Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Entrepreneurial Finance (Face-to-Face)

FIN 3400-01

Course: FIN 3400-01
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: ACFN
CRN: 30213

Course Description

This case-based course provides students with an understanding of the financial tools used in creating, running, and valuing entrepreneurial enterprises. It includes an overview of the entrepreneurial process, including different organizational structures, financing sources, and the value of intellectual property protections. The course also covers the valuation techniques commonly used by professional investors, and examines how investors, particularly private equity sources, select projects for investment. Students will learn to use common financial ratios and cash flow projections to analyze the liquidity and profitability of the firm.

Required Texts

The textbook for this class is Entrepreneurial Finance by J. Leach and Ronald Melicher (Latest Edition), check with the Book Store
Custom case booklet through Harvard Business Publishing

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of how organizational and operating decisions within a firm will affect  the ability of a firm to access financing and increase the valuation of the firm for all stakeholders.
  2. Recognize the main sources of entrepreneurial financing, and differentiate between them based on how funding is structured, their incentives and expectations for invested funds, regulatory restrictions, and at which stage of company growth each form is likely to be available to entrepreneurial ventures.  
  3. Evaluate the performance of existing ventures, and demonstrate the ability to forecast performance, cash needs, and provide relevant financial information to potential customers and financing sources.  
  4. Demonstrate the ability to gather, organize and structure financial data in order to perform a valuation of ongoing or proposed ventures using common valuation methods.  This includes the estimation of expected investor returns, the calculation of projected cash flows, and estimating ownership percentages based on post-money valuations.  
  5. Identify common methods used for exiting entrepreneurial ventures, and be able to adapt valuation models to reflect the value of the venture given the exit method. 

Course Requirements

Assignment Outline
Quizzes
You will have 8 quizzes in this course.   These quizzes are open notes.
Group Projects
There will be four group projects in the course based on cases from the assigned course booklet.  Questions will be given for each of the projects which you will answer in a report that you will return to me.  In these projects, you will be graded based on the quality of your answers more than the appearance of your report or analysis.  Think of them more like problem sets, where I want to see how you arrived at your answer rather than focusing on turning in something that looks professional.   For the final project work, there will be a peer review evaluation and your final score will be the average of your peer review scores based on your participation.
Business Plan
Along with the more focused group projects, each group will create a business plan that would be presented to potential investors or lenders to obtain financing.  This project will be created over the course of the course with new material being added to the project each week.  There will be no limit on how long the document can be, but it will need to be formatted in a professional manner and have all the requested components.  A rubric will be provided, and you will be evaluated based on the quality of presentation along with the content.  Please be aware that I don’t care about how successful your project will be, but rather whether you applied the concepts and tools correctly in evaluating the project.
Exams
There will be three exams during the course, and each is non-cumulative, covering only the material leading up to the exam.  For these exams, students will need a financial calculator or will be allowed to use a blank Excel spreadsheet for their calculations.  The exams will be proctored using the Proctorio service which is provided by Southern Utah University.  Each exam is two and half hours, and will consist of multiple choice questions covering concepts or quantitative problems. 
There will be 3 mock exams and I highly encourage you to attempt them before each exam as it will be a good preparation for the exams.
Grade Scheme
Here are the components of your grade:
Assignment Type | Total Points | Grade Weight
Quizzes -  5%
Group Projects - 10%
Financing Proposal - 25%
Exams - 60%
Total - 100%
The following grading standards will be used in this class:
Grade Range
A | 100% to 93.0%
A- | < 93.0% to 90.0%
B+ | < 90.0 % to 86.0%
B | < 86.0 % to 80.0%
B- | < 80.0 % to 70.0%
C+ | < 70.0 % to 67.0%
C | < 67.0 % to 64.0%
F | < 64.0 % to 0.0%

Course Outline

Week 1 - Introduction to Finance for Entrepreneurs
Week 2 - Developing the Business Idea
Week 3 - Organising and Financing a new Venture
Week 4 - Preparing and Using Financial Statements
Week 5 - Evaluating operating and Financial Performance
Week 6 - Managing Cashflows
Week 7 - Creating Proforma (Financial Forecasts)
Week 8 - Sources of Financing
Week 9 - Venture Capital Financing
Week 10 - Deal Structure and Term Sheets
Week 11 - Cost of Capital, Review of Discounted Cashflow Valuation and Relative Valuation
Week 12 - Entrepreneurial Valuation Methods
Week 13 - Exit Outcomes

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Student Responsibilities
I am flexible on due dates for the quizzes and group projects.  If you need to take the first exam later due to a conflict, email me before to work out an alternate date.  However, the due dates on the final exam and the business plan cannot be extended.  You must complete those by the due date.
Extra credit is not offered in the class.

Attendance Policy

This is an in-person class and you are expected to attended classes and any other guest lectures

Additional Course Information and Resources

Canvas Information

Canvas is where course content, grades, and communication will reside for this course.

SUU Campus Resources and Services

SUU has several resources and services available to support you during your time here at SUU, please review this list of SUU Campus Resources and Services (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and the Student Handbook (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. For more information on Canvas and other technologies, and their statements on Accessibility and Privacy statements please review our Vendor Resources  (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.page.

Financial Security Statement

Finances are an integral part of maintaining your wellbeing. If you are struggling financially or wish to know more about budgeting, please visit the Financial Wellness Center in room 201C in the Sharwan Smith Center, contact Ashleigh Zimmerman at (435) 865-8436, or text the Financial Wellness line at 435-708-1952.  

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.