In addition to financial capital, start-ups also must procure human capital, including management teams, board advisors and providers of legal and other services. The goals of this phase is to answer several key questions: How do you get the capital? How do you get the people you need? Is this resourceable?
When boiled down, it is a very simple equation: Team + Business + Business Model = does it make sense?
In the classroom David Brophy’s Venture Capital Finance course presents and applies fundamental concepts of resourcing and uses “live” case studies to focus on financing start-up and early stage technology-based firms.
To put it into action, students have a chance to learn and test their skill in resourcing from the investors’ side of the equation by taking active roles in three student-led investment funds ― the Frankel Commercialization Fund, the Wolverine Venture Fund, and the new Social Venture Fund ― which have a combined $6 million in capital under management. The Marcel Gani summer internship program allows students to imbed themselves in start-up companies or venture-capital firms to observe and participate in the resourcing of financial and human capital. The program also allows entrepreneurial students to do self-hosted internships to advance the development of their own companies.