Course list

Every startup has an element of risk. Whether you are an entrepreneur or a new investor, you need to be able to articulate a business model and evaluate how it would fit with an investor type so you can identify good opportunities for investment.

In this course, you will complete a strategy framework that will help you assess the viability of a startup. By assessing and evaluating the total available market and served available market, you will conduct a target market estimate to project your product or service's potential market size. You will also create a milestone chart that helps you identify the human and capital resources necessary to launch a startup. Your compilation and review of this work will help you evaluate the specific type of investment your project needs.

  • May 27, 2026
  • Aug 19, 2026
  • Nov 11, 2026
  • Feb 3, 2027
  • Apr 28, 2027

In this course, you will learn how to navigate the process of pitching a startup investment opportunity in order to gain investor interest. Through opportunities to both build and evaluate a pitch, both entrepreneurs and investors will gain insight into each other's perspective. In this course, you will analyze a real-world pitch to see how closely it conforms to the recommended format for a great pitch. You will then select three potential investors online and explain why they would make a good fit with your own or a selected opportunity. Finally, you will build a partial pitch deck based on selected key concepts, and then partner with a peer from your cohort to deliver, evaluate, and strengthen those pitch deck slides. By the end of this course you will have the confidence you need to create or assess a startup pitch.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

  • Startup Viability and Funding Options
  • Jun 10, 2026
  • Sep 2, 2026
  • Nov 25, 2026
  • Feb 17, 2027
  • May 12, 2027

In order to safeguard the opportunity or investment before the deal is closed, certain steps like incorporation, structuring future investment, and creating a term sheet serve as protection for the interests of both parties. These assets and processes lend structure to the deal.

In this course, you will recognize the tradeoffs, risks, and implications of different legal investment structures and determine the right time and circumstances for switching those structures. Working with a sample startup, you will identify both appropriate and inappropriate forms of incorporation for the opportunity. You will determine the most appropriate legal structures for both non-equity and equity investment scenarios. You will then identify which sources of investment should be sought at the different phases of the business cycle. Finally, you will list the documentation required at each business cycle phase to close the deal.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

  • Startup Viability and Funding Options
  • Pitching Your Business Opportunity
  • Jun 24, 2026
  • Sep 16, 2026
  • Dec 9, 2026
  • Mar 3, 2027
  • May 26, 2027

To evaluate an investment opportunity, savvy investors rely on a company's records of its ownership percentages, equity dilution, and the value of equity issued in each round of financing. These records are kept in a company's capitalization table, or cap table, which is a record of the different rounds of investment.

In this course, you will utilize and complete a cap table template to create and record a sample startup's financial records. Then, you will use the cap table to assess and analyze a series of financial outcomes based on a set of differing scenarios. Lastly, you will compute and evaluate approaches to valuation such as discounted cash flow and public market multiples based on estimates of future cash flow. This will position you to negotiate new rounds of financing and analyze the impact of new rounds on existing shareholders.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

  • Startup Viability and Funding Options
  • Pitching Your Business Opportunity
  • Protecting Your Interests
  • Jul 8, 2026
  • Sep 30, 2026
  • Dec 23, 2026
  • Mar 17, 2027
  • Jun 9, 2027

Before closing an investment deal, an entrepreneur needs to protect their interests, and an investor needs to verify the stability of the opportunity. This series of steps is called the due diligence process. In this course, you will create a due diligence project plan for your investment or opportunity that maps out how to get from term sheet to closing. This process includes key milestones, timeframes, a detailed understanding of key players' responsibilities, and consideration for the various types of due diligence. Then, you will compile a list of questions for the due diligence checklist, a key element of the process that outlines the questions that need to be answered and the documentation that is required to close the deal. Lastly, you will identify, review, and analyze the dozens of critical documents being exchanged that are needed to finalize the investment deal and retain for future use, protection, and reference. By completing these steps, you will be ready to determine if you should move forward or hold back on your deal.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

  • Startup Viability and Funding Options
  • Pitching Your Business Opportunity
  • Protecting Your Interests
  • Financial Planning, Valuation, and Dilution
  • Apr 29, 2026
  • Jul 22, 2026
  • Oct 14, 2026
  • Jan 6, 2027
  • Mar 31, 2027
  • Jun 23, 2027

After closing a deal, it is essential that the founder maintain a strong affiliation with the investor. Continued mutual trust and communication can increase the company's chances for growth and success.

In this course, you will formulate a structure for you company that outlines the key parties and their responsibilities. You will also draft a board meeting agenda, investor update, and delegation matrix and list the characteristics of your incentive plan. Finally, you will project an index of the company records that are likely to be added one year after your investment date. By the end of this course you will have a detailed plan to help you successfully navigate your post-investment future.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

  • Startup Viability and Funding Options
  • Pitching Your Business Opportunity
  • Protecting Your Interests
  • Financial Planning, Valuation, and Dilution
  • Company Structure and Due Diligence
  • May 13, 2026
  • Aug 5, 2026
  • Oct 28, 2026
  • Jan 20, 2027
  • Apr 14, 2027

eCornell Online Workshops are live, interactive 3-hour learning experiences led by Cornell faculty experts. These premium short-format sessions focus on AI topics and are designed for busy professionals who want to gain immediately applicable skills and strategic perspectives. Workshops include faculty presentations, breakout discussions, and guided hands-on practice.

The AI Workshops All-Access Pass provides you with unlimited participation for 6 months from your date of purchase. Whether you choose to attend one workshop per month, or several per week, the All-Access Pass will allow you to customize your AI journey and stay on top of the latest AI trends.

Workshops cover a range of cutting-edge AI topics applicable across industries, hosted by Cornell faculty at the forefront of their fields. Whether you are just getting started with AI, seeking to build your AI skillset, or exploring advanced applications of AI, Workshops will provide you with an action-oriented learning experience for immediate application in your career. Sample Workshops include:

  • Work Smarter with AI Agents: Individual and Team Effectiveness
  • Leading AI Transformation: Bigger Than You Imagine, Harder Than You Expect
  • Using AI at Work: Practical Choices and Better Results
  • Search & Discoverability in the Era of AI
  • Don't Just Prompt AI - Govern it
  • AI-Powered Product Manager
  • Leverage AI and Human Connection to Lead through Uncertainty

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How It Works

Frequently Asked Questions

Raising or investing capital is rarely just about having a strong idea. You need credible market assumptions, a clear funding strategy, and the ability to navigate investor expectations from first conversation through closing and beyond. Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate helps you build that end-to-end understanding so you can move faster and make better decisions under real-world uncertainty.

In this certificate program, from the Cornell Center for Regional Economic Advancement, you will learn how to evaluate startup viability with practical frameworks, size a market using a defendable bottom-up approach, and match your opportunity or investment style to appropriate funding sources. You’ll also develop the skills to craft and critique an investor pitch, understand how common deal structures work, model dilution and valuation, and organize due diligence and post-investment governance so the relationship stays productive after the money is wired.

The learning is designed for application. You will build work products you can use in real conversations, including market-sizing models, milestone and use-of-funds plans, pitch materials, cap table and valuation scenarios, due diligence checklists, and investor communication templates, with feedback from an expert facilitator and insights from a small peer cohort.

If you want a practical roadmap for startup capital, confidence in communicating with investors, and tools you can apply immediately to fundraising or investment decisions, you should choose Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate.

Most online startup finance content is either passive or overly theoretical. Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate is built to help you perform the work that founders and early-stage investors actually have to do, with structure, accountability, and expert feedback.

You learn in a small, facilitated cohort where discussions are guided by an industry expert facilitator who provides feedback on your submitted work. The experience blends flexible, asynchronous learning with opportunities for live sessions focused on applying concepts to real scenarios, such as matching funding types to company stage, pressure-testing market assumptions, and preparing for investor questions.

Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate also stands out for its end-to-end scope across the funding life cycle. You move from viability and market sizing into pitching, term sheets and legal structures, cap tables and valuation, due diligence planning and documentation, and post-investment governance and investor relations. That combination helps you connect the narrative of your opportunity to the financial mechanics and processes that determine whether a deal can actually close and succeed afterward.

Enrolling in this certificate also provides you with a 6-month All-Access Pass to eCornell's live online AI Workshops, interactive sessions led by world-class Cornell faculty that combine Ivy League insight with practical applications for busy professionals. Each 3-hour Workshop features structured instruction, guided practice, and real tools to build competitive AI capabilities, plus the opportunity to connect with a global cohort of growth-oriented peers. While AI Workshops are not required, they enhance certificate programs through:

  • Integrating AI perspectives across most curricula
  • Responding to emerging AI developments and trends
  • Offering direct engagement with Cornell faculty at the forefront of AI research

Founders and future founders enroll in Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate when they need a clearer plan for how to fund, structure, and defend a startup opportunity. The program is also a strong fit if you are exploring angel investing, venture investing, or an early-stage investing role and want a practical lens for evaluating deals.

The Startup Funding and Finance Certificate is designed for you if you:

  • Are seeking funding and want to match your stage and business model to the right capital sources
  • Need to make your market size, milestones, and use of funds more credible to investors
  • Want to build and deliver a stronger pitch and anticipate investor questions
  • Need a working understanding of common financing instruments, cap tables, dilution, and valuation
  • Want to understand due diligence and the documentation needed to close and manage an investment relationship

No formal prerequisites are stated for enrollment in Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate, and the content is taught to be accessible for motivated professionals, including first-time fund-seekers and novice investors.

Project work in Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate is designed to translate startup funding concepts into concrete deliverables you can use in real fundraising or investment conversations. You will build tools and documents across market validation, pitching, deal mechanics, diligence, and post-investment planning.

Examples of projects learners have completed include:

  • Developing a five-year growth plan that sequences fundraising rounds with expansion milestones, board evolution, and a compensation strategy that balances cash and equity
  • Building a bottom-up market estimate and three-year milestone roadmap for decentralized solar power deployments, tying unit economics to staged rollout targets and PPAs
  • Creating an investor-ready due diligence checklist and closing document set that validates IP ownership, school-district contracts, student data privacy compliance, and financial reporting controls
  • Designing a curated secondhand bridal retail business model, including a localized market sizing approach and a plan to test willingness to buy and pay through targeted interviews
  • Defining a focused beachhead go-to-market for an enterprise VR training platform, including premium pricing assumptions and an interview plan to validate measurable ROI for buyers

Across Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate, you can expect your submissions to include items like market-sizing models, milestone and use-of-funds plans, pitch materials, cap table and valuation scenarios, and diligence and governance templates, with facilitator feedback to help you sharpen your assumptions and communication.

Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate helps you become more credible and effective in startup funding conversations by strengthening how you evaluate opportunities, communicate an investment story, and execute the financial and diligence mechanics behind a deal.

After completing the Startup Funding and Finance Certificate, you will be prepared to:

  • Assess the viability of your startup and project its potential market size
  • Evaluate investment opportunities
  • Find potential sources of funding for your business
  • Navigate the process of pitching and closing investors
  • Assign fair valuation to a startup
  • Protect your interests in the startup investment process
  • Determine if you should move forward or hold back on your deal
  • Navigate the post-investment landscape

Students often describe leaving the program with more confidence and a clearer, practical roadmap for how startup capital works, from building an investor-ready narrative to working through the financial mechanics that shape funding decisions. Learners frequently highlight tangible deliverables they can use right away, step-by-step guidance for building and strengthening a pitch deck, hands-on practice with cap tables, valuation, and dilution scenarios using templates, and clearer understanding of term sheets and common funding instruments. Many also point to real investor perspectives and facilitator feedback that help them support their assumptions with credible data and communicate a business case more effectively.

What truly sets eCornell apart is how our programs unlock genuine career transformation. Learners earn promotions to senior positions, enjoy meaningful salary growth, build valuable professional networks, and navigate successful career transitions.

Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate, which consists of 6 short courses, is designed to be completed in 3 months. Each course runs for 2 weeks, with a typical weekly time commitment of 3 to 5 hours.

In practice, you can do most work on your own schedule, including videos, readings, templates, spreadsheet-based exercises, and written submissions. The program also includes interactive elements such as facilitated discussions and opportunities for live sessions that help you pressure-test your assumptions, learn from peers, and get real-time guidance. The result is a flexible online experience where you can keep momentum without having to be online all day.

Students in Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate often describe the experience as a practical, confidence-building roadmap for understanding how startup capital really works, from shaping an investor-ready story to analyzing the financial mechanics behind funding decisions. Many say they leave with concrete deliverables and tools they can apply immediately to fundraising, investing conversations, and strategic planning for their ventures.

Learners frequently highlight:

  • Step-by-step guidance for building and refining a pitch deck and delivering a stronger investor pitch
  • Hands-on practice with cap tables, valuation, dilution, and financing scenarios using spreadsheets and templates
  • Clear explanations of term sheets and common funding instruments, helping demystify investor expectations
  • Frameworks for evaluating opportunities, including market sizing concepts like TAM, SAM, and related growth assumptions
  • Real investor perspectives and examples that connect lessons to real fundraising and deal dynamics
  • Assignments that produce work products students can use right away in their startup or on the job
  • Content that feels rigorous yet accessible, even when topics are complex
  • Engaging facilitators who provide timely, constructive feedback and create a supportive learning environment
  • A well-organized, user-friendly online experience with flexibility that works for busy professionals

Overall, students say Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate strengthens their ability to communicate a business case clearly, support it with credible data, and approach fundraising and startup finance with more credibility and confidence.

The curriculum in Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate includes hands-on work with the core financial mechanics that shape funding outcomes, including cap tables, dilution, and valuation.

You will practice building and interpreting a capitalization table, then analyze how different financing scenarios and deal terms change outcomes for founders and investors. You’ll also learn common approaches to valuation, including discounted cash flow concepts and public market multiple comparisons, and you’ll use scenario analysis to estimate a reasonable valuation range that can support negotiation.

Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate covers the practical deal structures and documents that typically show up between investor interest and closing.

You will compare common non-equity and equity financing structures, including instruments such as convertible notes and SAFEs, and you’ll learn how key terms affect risk, control, and economics for both entrepreneurs and investors. You’ll also work through what a term sheet is intended to do, how due diligence is organized, and what documents are commonly required at closing and post-closing so you can prepare a realistic, investor-ready process.

Many entrepreneurs come to Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance Certificate to make startup finance concepts more concrete and usable, even if they have not worked in finance.

You will be guided through structured templates and step-by-step exercises that focus on practical decisions founders and new investors need to make, such as sizing a target market bottom-up, connecting milestones to use of funds, building a pitch that anticipates investor questions, and understanding how cap tables, dilution, and valuation change across funding rounds. With expert facilitation, you can ask questions, get feedback on your assumptions, and translate the concepts into materials you can use for your own opportunity.

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