategy execution
Design and manage a disciplined fundraising process from targeting to close
Governance literacy
Understand board dynamics, investor rights, and the governance obligations that begin at the close
Exit strategy alignment
Model return outcomes under different exit scenarios and align capital structure decisions with exit objectives
Certification Track
Level Up!
This module is the programme capstone of the Certified Entrepreneur, the point at which all strategic, financial, operational, and marketing capabilities developed across Modules 1 through 6 are presented to investors, who will scrutinise them simultaneously.
The full certification pathway:
Module 1: Business Strategy and Business Development Essentials
Module 2: Product Management and Go-to-Market Strategy
Module 3: WSQ Digital Branding and Brand Strategy
Module 4: Sales and Marketing Strategy
Module 5: Management, Leadership, and Organisational Design
Module 6: Finance for Non-Finance Managers
Module 7: Venture Capital and Strategic Fundraising Decisions
Completing all seven modules qualifies you for the Certified Entrepreneur credential, validating your ability to build, manage, and fund a disciplined venture from strategy through scale.
A Certification of Completion by Equinet Academy will be awarded to candidates who have demonstrated competency in the Venture Capital and Strategic Fundraising Decisions course assessment and achieved at least 75% attendance.
Course Outline
Inside The Course
This capstone course moves from VC ecosystem literacy and financing-stage knowledge through valuation, deal structuring, and due diligence to financial modelling, fundraising strategy, and long-term governance and exit discipline. The ecosystem knowledge from the initial phase informs the deal-structuring decisions, which in turn guide the fundraising strategy and financial modelling.
Venture Capital Ecosystem and Financing Stages
- Structure of the VC industry: LP/GP dynamics, fund lifecycle, portfolio construction logic, and how fund structure shapes investor incentives and behaviour
- Types of investors at different stages: angels, seed, VC, growth, PE, corporate VC; how each type’s mandate and economics shape their investment terms
- Fund economics management fees, carried interest, 2-and-20 structure, follow-on reserves, capital calls, and distributions; how these mechanics create behaviours that founders frequently misread
- Startup financing stages and capital instruments: Pre-Seed to Growth; convertible notes, SAFEs, bridge rounds, venture debt, preferred shares; appropriate instruments at each stage
- Dilution and cap table dynamics, ownership evolution across rounds, ESOP pool sizing and dilutive impact, modelling the cap table to exit
Valuation, Deal Structuring and Due Diligence
- Pre-money and post-money valuation mechanics, how valuations are set, what justifies them, pricing implications across instruments, and how to approach negotiations with evidence
- Term sheet structuring and negotiation, liquidation preferences, anti-dilution clauses, pro rata rights, board composition, drag-along, tag-along, and how each affects outcomes under different exit scenarios
- Debt leveraging intricacies, venture debt mechanics, covenant obligations, warrant coverage, scenarios where debt makes strategic sense vs. scenarios where it constrains options
- Due diligence frameworks, what investors examine in market, financial, legal, and team diligence; how to prepare a data room; managing the process
- Waterfall modelling and investor return distribution preferred vs ordinary equity economics, exit proceeds allocation under different structures
Fundraising Strategy, Modelling and Governance
- Financial projections and return modelling 3–5 year projections, scenario and sensitivity analysis, investor return models, and the financial substance that supports valuation
- Burn rate and runway modelling, forecasting burn under different scenarios, liquidity risk monitoring, and the timing discipline that determines fundraising leverage
- Fundraising execution, investor targeting and segmentation, pitch deck structure and narrative, competitive round management, data room preparation, and closing mechanics
- Strategic positioning and decision-making, TAM/SAM/SOM, defensibility, growth levers, fundraising timing trade-offs, and deliberating capital raising decisions against business needs
- Investor relationship management, governance, and exits pipeline management, update cadence, board engagement, crisis communication, exit pathways (IPO/M&A/secondary) and financial metric discipline
Assessment Methods
- Case Study Written Assessment
- Individual Project Presentation
Trainers
Meet Your Educators
Trainer Bio
Vetri Mayandi
Vetri Mayandi is a dynamic leader with extensive experience in driving business success both regionally and globally. Currently serving as a Consultant and Expense Reduction Analyst, he excels in client engagement initiatives throughout Singapore and Malaysia. His expertise centres on global cost management and optimisation, providing him with invaluable insights into various industries’ challenges and opportunities.
Course Fee & Funding
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Full Course Fee (without funding)
S$499.00 S$999.00
Course Schedule
Mark Your Calendar!
2 Days | 16 Hours | Programme Capstone
Day 1: VC ecosystem, fund economics, investor types, financing stages, capital instruments, dilution modelling, valuation mechanics, and term sheet analysis.
Day 2: Due diligence, waterfall modelling, financial projections and return modelling, burn rate and runway analysis, fundraising execution strategy, investor relationship management, and assessments (Case Study Written Assessment + Individual Project Presentation).
| Learning Mode | Course Dates | Duration | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-Person | 04, 05 Aug 2026 (Tue, Wed) | 9.00am - 6.00pm | |
| In-Person | 12, 13 Nov 2026 (Thu, Fri) | 9.00am - 6.00pm |
Click on the course dates above to register online.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The Need-to-Know Stuff, Fast
Everything you need to know about the course. Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Please contact our friendly team.
No. The module prepares you to design a disciplined fundraising strategy before engaging investors, so that when you do, you are prepared.
Yes. Fund structures, LP/GP dynamics, fund economics, and how each affects investor behaviour are covered as strategic inputs to negotiation.
Yes. 3-year projections, investor return modelling, cap table evolution, waterfall analysis, and burn rate scenario modelling are all built during the module.
Yes. Every major clause, liquidation preference, anti-dilution, board composition, and pro rata rights is analysed for its economic and governance consequences, and negotiation simulation is included.
Investors examine every dimension of a venture simultaneously: the strategy (Module 1), the product (Module 2), the brand (Module 3), the sales and marketing system (Module 4), the organisational design (Module 5), and the financial management (Module 6). This module is where you learn to present all of that coherently and defend it under investor scrutiny.
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