Faculty Advisor: Former Professor of Dartmouth Tuck Business School; Former Director of MD-MBA program, Dartmouth

Research Practicum Introduction

(Disclaimer: this program is purely for educational purposes. It is not to give financial advice on personal financial investments.)

You may know this scene from TV: a high-spirited entrepreneur is pitching their business in front of a group of investors. Now imagine this: if you’re a venture capitalist who’s looking to put your money into a startup, what key factors will influence your investment decision?

In this program, the professor will help students understand the various stages of early investing—including “back of the napkin”, pre seed, seed, and the A round. Also, the risks and rewards and timing involved to make an investment.

During the program, students will identify different types of investors (and how they differ) such as an individual, an “angel”,  an angel group, a family office, Incubators, accelerators, University seed funds, and venture capital.

Students will also learn general and subject-specific research and academic writing methods used in universities and scholarly publications. Students will focus on individual topics and generate their own work product upon completion of the program.

Final Deliverables

• A 6-8 page evaluation of a US Venture Capital Group or a company that the group vested in. 

• A slide deck (7-10 slides) presentation to the cohort of that project.

Possible Topics For Final Project:

• Why do so many new private companies fail to succeed? Explain the reasons and how to prevent that from happening.

• Compare and contrast the different stages of a company such as back of the napkin, pre seed, seed, A round and exit by sale, merger or going public

• You are looking to make your first investment in a private company. Which role would you like to hold and why?

• What is a venture capital company? Describe what they do and how they do it.

• Evaluate when, how, and with whom a core company board should be formed.

• Or any other research topic in this subject area that you are interested in, and that your professor approves after discussing it with you!

Program Detail

• Cohort Size: 3-5 students

• Duration: 12 weeks

• Workload: Around 4 hours per week (including class time and homework time)

• Target Students: 9-12th grade students interested in investment, entrepreneurship, finance and business in general.