The World's Leading Investor Accelerator For Venture Capital, Private Equity, & Angel Investing
Join In San Francisco, New York City, Hong Kong, Or Virtually From Anywhere
U.S. & Europe Cohort Dates
Fall 2021: Sep 20 - Dec 10
Winter 2022: Jan 10 - Mar 25
Spring 2022: Mar 28 - Jun 10
Summer 2022: Jun 13 - Aug 26
Asia-Pacific Cohort Dates
Fall 2021: Oct 11 - Dec 24
Winter 2022: Feb 21 - May 6
Spring 2022: May 9 - Jul 22
Summer 2022: Jul 25 - Oct 7
Venture University Is Designed For Individuals Looking To Gain High Quality Investment Experience In Order To Break Into The VC/PE Industry, Launch Their Own Funds, Or Advance Their Careers
• Gain High Quality Work Experience: Become an Analyst, Associate, Principal, Venture Partner, or Emerging Fund Manager at VU Venture Partners, a multi-stage investment fund, where you will focus on investing in Consumer, Enterprise, Fintech, Frontier, Healthcare, & PropTech companies
• Develop Critical Skills: VU's VC/PE Investor Accelerator includes a VC/PE Apprenticeship where you develop critical skills such as deal sourcing, conducting due diligence, investment evaluation, raising LP capital, and helping portfolio companies succeed. VU's VC/PE Apprenticeship is much more valuable for career development than an internship, as you don't do any "busy work". Instead you take on a more senior role on the investment team where you are the one who selects and presents the deals at the weekly Partner Meetings, you get to decide what deals are brought to the Investment Committee, and you get to vote on which investments are made. Additionally, you get the benefits of participating in a structured program which has a dedicated team focused on developing your skills and your VC/PE career.
• Build A Track Record: Make ~3-5 investments per quarter, each targeting a 10x+ return, and co-invest with other top tier investors
• Profit Sharing Agreement: Share in the financial upside on the investments made via a Profit Sharing Agreement
• Time Commitment: Join full-time or part-time for 11 weeks (~3 months, invest in ~3-5 companies), or join for 2-4 quarters (~6-12 months, invest in ~6-20 companies) to gain more high quality investment experience and build a larger investment track record
• Location: Join VU's program in-person or virtually from anywhere in the world. VU has offices in San Francisco and Hong Kong
• Mentorship: Work alongside and learn from top performing investors with over 45+ years of VC/PE experience who have invested $1.8B+ in 250+ companies, achieved over a 4x+ net cash return, and were some of the earliest and largest investors in 10+ unicorns, including Beyond Meat, Facebook, Twitter, Uber, FabFitFun, Palantir, Oculus, Oscar, Wish, and more
• Partner Meetings: Present your top 1-2 deals at the weekly Partners Meeting
• Investment Committees: Present your investment recommendations to the Investment Committee and vote on the proposed investment opportunities
• Career Development: Improve your resume, develop a career strategy, receive career coaching, gain access to proprietary VC/PE job opportunities, interview prep, and job recommendation / references. For Emerging Fund Managers VU also provides its alumni with a much lower cost fund infrastructure to launch your own fund, and which is very flexible and faster to create
• Networking: Build a deep network within the VC/PE industry and join a powerful tight-knit family of 300+ VU alumni investors
• Education: Learn during live sessions and recorded content via The VC/PE Masterclass, The Advanced VC/PE Modules, and Fireside Chats from top tier VC/PE investors, angels, founders, and strategics
VU By The Numbers
~66% Get VC/PE Jobs
Within 12 Months Of Graduating
4 Cohorts / Year
~30 Individuals per Cohort
Join For 3-12 Months
Investor Accelerator
6 Vertical Deal Teams
Consumer, Enterprise, Fintech, Frontier, Healthcare, & PropTech
Source ~4-5K Companies / QTR
Invest in ~3-5 Companies / Quarter
Each Targeting A 10x+ Return
100+ Topics, 25+ Hrs Of Content, 250+ Slides & Resources
18+ Modules, 33+ Hrs Of Content
150+ Speakers Across Venture & Private Equity Funds, Angels, Founders, & Strategics
3 Offices
45+ Yrs VC Experience
$1.8B+ Invested, 250+ Co's, 10+ Unicorns, 4x+ Net Realized Return
"They've Read A Bunch of Words, I've Lived A Bunch Of Life."
Jay-Z
"At Its Core, Venture Capital Is Truly An Apprenticeship Business"
Mahendra Ramsinghani, Author of The Business of Venture Capital
Start "Learning By Doing" At Venture University
Apply To Venture University's Investor Accelerator
Or One Or More Of The Executive Education Programs
The Investor Accelerator
Gain High Quality VC/PE Investment Experience Over 3-12 Months & Make ~3-20 Investments
The 11 Week Investor Accelerator Includes:
• The VC/PE Masterclass (Week 1)
• Advanced VC/PE Modules (Week 2-10)
• VC/PE Investment Apprenticeship (Week 2-11)
• Career Development & Networking
Executive Education Programs
Enroll In One Or More Of The
Executive Education Programs Below
• The VC/PE Masterclass (1 Week Live or On-Demand Video Course)
• The Advanced VC/PE Modules (9 Weeks Live or On-Demand Video Course)
Venture University's Program Options
"In financial terms, ROI on my MBA was nothing compared to VU. After 3 months, I made 5 investments that I have upside in, received 3 job offers, and now I'm an Associate Partner at a VC fund focusing on my passion of Internet of Things."
Ben Steven, Cohort 2 Member,
Associate Partner at Momenta Ventures
Cohort 14
Cohort 14 includes 42 investors that have formed six deal sourcing teams:
Consumer, Enterprise, Fintech, Frontier, Healthcare, and PropTech
Bear Flag Robotics Acquired By John Deere For $250M
VU Cohort 8's portfolio company, Bear Flag Robotics, an autonomous driving farm tractor platform, returned ~10x in 14 months, yielding a ~700% IRR.
VU Celebrates Its Three Year Anniversary!
The Rise Of The Chimera: Eating Unicorns For Lunch
Understanding The Market Size Dynamics For Company’s Worth $1+ Billion (Unicorns) to $1+ Trillion (Chimeras)
Spyce Acquired By sweetgreen
Robotic Restaurant Technology Brand Acquired By Rapidly Expanding Salad Restaurant Chain Prior To IPO
VU Launches Hong Kong Office & Asia Program
Apply To Join VU's Asia Investor Accelerator & Executive Education Programs
Made In Space Acquired by Redwire / AE Industrial Partners
Investments
50+ Portfolio Companies Across Consumer, Enterprise, FinTech, Frontier, Healthcare, & PropTech
Venture University Receives "Startup Of The Year" Award
Awarded For Disrupting The Venture Capital And Education Industry, & Increasing The Quantity & Quality Of Diversity Within The VC/PE Ecosystem
Hire VU's Cohort Members & Alumni
Are you hiring Analysts, Associates, Principals, Partners to join your investment team?
Share the job opportunity with us and we'll curate the top 3-5 candidates for you to interview from VU's current cohort and VU alumni. Each quarter VU selects ~30 individuals (~1% accepted) to be part of its Investor Accelerator which then go on to various roles within the VC/PE industry.
Featured Articles
“Venture University gave me the opportunity, the skills, and the knowledge to get noticed by top-tier VC firms. The partners at VU have a sincere desire to help you achieve your career goals, and were incredibly supportive during my journey in landing two venture capital job offers, and one at a top accelerator.”
Alina Tioupikova, Cohort 2 Member,
Director at Techstars
VU Is Designed For Extraordinary & Exceptional Individuals Who Are:
• Looking to join or launch a VC/PE fund as an Analyst, Associate, Principal, or Partner• Looking to join or launch a Startup Accelerator, Startup Studio, Family Office, Corporate Venture Fund, or Institutional Fund
• Emerging fund managers
• Angel investors and family offices looking to professionalize their direct investment strategies into startups and/or become LPs in funds
• Experienced professionals who are experts in their industry and are looking to make a career transition into venture capital or private equity
• Entrepreneurs who want to learn to think like investors prior to launching or joining a disruptive company
• Select undergraduate and graduate students
Venture University is the world's leading investor accelerator for individuals breaking into venture capital, private equity, and angel investing. VU's investor accelerator is a modern day trade school, where individuals gain high quality investment experience through a VC/PE Investment Apprenticeship and take academic courses as part of VU's Executive Education Program.
Individuals "learn by doing" by joining VU's investment team, VU Venture Partners, a multi-stage investment fund focusing on seed through growth stage companies, investing in 2-5 companies per quarter, across Consumer, Enterprise, Fintech, Frontier, Healthcare, and Proptech, and share in the financial upside on the investments made via a Profit Sharing Agreement.
During the program individuals receive mentorship, career development, VC/PE industry networking, and learn from and work alongside top performing investment professionals who have invested $1.8B+ over 45+ yrs in 250+ companies and have achieved over a 4x+ net cash return, and were some of the earliest and largest investors in 10+ unicorns including Beyond Meat, Facebook, Twitter, Uber, Oculus, FabFitFun, Palantir, Oscar, Wish, and more.
VU's mission is to curate and develop the top diverse talent for the VC/PE industry and to generate consistent and superior financial returns for investors by powering VU Venture Partners, the most scalable venture capital fund in the world.
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Receive invites to events and updates on Venture University, our cohorts, and the companies we invest in.
“I’ve gotten more hands on experience than I could ever have imagined. After 11 weeks, it felt like we’ve been here for 11 months! We were able to go through the entire investment process from deal sourcing, due diligence, to making investments, and we developed critical skills you can only get by doing the job of a VC.”
Yvonne Okafor, Cohort 2 Member,
Investment Analyst, Alitheia Capital
- The Venture University ExperienceBe Like One Of The Sharks On Shark TankWith Startups Pitching You Everyday!Find & Invest In Highly Disruptive & Innovative CompaniesBuild A Network In The Startup & VC/PE Investor EcosystemLearn About Venture Capital, Private Equity, & Angel InvestingMake New Friends, Lasting Memories& Join A Powerful Group Of VU Alumni
Build Equity In Your Education
Value Comparison: Undergrad vs. MBA vs. Venture University
“I had planned to spend the next 2-3 years slaving at an investment bank for a small shot at becoming a VC. Venture U provided me with an opportunity to leapfrog that pain and fast-track my career.”
Vitor Lima, Cohort 2 Member, Joined A Multi-Billion Dollar Family Office Doing Venture Capital
Join An Upcoming Cohort In San Francisco, New York City, Hong Kong, Or Virtually From Anywhere
Disclaimer: *Foreign nationals participating in Venture University's program in the United States are not able to receive the profit sharing agreement as part of the Investor Accelerator unless they have a J1 Visa or other type of Visa allowing them to work in the United States. Individuals participating in Venture University's Investor Accelerator program outside of the United States are able to receive the profit sharing agreement. Individuals that participate in and complete the Investor Accelerator receive a profit sharing agreement that is tied to the future performance of the investments made during the program. Individuals that participate in Venture University's programs do not receive an equity stake in Venture University's investment funds or an equity stake in any of Venture University's portfolio companies. If an individual that participates in the Investor Accelerator is an accredited investor, then at Venture University's sole discretion, the individual may be allowed to, but is not required to, nor have any obligation to, invest in Venture University's investment fund or a portfolio company through Venture University's investment fund. There is no guarantee of any return of capital or profits from the investments made, as the risks of investing are high, the future outcomes from the investments are unknown, and could result in a 100% loss of invested capital in the portfolio companies, or result in a small or significant amount of profits for individuals in the Investor Accelerator which will be recognized as income and be taxable.
