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FM200: Entrepreneurial Finance

Subject Area: Finance

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Course details

  • Department
    Department of Finance
  • Application code
    SS-FM200
Dates
Session oneOpen - 23 Jun 2025 - 11 Jul 2025
Session twoNot running in 2025
Session threeNot running in 2025

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Applications are open

We are accepting applications. Apply early to avoid disappointment.

Overview

The course examines the financial elements of entrepreneurial firms, focusing on technology-based start-up ventures and the early stages of company development. It focuses on the complexities of valuating and financing young, high potential ventures.

You will address the key questions which challenge all entrepreneurs: how much money can and should be raised; when should it be raised and from whom; what is a reasonable valuation of the company; and how should funding, and exit decisions be structured?

The course will make extensive use of case studies, with a particular focus on technology-based businesses. Students will follow the founding history of a software unicorn from its early steps to exit. We will also examine a fast-growing on-demand food delivery start-up that is seeking an investor to cover its increasing need for working capital, and explore the information and context needed to value Peloton, the subscription-based fitness company whose stock price dropped after its IPO.

While primarily focusing on the entrepreneur’s perspective, we will also consider the investor’s viewpoint, in order to understand their motivations and incentives to avoid financing pitfalls and successfully negotiate the best financing outcome for a venture.

An understanding of a firm’s cash flow needs is central to understanding how to make financing decisions and we will spend significant time at the start of the course developing a shared analytical framework to use throughout the course. Students who have not studied accounting or finance recently should budget additional time outside the classroom to re-familiarise with a few basic concepts and formulas.

 

Students who receive an offer for this course are also eligible to apply for the Academic Director's Scholarship.

Key information

Prerequisites: Students should have previously studied Introductory Finance and Accounting, and possess basic mathematics and statistics skills.

Level: 200 level. Read more information on levels in our FAQs

Fees: Please see Fees and payments

Lectures: 36 hours

Classes: 18 hours

Assessment: Two-hour final examination (50%) and business plan exercise (50%)

Typical credit: 3-4 credits (US) 7.5 ECTS points (EU)

Please note: Assessment is optional but may be required for credit by your home institution. Your home institution will be able to advise how you can meet their credit requirements. For more information on exams and credit, read Teaching and assessment

Is this course right for you?

This course is designed primarily for students who plan to be involved with a startup venture at some point in their career as a founder, early joiner, investor, board member or advisor.

However, it is also very applicable for students interested in gaining a broader view of the financing landscape for startup companies.

The course will also be relevant for students who are considering further education in this field, such as the MSc in Finance and Private Equity at the London School of Economics.

Outcomes

  • A full breakdown of course outcomes will appear shortly.

Content

Pepe Nadal, Spain

The course has been really enjoyable, and I have been able to learn how my subject is applied to real-life scenarios.

Faculty

The design of this course is guided by LSE faculty, as well as industry experts, who will share their experience and in-depth knowledge with you throughout the course.

Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe

Dr Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe

Associate Professor of Finance

Daniel Paravisini

Professor Daniel Paravisini

Professor of Finance

Department

The LSE Department of Finance is devoted to excellence in teaching and research in the full range of the subfields of finance including corporate finance, asset pricing theory, risk management, empirical analysis of capital markets, behavioural finance, portfolio analysis, derivatives pricing, microstructure and financial econometrics.

The Department of Finance (formerly part of the Department of Accounting and Finance) has grown in recent years to become one of the largest and most highly-regarded finance groups in the UK and Europe. It is closely associated with the LSE's Financial Markets Group and Systemic Risk Centre which regularly host a wide variety of seminars, conferences and public addresses by leading academics and practitioners.

With over 200 post-graduate students selected from a pool of top applicants world-wide, a faculty recruited from the top departments internationally, and a steady flow of distinguished visitors, we have a stimulating environment for research and learning that is on par with the best in the world.

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Applications are open

We are accepting applications. Apply early to avoid disappointment.