Fund Manager!
Masterclass
Building better VC Funds around the world
Fund Manager! Masterclass allows any aspiring, emerging, or experienced VC to experience, understand, and master venture funds in just hours. 100’s of global General Partners and aspiring venture capitalists have developed their VC skills with Fund Manager!
Online or In-Person
Can be delivered in person, or 100% online.
Different Formats
Can be delivered in two or three-day formats.
Flexible Groups
For groups of 5 to 100+ participants.
What is Fund Manager!
In Fund Manager!, your job is to develop a fund strategy, raise LP funding, scout dealflow, invest in a portfolio of startups, generate successful exits, and deliver stunning returns to your investors.
All while competing with 3-20 other funds, all racing to outperform you.
The Masterclass puts the participants into the seats of a new VC fund, taking the team from idea to successfully delivering stunning results, while also experiencing every up and down of the GP’s journey while raising 100’s of millions in LP financing to deliver on the fund’s strategy.
Experience the Fund Manager’s Journey
From early PMF, setting up ESOPs, cleaning up cap tables, bringing in growth investors and dealing with complex term sheets; you get to experience the founders’ journey, while at the same time managing your own angel portfolio.
Tackle Real-Life GP Challenges
During the Masterclass, participants will work to solve a number of real-life GP challenges, like portfolio construction, investment briefs, exit strategy, and ESG reporting.
Content Deep-Dive
What are the right LPs for your fund? Should you be working with venture partners? When do you start working on exit strategies?
Can You Develop Value As An Investor?
Making investments is easy. Developing value is hard. Getting the right exits even harder. Can you get it right?
Who Can Join?
Fund Manager! can easily be delivered to a wide range of audiences. The most typical audiences fall in one of the three categories:
NO EXPERIENCE IN VC
Participants with zero relevant experience in venture capital enjoy the simulation, albeit they also experience a (very) steep learning curve.
For this category, we recommend pre-teaching module(s) and extensive use of breakout teaching sessions.
Most common feedback:
“Loved it, but a bit overwhelming”
SOME EXPERIENCE
1-4 years experience
Participants with some experience in VC jump into the experience, quickly grasping most key concepts and terminology.
Many thrive on the challenge and really enjoy the competitive elements of the simulation.
In this category, short teaching sessions and team exercises is sufficient to get everyone up to speed.
Most common feedback:
“Extremely insightful”
EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE
4-10 years experience
Participants with extensive experience in VC tend to do very well, often stepping into key leadership roles (and teaching roles) within their teams.
Despite (in some cases, up to 20+ years of experience), experienced participants tend to truly enjoy the holistic, end-to-end fund journey experience, often finding personal experiences reflected in the simulation.
Most common feedback:
“Exciting, exhilarating”
3-Day Masterclass
Detailed schedule and timings can be adjusted as needed. The Masterclass is designed for 10 – 100 people, in a 3-day format, but can be run in a shorter, 2-day format. The Masterclass can be delivered both in-person or 100% digital. We recommend the full 3-day format for maximum impact; or can deliver high impact in just 2 action-packed days.
DAY 1 (entry-level)
Team, fund setup, thesis, strategy, LPA, early deal flow, early LPs, team dynamics & early portfolio
DAY 2 (intermediate)
Fund outcomes, portfolio construction, challenging LPs, venture partners, follow-on rounds
DAY 3 (advanced)
Value creation strategies, deal making, syndication, exit routes, fund performance, TVPI, DPI
Opening lecture:
- Introduction & welcome
- The Fund Journey Map
- How VC funds work
Coffee Break
Simulation
- Interactive group work
Lunch Break
Simulation
- Interactive group work
Coffee Break
End of day 1
Group deliverables into day 2
Opening lecture
- Fund Strategy, portfolio construction and due diligence
Coffee Break
Simulation (intermediate level)
- Interactive group work
Lunch Break
Simulation (intermediate level)
- Interactive group work
Coffee Break
End of day 2
Group deliverables into day 3
Opening lecture
- Value creation, exits and fund performance
Coffee Break
Simulation (advanced level)
- Closing presentations
Lunch Break
Group Work
- Building Better VC Funds
- Our VC ecosystem
Coffee Break
Closing Debrief
Outcomes Day 1
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Define an investment thesis
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Develop a VC/PE investment strategy
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Develop a high-level financial model for a fund
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Understand the key roles in a VC fund
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Understand the five levels and the 18 categories of Limited Partners
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Segment deal flow based on Thesis Fit’ and ‘Financial potential’ (Deal flow Pipeline)
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Raise 10M – 50M, reach first close. Do first capital calls.
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Complete 1-2 successful investments. Update cap table.
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Understand pre- and post-money valuation, including co-investors and follow-on investors
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Update fund’s financial spreadsheets, with capital calls and investment capital
Outcomes Day 2
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Quickly analyze complex Limited Partners (LP cards)
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Quickly analyze and segment 50-100 different deal flow cards
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Develop a robust portfolio construction
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Complete a deal assessment canvas on a specific investment, including mapping out follow-on rounds and exit options.
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Write a ‘why we invested memo’
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Describe different methods for due diligence
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Collaborate on deal sharing, co-investments and structuring investor syndicates on investment deals
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Reach final close on the fund. Possibly open a second fund.
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Complete 10-15 successful investments, in line with the fund’s mandate and thesis
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Complete 3-5 follow-on investments
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Get first 2-3 exits in the portfolio
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Write an LP update
Outcomes Day 3
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Understand ‘value creation’
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Win competitive deals and investment opportunities
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Quickly analyze advanced Super Limited Partners’ terms
(Super LP cards) -
Understand Venture Partners and how they work
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Understand portfolio growth and value creation plays
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Complete complex, multi-step investor syndicates (complex funding rounds)
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Develop a long-term value creation map for each investment in the portfolio
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Understand how a VC firm works and how it creates value
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Understand and being able to calculate fund performance and LP distribution
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Being able to apply the key formulas for VC fund value creation and performance
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Understand the Fund Journey Map
What to Expect
Fund Manager! Is developed based on 20+ years of experience with early-stage companies, including building several accelerator programs, raising venture funds, and taking companies from idea to IPO, personally.
Understand the full lifetime journey of a fund
Learn how to deal with investment thesis, LPs, deal flow, and investments
Learn how to think in terms of ‘value creation’, ‘exits’, and ‘LP returns’
Practice your deal-making skills, closely aligned to real-life venture funds
Master new tools for real-life fund success
Grow your skills in venture capital and venture financing
Work with visual strategy canvases – developed exclusively for emerging fund managers
Fund Manager! Brings 20+ visual strategy frameworks to the table. From strategy, fund raising, value creation or Outcome canvases, we have developed a rich collection of visual tools – exclusively designed to help fund managers become successful.
You Will Experience
You and your team will take on the role of a young investment team. You will be challenged to develop a strategy and make strategic decisions under time pressure, notably about your fund, your LPs, investment decisions, and portfolio growth.
You will be exposed to strategic dilemmas, challenging market news, demanding LPs, complex deal structures, crashing startups, and all the factors a real-life VC team has to deal with as it tries to build a successful fund.
Many people get overwhelmed. They function poorly as a team. They get stressed. They make bad decisions. They are unable to collaborate well. They are unable to handle tough competitors. They make bad deals. They are unable to handle cap tables. They lose sight of exits.
This is by design.
This is an advanced simulation, that will truly test your venture capital leadership skills in action.
High Impact Use Cases
Fund Manager! Masterclass allows any aspiring, emerging, or experienced VC to experience, understand, and master venture funds in just hours. 100’s of global General Partners and aspiring venture capitalists have developed their VC skills with Fund Manager!
FAQ
Most common questions we get for planning and delivering a masterclass.
How many people is the Masterclass suitable for?
The Masterclass is designed for 10-100 people, more available on demand. The ideal group size is between 20(small) and 60 (large) groups. Frequently, we have 30-45 people attending.
What level is the Masterclass suitable for?
The Masterclass can easily be adjusted based on the level- and experience of the participants. We have successfully run the Masterclass with participants ranging from C-level, Board roles and top executive roles to young founders and bachelor-level students. The content is slightly adjusted in line with the level and experience of the group.
What is expected of the participants?
The participants will participate in a 1-hour pre-session webinar, review some light materials in advance and join the full Masterclass. The participants are expected to participate fully, work in groups and generally be active during the program.
How many experts will run the Masterclass?
The standard minimum team is 2 people to run the Masterclass. Beyond that, we bring one expert per every 20 participants, to maximize learning, facilitation and outcome for the participants.
What is the background of the facilitators (experts)?
All facilitators are global experts in their respective domains. All of them are trained and fully certified on the sim and materials. Most are also faculty at leading business schools and hold extensive experience in their fields from years of practice in the field.
What is required for room, venue, working space?
A successful Masterclass requires significant, vast workspace to accommodate for group work and breakouts. We recommend one plenary room (conference hall or lecture setup) and multiple large working rooms (classrooms or conference rooms) for group works. We plan for ca. 10-20 people per group.
Bring Fund Manager! to Your Ecosystem
Get in touch with us to learn more and explore how we can work together, whether you’re looking to enhance VC skills, foster teamwork, or cultivate strategic thinking.