John Colley • Investment Banking Practitioner Series

Investment Banking and Finance: Venture Capital Fundraising

Raise Capital Successfully | Pitch to VCs, Angels & Investors with Proven Strategies from 150,000+ Students

★★★★½ 4.68 (697 ratings)  |  5,351 students enrolled  |  15.5 hours of video  |  234 lectures
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The promise

“The most focused fundraising masterclass on Udemy — raise capital from VCs and angel investors with the techniques that actually work.”

4.68★
Rating
5,351
Students
15.5
Hours
234
Lectures
May 2025
Updated

Why this course

Most fundraising fails because the founder does not understand how the investor on the other side of the table thinks. They pitch product, the investor wants returns. They lead with team, the investor wants traction. They negotiate price, the investor is pricing risk. This course gives you the inside view.

Fifteen and a half hours, 234 lectures, covering how venture capital firms evaluate businesses, how to identify and approach the right investors, how to write the email that actually gets a meeting, how to build a pitch deck that captivates, how to construct an integrated business and financial plan, how to read and negotiate a term sheet, when equity crowdfunding is the right path, and how to assess whether VC is even the right route for your business.

Trusted by over 5,300 founders with a 4.68 star rating. The fundraising bible for the serious entrepreneur.

What you will master

Every outcome below is built into the course — not a marketing list, the actual curriculum.

Understand how venture capital firms evaluate businesses, finance and startup strategy
Master approaching and emailing venture capital and angel investors effectively
Identify and attract the right investors for your fundraising
Build persuasive pitch decks that captivate investors and secure funding
Construct an integrated business and financial plan that communicates strategy and funding requirements
Manage the fundraising process and navigate investor interactions with confidence
Read and negotiate venture capital term sheets
Explore equity crowdfunding and learn from successful startup CEOs who have raised through it
Assess whether venture capital is suitable for your business
Understand equity and non-equity financing options
Identify common reasons startups fail and equip yourself to avoid them

Who this course is for

  • Startup entrepreneurs with a fundraising requirement for their business
  • Any entrepreneur considering raising from angels or venture capital
  • Any startup owner who needs to master the art of investor pitching

Requirements

  • Access to spreadsheet and presentation software (Excel, Keynote or PowerPoint)
  • Determination to succeed despite the odds
  • Commitment to following every step of the course — there are no short cuts
  • A sense of humour

What students are saying

Verified reviews from students who completed the course on Udemy.

★★★★★

“I really appreciate that Mr. Colley is giving strategic advice at each step. These advices are brief and simple, but if you are raising capital as a founder for the first time, just one of them has the potential to save you a lot of time or a lot of money.”

Michael Bohin
Verified Udemy student
★★★★★

“Great course — my VC career just got boosted. He is a great teacher with a very detailed, on-point and comprehensive course. It gives the ins and outs of the VC world.”

Steve Saint John Omeiza
Verified Udemy student
★★★★★

“The course was great. I would recommend it to anyone entering the VC world or developing their own business.”

Andja Stankovic
Verified Udemy student
Your instructor

John Colley

Investment banker turned educator. 30+ years across Hoare Govett, M&A, private equity and corporate finance. Cambridge graduate, Bayes Business School MBA with Distinction.

Author of the Investment Banking Practitioner’s Handbook Series — the largest practitioner-authored IB content library available online. Trusted by 150,000+ students across 30+ Udemy courses.

Every course is built on real deal experience — not textbook theory. The voice is a senior banker explaining how things actually work, not a lecturer reading notes.

Ready to enrol?

Lifetime access. 30-day Udemy money-back guarantee. Mobile and desktop. Certificate of completion.

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Part of John Colley’s finance course library on Udemy. More courses at jbdcolley.com