The Academy Investor Network's (AIN) mission is to invest in top-tier startups while also exposing service academy graduates to the venture asset class, usually only available to accredited investors (high net-worth individuals). Our team recognizes venture investing can be challenging to navigate and unnecessarily exclusive. For service academy graduates new to investing, AIN is demystifying venture investing by providing educational materials to ensure our members are postured to invest like professionals. This article outlines the training available at no cost through our platform in conjunction with RBL1 (Revel One Ventures) and other resources we believe will be valuable to AIN members.
This AIN Training is a six-hour course available at no cost to all members. Members who complete the training will receive a certificate after completion. To gain access to the training, you must become a member of AIN by applying here. All non-accredited AIN members must complete this course to invest with AIN. The training syllabus includes the following:
Investing 101: Covers what a startup is and the different sources of funding.
Venture Selection Process: Explains the sourcing and due diligence for venture deals.
Evaluating Startups: Everything investors look at to determine if a startup is a good investment.
Startup Engagement & Investor Questions: Understand how to prepare for and develop investor questions for initial meetings with a startup's founders/management team
Deal Flow: The number of potential investments a fund reviews over a period of time
Deal Screen: Initial evaluation of a potential investment opportunity before committing resources and time to a more thorough evaluation of the opportunity
The Startup Pitch: A presentation of an entrepreneur's idea, business model, company solution, marketing strategy, and competition delivered to potential investors
Capitalization 'Cap' Table: This is a table showing the total amount of securities issued by a firm and typically includes the amount of investment obtained from each source
AIN will continue to create valuable educational content for our members as part of an ongoing educational series that will include topics ranging from introductory investor education to venture-specific investing. Here's a quick preview of future topics:
Learning the Venture Language - useful terms and definitions
Macro Investing Topics - where does venture fit into my overall investing strategy?
Venture Math - useful ratios and analysis to screen ventures
In addition to AIN's content, we believe every investor should include these resources below in their toolkit.
Books:
Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs by Karen Berman
Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers by Alexander Osterwalder
The Tech Entrepreneurs Survival Guide: How to Bootstrap Your Startup, Lead Through Tough Times, and Cash In for Success by Bernd Schoner and Steven Roy Grimsley
Newsletters:
Podcasts:
Service Academy Business Mastermind with Scott Mackes
This week in Startups with Jason Calacanis
If you have additional questions, please contact Emily McMahan (Emily@academyinvestor.com) and/or Sherman Williams (Sherman@academyinvestor.com).