Analyzing Deal Dynamics
Venture Capital Fundamentals (VC 301) | Class 1
This lesson is coming soon. In the meantime, here’s a preview of what you’ll learn about how venture investors analyze deal dynamics — including runway, round composition, and valuation — to assess risk and set the foundation for strong returns.
- Home
What Is This Lesson?
A look at how investors evaluate the structure behind a deal — not just the company itself. - Home
Who Is It For?
Anyone looking to better understand how deal structure impacts investment outcomes.
Read and Listen buttons will be added below once the module is live.
Prefer reading?
We’ll include the full lesson below so you can explore the material at your own pace.
Prefer listening?
We’ll link an audio version of this lesson below so you can listen and learn on the go.
What You’ll Learn
- HomeHow runway and burn rate affect investment risk
- HomeWhat investor participation signals about a deal
- HomeHow valuation and terms shape potential returns
Prefer Reading?
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ
Ready to Move Forward?
About Your Instructors
Mark D. Edwards
Chief Investment OfficerMark directs all investment, portfolio management, and capital allocation activity at Alumni Ventures, overseeing a team of approximately 40 investment professionals. He brings more than two decades of experience in the private equity industry, with roles at firms including DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and JLL Partners, and began his career as an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
Andy Ervin
Deputy Chief Investment OfficerAndy is Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Alumni Ventures, where he supports investment operations, analytics, and portfolio management. He brings experience across venture-backed startups, consulting, and financial services, including leadership roles at MiniLuxe and The Parthenon Group. Andy holds a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Alumni Ventures and its personnel provide investment advice only to affiliated venture capital funds. AV Academy is not personalized advice for any participant.
This communication is from Alumni Ventures, a for-profit venture capital company that is not affiliated with or endorsed by any school. It is not personalized advice, and AV only provides advice to its client funds. This communication is neither an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any security. Such offers are made only pursuant to the formal offering documents for the fund(s) concerned, and describe significant risks and other material information that should be carefully considered before investing. For additional information, please see here. Achievement of investment objectives, including any amount of investment return, cannot be guaranteed. Co-investors are shown for illustrative purposes only, do not reflect all organizations with which AV co-invests, and do not necessarily indicate future co-investors. Example portfolio companies shown are not available to future investors, except potentially in the case of follow-on investments. Venture capital investing involves substantial risk, including risk of loss of all capital invested. Diversification cannot prevent investment loss; it is a strategy to mitigate investment risk. This communication includes forward-looking statements, generally consisting of any statement pertaining to any issue other than historical fact, including without limitation predictions, financial projections, the anticipated results of the execution of any plan or strategy, the expectation or belief of the speaker, or other events or circumstances to exist in the future. Forward-looking statements are not representations of actual fact, depend on certain assumptions that may not be realized, and are not guaranteed to occur. Any forward-looking statements included in this communication speak only as of the date of the communication. AV and its affiliates disclaim any obligation to update, amend, or alter such forward-looking statements, whether due to subsequent events, new information, or otherwise.