Venture capital and other sources of private equity play a critical role in the founding and development of new enterprises. In this course, we will review all aspects of starting and operating a venture capital firm. At the end of the course, students will better understand how the venture capital industry works; what types of businesses venture capitalists invest in and why; how contract structures protect investors; how venture capitalists create value for their investors and for the companies in which they invest; and how the North American venture capital model ports to other contexts.