StretchLearn Course

Raise Your First Venture Round Without Leaving Money on the Table

The end-to-end fundraising playbook for founders — from investor-ready pitch deck to signed term sheet.

Intermediate9 hr 8 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This course gives founders the exact frameworks, documents, and tactics used in real fundraising rounds. You will learn how investors think, what a compelling pitch deck actually contains, how SAFEs and priced rounds work mechanically, and how to run a disciplined raise process that creates momentum. By the end you will be able to walk into any investor meeting prepared, negotiate key terms, and close a round without giving away control of your company.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Build a 10-slide pitch deck that passes a partner meeting without revision

Model a pre-money valuation and explain the dilution impact to co-founders

Draft a SAFE note with the correct valuation cap and discount for your stage

Run a structured investor pipeline using a CRM-style process to create urgency

Identify and negotiate the five terms in a term sheet that matter most

Construct a clean cap table that protects founder equity through multiple rounds

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Building the Investor-Ready Narrative

Before any document or meeting, investors buy a story. This module teaches you how to build the core narrative that underpins every pitch, deck, and conversation — and why most founder stories fail at the first sentence.

3 lessons

How Venture Investors Actually Make DecisionsContent · 40 min

Preview Enabled

Crafting Your Fundable Origin StoryContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Identifying and Tiering Your Investor UniverseContent · 42 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: The Pitch Deck and the Numbers

The pitch deck is not a brochure — it is a structured argument. This module breaks down every slide, the financial model behind it, and the valuation frameworks investors actually use at the seed and Series A stage.

3 lessons

Anatomy of a 10-Slide Pitch Deck That Closes RoundsContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Startup Valuation: How the Number Gets SetContent · 48 min

LMS Access

Building and Presenting Your Financial ModelContent · 52 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Instruments: SAFEs, Notes, and Priced Rounds

The legal and financial instruments used in startup fundraising are not interchangeable. This module explains exactly how SAFEs, convertible notes, and priced equity rounds work — and when to use each one.

3 lessons

Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs) ExplainedContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Convertible Notes vs Priced Rounds: Choosing the Right InstrumentContent · 43 min

LMS Access

Reading and Managing Your Cap TableContent · 47 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Running the Raise Process and Closing the Round

Fundraising is a full-time job for 8 to 12 weeks. This module covers the end-to-end process — from first outreach to signed documents — including how to manage investor pipelines, survive due diligence, and negotiate a term sheet.

3 lessons

Running a Disciplined Investor PipelineContent · 44 min

LMS Access

Surviving Investor Due DiligenceContent · 40 min

LMS Access

Negotiating the Term Sheet: The Five Terms That Actually MatterContent · 52 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

venture capitalfundraisingpitch deckSAFE notescap tableterm sheetvaluationinvestor relations