Business Angel Academy
Identify growth opportunities and accelerate business growth
Business Angel Academy is designed for private investors who want a deep insight into startup investing. Participants will learn to lead startups by developing the core value of the business.
After completing the program, participants will be able to find the best investment opportunities, know how to enable growth, and know when and how to execute a successful exit.
The program offers practical exercises and high-level networking with professors and other business angels. After completing the Business Angel Academy program you will also understand how to measure and evaluate success in portfolio companies.
The program has been designed together with the Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN) to serve as a highclass training for the demanding needs of Business Angel community.
In addition to the training and practical exercises, the program offers interesting online Q&A sessions with internationally successful private investors and venture capitalists.
You will receive recognized brand of expertise from one of the top global providers of executive education.
Benefits
Business Angel Academy program will provide you with an opportunity to strengthen your knowledge on startup investing. You will learn to recognize the best investment opportunities, to lead and coach startups by developing their core value, to employ different strategies to enable growth and know what to do when a startup is facing growth issues - and finally, when and how to execute a successful exit.
For
The program is designed for private investors and business angels, and all those in business, who are interested in developing their skills and know-how on Startup ecosystems, valuation, business model innovation, technologies, and startup investment opportunities.
We recommend the program to both present and future business angels, entrepreneurs, managers leading corporate M&A and business development, CEOs of family-owned businesses from all the Nordic and Baltic countries.
Contents and Schedule
The program blends online and face-to-face sessions. There are five modules, each with a six-week study cycle.
Each module starts with an online orientation and Q&A session in which participants can discuss their own ideas and expectations for the topic.
An in-class session is held three weeks after the online orientation, and is followed three weeks later by an online case test to assess participants’ knowledge. take part to the in-class session.
Participants can attend the whole program or choose individual modules. A participant must complete all modules and module tests within two years to receive the Diploma.
The program offers practical exercises and high-level networking with the faculty and other participants. A digital environment supports the learning experience throughout the program. The online orientation familiarizes participants with the module topic. They gain a deeper understanding in the in-class session and discover whether they have truly understood – in the online case test.
Modules
Instructors
Will Cardwell
Will Cardwell is Lecturer and New Projects Lead at the Aalto Ventures Program, Aalto University. His expertise includes above all venturing and venture capital.
Will Cardwell has spent 15 years in the Finnish hightech environment as a CEO of a startup, venture capitalist, CEO of Technopolis Ventures, investment banker, researcher and lecturer. He has been on the board of 15 Finnish companies. He has been in charge of coordinating Aalto University’s strategic university partnerships and co-founded the Aalto Center for Entrepreneurship.
Riina Gröhn
Dr. Riina Gröhn specializes in developing leaders to increase their self-awareness and self-leadership skills, to understand what in their own leadership style can work for and against them, and to build emotional intelligence in leading others, especially during transformation and change.
She holds a Master’s of Science and Doctorate in the field of health and biosciences at the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Helsinki, Institute of Biomedicine. In addition, she studied human resources management, leadership, mindfulness & positive psychology at Cornell University ILR School, Darden School of Business and the University of California, Berkeley.
She does leadership and career coaching, and she thrives by coaching individuals in self-discovery, navigating through change, career transformations, and to exceeding themselves.
She is also ICF certified coach (ACC), and Certified Profiler for Hogan and Kets De Vries Institute Personality and Leadership Assessments.
Shailendra Vyakarnam
Shailendra Vyakarnam is the Director of the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurship at Cranfield School of Management.
Dr. Vyakarnam has combined academic, practitioner and policy interests to provide advice to governments and on the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship education.
He has mentored entrepreneurs and held non-executive directorships of small firms in addition to developing growth programs for SMEs over several years. From 2003 to 2015 he focused on the development of practitioner-led education for entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning.
Dr. Vyakarnam is specialized in board room team development across industries, business growth strategies, mentoring early stage businesses. He is familiar with most industry sectors due to the long experience of working with businesses.
Dr Vyakarnam was awarded "Best Entrepreneurship Professor" at the 2nd Asian Business Schools Awards in 2011. In 2012 he was elected to the prestigious European Academy of Science and Arts.
Randy Komisar
Randy Komisar is an early stage investor, entrepreneur, lecturer and author of such books as The Monk and the Riddle and Straight Talk for Startups.