Free, self-paced course
Entrepreneurial finance.
From idea to
investment case.
Learn to assess a startup, forecast its cash, evaluate financing terms, and turn the analysis into a credible investment case.
Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA
Assistant Teaching Professor of Finance
Santa Clara University · Leavey School of Business
No sign-in required. Progress saves in this browser.
An independent learning resource from Devon Coombs Academy.
- 10
- Core modules
- 618
- Questions in module practice
- 326
- Terms with study cards
- 23 hrs
- Estimated core study time
What you will learn
Make the next decision
with a stronger financial case.
Assess the business
Connect founder goals, customer evidence, pricing, and unit economics before committing more resources.
Model the cash
Read startup financial statements and build forecasts that show the drivers, assumptions, and funding need.
Evaluate the deal
Explain valuation, dilution, financing terms, and investor incentives—and communicate the tradeoffs clearly.
For students, founders, and advisers. Start with basic percentages and spreadsheet familiarity; finance terms are explained as you go. The course covers independent businesses as well as ventures considering outside investment.
Practice tools
Valuation LabTurn a venture story into a valuation. Start with the Anthropic case, then customize growth, margins, reinvestment, and risk for your own company using Aswath Damodaran's valuation framework.Share a link with your assumptions, or download editable Excel with your current inputs and keep working.Open Valuation Lab Weekly FIN143 Practice451 MCQsChoose Week 1–9 practice, track your progress, and review explanations for every answer choice. Includes 298 quantitative questions and five focused practice exams.Start from the matching week below, or open the full practice hub. Your saved history carries over.Curriculum
Ten modules. One connected financial story.
The Founder Archetype Matrix
Assess the founder’s capital, experience, and goals. Apply the eight archetypes, two cases, and an affordable-loss budget.
Venture Economics Framework
Test the customer problem, revenue model, pricing, market, and unit economics to assess how the business can work.
Financial Statement Analysis
Read startup financials with a diligence mindset: earnings quality, cash conversion, margins, and warning signs.
Financial Forecasting
Build a forecast from operating drivers, connect the statements, and examine cash needs under different scenarios.
Valuation Methods
Compare startup valuation methods and see how assumptions, uncertainty, and investor returns affect the result.
Cap Tables & Dilution
Model ownership, dilution, funding rounds, and exit payouts. Follow the economics behind the headline valuation.
VC Fund Economics
Understand how venture funds make money and how fund incentives shape investment and exit decisions.
Capital Structure
Compare debt and equity, size financing around milestones, and evaluate costs, control, and repayment risk.
Optional
Supplementary Modules
From analysis to a decision
Make the financial story in your pitch credible.
Explain the market, cash needs, financing choice and investor economics. Use a worked example to connect the raise to milestones and a realistic cash buffer.
Explore the startup pitch guide Build a one-page decision briefHow this course works
1. Read one section at a time
Short, focused steps with worked examples and interactive calculators. Move with Continue or the arrow keys.
2. Check yourself as you go
Sections end with a knowledge check that explains every answer, right or wrong. Answers save as you go.
3. Finish with practice
Each chapter wraps up with a practice exam, and the course-wide Final Practice pools every question by topic.
Free and self-paced, open to anyone. Your progress saves automatically in this browser, so no account or sign-in is needed.
Go deeper
Sources & further reading
Everything behind the material: the research the chapters cite, the books worth owning, and the shows worth a commute. Open a shelf to browse.
Your instructor
Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA
Devon is Assistant Teaching Professor of Finance and Faculty Director of Real Estate Finance at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. This independent course brings his focus on financial modeling, practical judgment, and clear explanations to the decisions founders and advisers face.
“He provides every resource in the world to help his students, whether that be his own book, the videos he creates with great edits, or his own website, which helps you really drill down the information.”