Skip to main contentSkip to Xpert Chatbot

LSE: Entrepreneurial Finance

Navigate the challenges and opportunities facing today’s start-ups. Gain insight into the mechanics of business evaluation and learn how to pitch your business concept in the real world.

Navigate the challenges and opportunities facing today’s start-ups. Gain insight into the mechanics of business evaluation and learn how to pitch your business concept in the real world.

...
This course is offered by , an edX partner
6 weeks
6–8 hours per week
Starts Mar 12, 2025
Enroll by Mar 18, 2025
Instructor-paced
Instructor-led on a course schedule

Get more information

Want to know more? Enter your information to learn more about this course from GetSmarter (an edX partner).

Get more information

Want to know more? Enter your information to learn more about this course from GetSmarter (an edX partner).

6 weeks
6–8 hours per week
Starts Mar 12, 2025
Enroll by Mar 18, 2025
Instructor-paced
Instructor-led on a course schedule

About this Course

Shifting attitudes, new technologies, and a growing investment landscape are creating the ideal habitat for start-ups, yet two out of three entrepreneurial endeavours don’t succeed.1 Two major reasons for failure are cash depletion and the inability to secure financing or investor interest. Capital investment is available – as can be gleaned from the record $8 billion invested in UK technology sector start-ups – but it’s up to entrepreneurs to ensure that they have the skills to negotiate and pitch their ideas in order to secure funding from the right investors at the right time.2 Similarly, investors who are looking to capitalise on the budding start-up market require the insight to effectively evaluate business opportunities in order to make sound financing decisions.

The Entrepreneurial Finance online certificate course from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is designed to address both sides of the investment paradigm. Over six weeks online, you’ll develop the skills you need to successfully navigate the current entrepreneurial landscape. You’ll learn to critically evaluate business opportunities and explore how to match financing needs with the most appropriate investor type. You’ll be given top tips from industry experts on how to negotiate with investors and sell your business concept. By the end of this functional six-week course, you’ll learn how to develop an effective pitch deck to prepare for real-life pitch scenarios.

1 HBR (Jun, 2021).

2Financial Times (Mar, 2021).

This course focuses on both the investment and entrepreneurial paradigms within the venture capital sector. As a result, it’s aimed at a broad spectrum of professionals who wish to better navigate the funding and business evaluation aspects of entrepreneurship. If you’re a current or aspiring entrepreneur who would like to effectively pitch business ideas and learn how to access funding, this course will provide you with the tools and strategies to do so. As an executive or business owner, you can use the insights gained on this course to guide other entrepreneurs or invest in start-ups. This course will also appeal to those interested in pursuing a career in venture capital, as well as investors who are looking to upskill themselves.

Course curriculum

Skip Course curriculum

Gain the practical tools to evaluate business opportunities as you work through the weekly modules of this online certificate course.

Orientation module: Welcome to your Online Campus

Module 1: Evaluating business opportunities

Module 2: Financing needs, ownership, and returns

Module 3: The venture capital valuation method and multistage financing

Module 4: Pitching your business idea

Module 5: Term sheets and negotiation strategies

Module 6: Scaling up and exit strategies

About the certificate

Gain knowledge about entrepreneurial finance, and earn an official certificate of competence from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Assessment is continuous and based on a series of practical assignments completed online. In order to be issued with a digital certificate, you’ll need to meet the requirements outlined in the course handbook. The handbook will be made available to you as soon as you begin the course.

Your certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you digitally upon successful completion of the program, as per the stipulated requirements.

Some facts about the subject

$288 billion

The all-time high amount attributed to global venture funding in the first half of 2021.

Crunchbase (Jul, 2021).

65%

The percentage of Generation Z currently in the workforce who expect to start their own businesses in the next 10 years.

EY (Apr, 2021).

Why choose GetSmarter?

GetSmarter, an edX partner, delivers career-relevant, fully supported, and expert-led online courses from the world's leading universities and institutions. As an online learning expert with over 15 years' experience, GetSmarter leverages long-standing expertise in market research, data analysis, and business insights to ensure that you gain the skills critical to career growth.