ENT4250
Founders, Financing, and Legal
Founders, Financing, and Legal prepares learners for the business and legal realities of launching and growing a startup. Learners evaluate the importance of a cofounder, explore the process and need for pitching and raising investor funds, analyze the value of various legal structures, and examine how equity and compensation are unique to startups.
Course level
Undergraduate
Course duration
max. 8 weeks
Estimated time per week
10-15 hours
Course prerequisites
None
Cost
$ -
Course credits
3
Relevant jobs
What will I learn?
Determine the most critical components to a successful, complementary cofounder team.
Identify the elements to successful co-founder collaboration and support.
Differentiate between the various types of financing paths and structures available to an early stage company.
Analyze the value of various legal structures to an early stage company.
Examine the process and need for pitching and raising investor funds.
Present the value and potential of various early stage companies to an investor.
Evaluate potential investors based on the value they bring and what an early stage company needs.
Key Skills
How will I learn?
Your course starts on the first of the month. Each course consists of six modules, each module will take you one week to complete and each course is designed to take you eight weeks to complete. Nexford’s learning design team has purposefully created courses to equip you with competencies mapped to the skills employers are looking for. Each course has 5-7 learning outcomes based on the skills employers need. Everything you learn gives you measurable skills you will use to succeed in today’s world of work.
Nexford courses are not live or recorded lectures. Instead, they’re reading, videos, interactive elements, quizzes and relevant case studies. Programs include assessments, peer-to-peer discussions, and a final project to practice what you’ve learned in a real-world context. Program content is available 24/7 during the course, and you have opportunities for collaboration and networking with learners during and after your program. Our global community of learners work at top companies such as Microsoft, Deloitte, and Google.
You'll have 24/7 access to success advisors to support you. Faculty also provide you world-class support. Book appointments with them, get individual feedback, and attend regular optional webinars. Nexford courses are rigorous and they encourage critical thinking - because we care about what you know how to do not what you know you have regular hands-on assessments reflecting the business world.
| Modules | Assignment Due Date |
|---|---|
| 1: Founding team structure and team dynamics | Day 10 |
| 2: Startup-friendly legal business structures | Day 17 |
| 3: Business case to raise funds | Day 24 |
| 4: Financials of raising funds | Day 31 |
| 5: Sources of funds: angels, venture capital, private equity, family business & offices, friends and family, initial coin offering (ICO), crowdfunding, and others | Day 38 |
| 6: equity and compensation | Day 45 (optional) |
| 7: Final project | Day 51 |
Across the duration of the course, you will undertake five Formative Assessments and one Final Project.
The summative assessment is your final project and achieving a passing grade on this assessment is required to pass the course. The minimum passing grade at Nexford University is a C or above. (70% or above).
| Grading Scale | Grading Weights | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 90%-100% | Module Assignments | 30% | |
| B | 80%-89% | Final Project Milestones | 30% | |
| C | 70-79% | Final Project | 40% | |
| F | < 70% | |||
| W | Withdrawn | Total | 100% | |
You'll get real skills you can use at work, straight away.
Once you've taken one course, you can take more. Using stacked credentials, you’re able to take enough courses to make a certificate, and take enough certificates to build a degree.
If you apply for a Nexford certificate or degree, you'll get credit for each course you take.
What support will I receive?
When you have a dedicated team on your side, you'll never be alone studying at Nexford. Hailing from many different countries and with online education expertise, our faculty provides you world-class support. Ask them questions during one-to-one office hours or live chat, email them any time, and get individual feedback on your assessments.
While you’re learning, you’ll also have full access to the Nexford online library, which includes access to millions of full-text articles, industry reports and key sources such as the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and The Economist.
LinkedIn Learning: unlimited access with Nexford
Support your Nexford goals with access to LinkedIn Learning during your program, at no additional cost. Explore the learning hub of the globe’s biggest professional networking platform to:
- Power your career: choose from over 16,000 expert-led courses, from remote working to data science
- Show off your skills: earn a certificate when you complete a course
- See what’s trending: LinkedIn Learning adds 25 new courses each week
- Tailor your learning: choose relevant courses based on your experience, LinkedIn profile and goals
- Test what you’ve learned: use LinkedIn Learning assessments
