BAEP 565 - Venture Lab

Do not take this course unless you are seriously considering Venture Capital. The speakers are good, class isn't too much work, but the vibe (bit intense) and activities (genuine outreach and relationship management with startups) are a lot if you are not committed to the follow-through. If you want to enter VC, this class is an amazing access point to professionals in the field. Guest professors Jack and Jai are also kind and attentive.

The Venture Lab is a mixed experience. The biggest value is the instructors and the speakers they bring in: Jack and Jai, both venture GPs and instructors, who bring deep experience, insight, and extensive networks, making them by far the highlight of the course. Hopefully the format will shift so students who actively show up can engage and ask questions, rather than relying on pre-submitted questions based on bios, which are often AI-generated. That would make class time far more valuable. The team component is brutal. This term, each group picked five companies, but four out of five, for anyone with VC experience, were not venture-backable and appear to be sourced through personal connections. There’s little enforcement around the fund thesis or general clarity on the fund thesis, which amplifies the frustration and makes expectations unclear. Working in teams under these conditions is a major challenge and makes the course feel more academic than practical. Overall, the class is best suited for two types of students: those seeking first exposure to VC, assuming no prerequisite is required, or students with some VC knowledge who are qualified to participate in a student investment fund that deploys real capital.

The opportunity to hear from and speak to industry professionals is priceless! However, the other part of the class (managing the Marshall Venture Fund and associated projects/assignments) is frequently unorganized and lacks clarity. Having multiple instructors for the class creates confusion, particularly when the instructors are not all aligned. The VC instructors of the class (Jack Crawford and Jai Choi) are great. Hopefully the details will be ironed out for the next elective cohort. The projects/assignments consist of both individual and group work - it's manageable but does require research tasks and founder outreach/calls.

Do not take this course unless you are seriously considering Venture Capital. The speakers are good, class isn't too much work, but the vibe (bit intense) and activities (genuine outreach and relationship management with startups) are a lot if you are not committed to the follow-through. If you want to enter VC, this class is an amazing access point to professionals in the field. Guest professors Jack and Jai are also kind and attentive.

Very disorganized course. Professor does not provide much insight into VC industry, term sheets, etc. Start-ups that present are not typically "investment grade." Who is this class for? Someone interested in VC. Final Thoughts: Would not recommend unless the course is given more structure. Not much insights gained into the VC world. Mostly lectures about professor's experience and personal anecdotes.

A great class to understand the VC industry and how to be an investor. You actually get to source for and decide what company Marshall Venture Fund should invest in. Very experiential as you have founders come pitch to you and you perform diligence on their companies. You also have industry experts - lawyers, VC, founders - come in to teach you what you need to know

Without a finance background, it is sometimes hard to follow but the class is still manageable and interesting if you're interested in learning about VC at a baseline level

The only way to get involved in Marshall's Venture Fund program. Class is very easy.

This class teaches you about term sheets and due diligence. You'll have a semester long project to do due diligence on a real startup for them to have a chance to get a real 50k check. It is a group project and you meet with the founder several times. Apart from that, there's readings and blog posts and activities. The class is not very structured and the syllabus is always changing. The prof really cares and is really interested/animated/knowledgeable.