25733 Finance for Entrepreneurs

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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Business: Finance
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Postgraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): ((25742 Financial Management OR 25799 Finance for Managers)) OR (25773 Investments and Risk Management AND 25772 Financial Planning: Principles and Regulation)
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 25896 Financing Startups AND 25897 Valuing Startups

Description

This subject provides students with knowledge about entrepreneurial finance from the perspectives of founders, early employees and outside investors. Students study financing aspects at all stages, from the inception of a start-up to an entrepreneur's exit.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1.	develop and evaluate finance structure arrangements at all stages of entrepreneurial ventures
2.	critically evaluate financial component metrics and milestones of a startup
3.	identify and evaluate exit strategies

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

This subject furnishes students with the financial skills involved in setting up and running an entrepreneurial venture as well as advising founders, and working in or investing in an early stage company. Students identify and assess financing sources, methods of financial management and exit strategies from the perspective of a founder. Students also examine methods of evaluating all stages (from a startup to an exit) from the perspective of an advisor or an outside investor. The subject contributes to the overall objectives by developing skills that can lead to successful critical analysis of the financing component in entrepreneurial ventures.

Teaching and learning strategies

The teaching methods include workshops integrated with discussion of startup journeys and short cases. Weekly quizzes test the knowledge attained in the subject and assignments provide students with projects to address and develop key understanding of objectives.

Content (topics)

Different entrepreneurial business structures
Rates of return and risk for outside investors
Financing sources-venture capitalist; business angels; grants; entrepreneurs own finance (bootstrapping); private equity; accelerators/incubators
Valuation of startup at each stage: pre-seed, seed, startup, expansion and IPO
Analysing performance- metrics and key ratios
Entrepreneurial financial failure
Alternate exit strategies for the entrepreneur

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Impact reflection presentation (Group)*

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2 and 3
Weight:	30%
Criteria:	The presentations are graded on the following criteria: Coherence of analysis of funding requirements, market evaluation, valuation models, financial plans, exit strategies, etc. The ability to demonstrate implications to the group’s specific case study *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Objective(s):

This addresses subject learning objective(s):

1, 2 and 3

Weight:

30%

Criteria:

The presentations are graded on the following criteria:

Coherence of analysis of funding requirements, market evaluation, valuation models, financial plans, exit strategies, etc.
The ability to demonstrate implications to the group’s specific case study

*Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Assessment task 2: Critical thinking and analysis activities (Individual)*

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2 and 3
Weight:	70%
Criteria:	The critical thinking and analysis assessments are graded on the following criteria: Precision in evaluating and communicating the risks and rewards regarding different financing structures Identification of uses and limitations of financial metrics and clarity in linking to financing milestones Coherence of analysis of exit strategy alternatives *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Objective(s):

This addresses subject learning objective(s):

1, 2 and 3

Weight:

70%

Criteria:

The critical thinking and analysis assessments are graded on the following criteria:

Precision in evaluating and communicating the risks and rewards regarding different financing structures
Identification of uses and limitations of financial metrics and clarity in linking to financing milestones
Coherence of analysis of exit strategy alternatives

*Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Minimum requirements

Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks.

Recommended texts

Leach, J. Chris and Melicher, Ronald W., Entrepreneurial Finance, South-Western (Cengage Learning), 5th edition. 2015 ISBN-13: 978-1-285-42575-7