Expara Accelerator Program

Expara Accelerator Program - Group

Our full 3-month accelerator program for teams. Contact us for special group pricing.

Interested in this course? Email us at [email protected]

Who will benefit from this program?

Not just an on-line course but a full on-line accelerator program for groups who want to create a customized schedule

Entrepreneurs

Individual entrepreneurs or teams at the beginning of their start-up journey who want to develop their product-market fit, business plan and financial plan.
Early-stage start-ups

Start-ups raising their first or second round of funding who want to improve their investor materials, accelerate their growth and pitch to investors.
Growth-stage start-ups

Later-stage start-ups that want to further accelerate their growth, increase their fund-raising success and broaden their investor network.

What will I learn in this program?

You will learn how to increase the velocity of growth of your start-up

Participants will proceed through a 14-week structured program in which they will develop their business plan, financial model, and investor pitch deck. Topics covered in the structured workshop program include product/market fit, value proposition, market identification and analysis, marketing strategy, sustainable competitive advantage, business model, financing and fundraising strategy, and understanding venture capital. Modes of learning include on-line videos and articles, interactive assignments and exercises, and live mentorship sessions. Graduates of the program will have a chance to pitch to a panel of investors and to be introduced to Expara's global investor network, will be reviewed for investment by Expara's accelerator fund.

What will I get from this program?

Participants will receive the same full set of benefits as participants in our highly successful face-to-face accelerator programs which we have been conducting since 2007. In addition to the structured learning, they will receive personalized mentorship, a start-up toolkit, access to our global network, and more.

14 hours of live interactive sessions with Expara CEO Douglas Abrams
94 videos - 17.5 hours of viewing and 74 original articles for reading
Live presentation to a panel of venture investors
Business plan development and written feedback - 2 rounds
Pitch deck and financial model development and feedback - 1 round each
Expara's award-winning VC-Start-up negotiation exercise
Access to Expara's network of more than 2,000 venture investors
Pro-forma Valuation Excel Model for start-ups
Start-up evaluation checklist and term sheet template
Expara Academy Certificate of Course Completion

Course curriculum

1. A message from the instructor
2. About the instructor
3. Connecting to my network
4. READ FIRST: How to complete the course
5. Course schedule
6. Course submissions and milestones
7. About Expara
8. Reading: Can entrepreneurship be taught?
9. Reading list for entrepreneurs
1. What is the relationship between risk and return?
2. Risk and return
3. Reading: Risk and return
1. What is an entreprenur?
2. What is a scalable business?
3. Why become an entrepreneur?
4. Starting up in a downturn
5. What is an entrepreneur?
6. Reading - Two types of entrepreneurs
7. What is a scalable business?
8. How to build a scalable business?
9. Why become an entrepreneur?
10. Obstacles to entrepreneurship
11. Reading - What makes a successful entrepreneur?
12. Reading - Should I work first or just start a company?
13. Reading - Why entrepreneurship
14. Reading - How important is luck in entrepreneurial success?
15. Reading: Is an economic crisis a good time to start or pivot a business?
1. This could be you
2. This could be you
1. Let's fail
2. Overcoming the fear of failure
3. Reading - Innovation from failure at 3M
4. Reading - Fear and failure
5. Reading - Why is failing good for entrepreneurs
1. Success from failure
2. Success from failure
3. Reading - Success from failure
4. Reading - What percentage of start-ups really fail?
5. Reading - Why do so many start-ups fail?
6. Reading - Why is it good that so many start-ups fail
7. Reading - Do difficult things
1. Scalable or lifestyle business?
2. Why should startups raise investment
3. Reading - Why do start-ups raise money?
1. How to fund growth?
2. Which form of funding is best?
3. How do start-ups fund growth?
4. Reading - What is the best form of funding for a start up
5. Reading - Only a moron starts a business with a loan
6. Reading - What is the difference between debt and equity?
1. Highest returning asset class
2. VC is the highest returning asset class
3. VC improves portfolio diversification
4. Reading - Why do investors invest in VC funds?
5. Reading - Top VC fund managers can consistently outperform
1. Why VC now
2. Why venture capital now
3. Reading - Is moores law over?
4. Reading - Amaras law
1. What kind of companies do VCs invest in?
2. How do VCs generate returns?
1. Which one is more scalable- product or service?
2. What sectors do VCs invest?
3. What kind of companies generate high returns?
4. Reading - What is the optimal time to enter a market?
5. Reading - What do VCs invest in?
6. Reading - Which scales better?
7. Reading - Good business vs good investment
1. The investor’s decision tree
2. The investor’s decision tree
3. Key elements for success
4. Key elements for success
5. Reading - Three most important factors
6. Reading - Product market fit or team
7. Reading - Key elements of success
1. Communicating with investors
2. Communicating with investors
3. Reading - How to connect with investors
1. Innovation and value proposition
2. Defining innovation
3. Innovation and value proposition questions to ask
4. Innovation and value proposition questions
5. Why invest in innovators
6. Reading - Innovation and value proposition
7. Reading - Innovators, imitators and idiots
8. Reading - Is Grab an innovator or an imitator?
9. Reading - Pain and demand (How does pain drive demand)
1. Business model innovation
2. Business model innovations
3. Reading - What is the Gillette business model
4. Reading - Disruptive business models
1. Identifying favorable markets for start-ups
2. Market life cycles and structures
1. Sizing the market
2. Top-down and bottom-up market sizing
3. Reading - Sizing the market for a start-up
1. Market identification and analysis
2. Market identification and analysis
3. Market identification and analysis questions
4. Who is your customer?
1. What are the elements of marketing strategy?
2. Product differentiation
3. Market positioning
4. Market positioning
5. Elements of the 4Ps
6. 4 Ps
7. Choose the right segment to enter the market
8. Developing a tagline
9. Marketing strategy questions
1. Value innovation
2. Blue ocean strategy
1. Customer analysis
2. Customer segmentation analysis
1. Sales and distribution
2. Sales and distribution
3. Reading - What are unit economics?
4. Customer, sales and distribution questions
1. Business plan draft 1 submission
1. Sustainable competitive advantage
2. First mover advantage & last mover advantage
3. How startups beat established companies?
4. Sustainable Competitive Advantage (Market Leaders, Dinosaurs, and Small Mammals)
5. Reading - First mover disadvantage last mover advantage
6. First mover disadvantage; last mover advantage
7. Reading - Why are you using Whatsapp?
8. Reading - Why are there only two ride sharing companies in each market?
9. Competing with large companies
10. Competing with large companies
11. Reading - Market leaders dinosaurs small mammals and asteroids
12. Reading - SCA case study: who was the first mover in personal computers
13. Sustainable competitive advantage questions
1. IP strategy
2. IP strategy
3. Reading - Is it possible for someone to steal your start-up idea?
4. Reading - What are the elements of an IP strategy for start-ups?
1. Forms of organization
2. Key legal agreements
3. Capital and legal structure of a firm
4. 5 key agreements in venture capital deals
5. Reading - Key agreements in VC investment
1. In the financial section of the business plan
2. Why do we need a financial plan?
3. Financial projections - financial section of the business plan (2)
4. Valuation - financial section of the business plan (3)
1. Business plan draft submission 2
1. Business Model - The financial section of the business plan (1)
2. Key revenue model issues
3. Business model - how will you make money?
4. Reading - What is a business model?
1. Pro-forma Financial Model
2. Create financial projections
3. Why forecast 5 years?
4. Starting with revenue forecast
5. Top-down market sizing example - Plant-based meat
6. Top-down market sizing example - Sesame milk
7. Bottom up market sizing
8. Introduction to Revenue forecast in Excel
9. Why is the top-down forecast different from bottom-up forecast?
10. Mistakes startup CEOs make
11. Financial model explained 1
12. Reading - Why will financial forecasts always be wrong?
13. Financial model explained 2
14. Financial model explained 3
15. Balance sheet
16. Income statement 1
17. Income statements 2
18. Cash flow budget
19. DCF valuation model
20. Financials and DCF Valuation
21. Weighted average cost of capital
22. Valuation in financial modelling
23. Dilution schedule and investor ROI
24. Reading - Why are so many startups not profitable?
25. Reading - How is a model different from reality
1. Why do most valuation methods fail for start-ups?
2. Why do most valuation methods fail for start-ups?
3. Reading - Why do traditional valuation methods fail?
4. Company valuation methods
5. Comparables
6. Methods of valuation - comparables
7. Discounted cash flow valuation
8. Methods of valuation - discounted cash flow
9. VC method
10. Methods of valuation - VC method
11. Valuation methods
12. Pre-money and post-money valuation
13. VC method valuation explained
14. Where do the numbers in VC method valuation come from?
15. Reading - What drives VC fund returns
16. VC return distribution
17. Key valuation issues
18. Reading - Epidemic of overvaluation
19. Reading - Why don't startups pay dividends?
20. Reading - What is cost of capital and why is it important?
1. Exit strategy and ROI
2. ROI and dilution
3. Calculate investor's ROI including dilution
4. Exit strategy and ROI
5. What two numbers do investors need to calculate their ROI
6. What is an exit strategy
7. Why every start-up needs an exit strategy
8. What is the best exit strategy
9. Calculating exit valuation
10. Never sell less than 100 percent
11. Reading - How do VCs make money
1. Financial plan draft submission
2. Submit summary of your financial plan (word or PDF file)
1. Why is the multistep fundraising process so important?
2. The fundraising journey of startups
3. Funding required - The financial section of the business plan (4)
4. Equity offered - financial section of the business plan(5)
5. Use of Proceeds, Exit Strategy and ROI - financial section of the business plan(6)
6. How should founders split equity?
7. Fundraising process
8. No part-time founders
9. Reading - VC funding process enables funding of innovation
10. VC investment process
11. Reading - Smart money or dumb money
12. How much funding to raise?
13. Reading - What are burn rate and runway?
14. Reading - How much to raise?
15. How much equity to give up?
16. Reading - How much equity to give up?
17. Reading - How should founders split equity?
18. Reading - Choose your investor as carefully as you choose a spouse
19. Reading - Angel or VC or CVC which is best
20. How to use funds raised?
21. Reading - Who are venture investors?
22. Reading - Is dilution a good thing or a bad thing?
23. Reading - Use of funds - do founders salaries drive growth?
24. Reading - What is FF and F?
25. Reading - What is OM and how much of it do you need?
26. Reading - The best and worst times to raise money
27. Reading - Why not give up the minimum equity
1. Economic terms in term sheets: Part I
2. Economic terms in term sheets: Part II
3. Control terms in term sheets
4. An example of how liquidation preference works
5. What is founder vesting
6. What is a clean cap table?
7. Convertible debt vs equity
8. Safe notes
9. Key elements of the deal
10. Reading - Key terms in VC term sheets
11. Reading - Liquidation preference as valuation insurance
12. Cap tables
13. Reading: The 7 deadly sins of messy cap tables
14. Reading - What is founder vesting?
15. Download: Term sheet template and term sheet alternatives
16. Reading: How do VCs control startups after investment
17. Reading: Corporate structuring issues for VC investors
18. Reading: What forms of funding are used by VCs
19. Reading: What are convertible and SAFE notes and should we use them
20. Reading: Reserve matters and protective provisions
21. Reading: Retaining BOD control
22. Reading: What are reps and warranties
23. Reading: What is a drag-along clause
24. Reading: MFN and Pay to Play
25. Reading: What is redemption
26. Reading: What is anti-dilution protection
27. Reading: What are ROFRs and ROFOs and when are they bad
1. Investor presentation materials
2. Investor pitch deck
1. First impressions
2. You can't judge a book by its cover: Part II
3. You can't judge a book by its cover: Part II (Susan Boyle singing)
4. You can't judge a book by its cover: Part III
5. You can’t judge a book by its cover
6. Getting past gatekeepers
7. How to get past gatekeepers?
8. How to stand out?
9. Effective presentation delivery
10. What causes presentation choking?
11. Presentation tips
12. Reading - What is a gatekeeper and why are they important
13. Reading - How to get to gatekeepers
14. Reading - Understanding gatekeepers incentives
15. Reading - Getting past gatekeepers
1. Q&A is the most important part
2. A sample VC pitch (a lot like love video)
3. Handling Q&A
4. Difficult questions
5. Responding to difficult questions
1. Presentation slide draft submission
1. VC-start-up negotiations
2. VC startup negotiations
3. VC - startup negotiation game
4. Contact Information
1. Business plan final submission
2. Financial plan final submission
3. Presentation slide final submission

About this course

Free
291 lessons
33.5 hours of video content

Entrepreneurs

Early-stage start-ups

Growth-stage start-ups

Welcome to the course!

Understanding risk and return

Welcome to start-up world

This could be you

Let's fail

Success from failure

Why do start-ups raise investment?

How do start-ups fund growth?

Why do investors invest in VC?

Why VC now?

How do VCs make money?

What kind of companies generate high returns?

How do VCs evaluate start-ups?

Communicating with investors

Innovation and value proposition

Business model innovation

Identifying favorable markets

Sizing the market

Market identification and analysis

Marketing strategy

Value innovation

Customer segmentation and analysis

Sales and distribution

Submission: Business plan draft 1

Sustainable competitive advantage

IP strategy

Legal issues

Financial plan

Submission: Business plan draft 2

Business model

Financial model

Valuation

Exit strategy and ROI

Submission: Financial plan draft

Fundraising process

Key deal terms and term sheets

Investor presentation materials

Investor presentations

Handling Q&A

Submission: Presentation slides draft

VC-Start-up negotiations

Submission: Final submissions

About this course