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FinanceAppliedAutumn 2026

Venture Diligence Associate

Hosted by R3i Ventures — Investment Team

You take a company from first screen to investment-committee memo. Market, team, product, unit economics, cap table, terms and risks — each one evidenced, each one challenged. The memo you write is written to the standard the IC actually reads.

Skills assessed

Market sizingUnit economicsCap table analysisRisk assessmentInvestment writing

The six sprints

Each sprint has one named outcome. Your mentor signs it off, sends it back with written challenges, or fails it — the same three options the permanent team gets.

  1. W1

    Screen & thesis

    Outcome — A one-page thesis stating what must be true for this to work.

    10 hrs · 3 tasks

    • First-screen the company

      Research

      Sector, stage, round, obvious disqualifiers.

      3 hours

    • Write the thesis

      Build

      What must be true. Falsifiable statements only.

      4 hours

    • Thesis challenge

      Review

      Mentor argues the other side for thirty minutes.

      3 hours

  2. W2

    Market & competition

    Outcome — A sized market with a named source behind every number.

    10 hrs · 3 tasks

    • Bottom-up market model

      Build

      Build it from customers and price, not from a report.

      5 hours

    • Competitive map

      Research

      Who else solves this, and why the incumbent hasn't.

      3 hours

    • Expert call

      Research

      Thirty minutes with a practitioner in the space.

      2 hours

  3. W3

    Unit economics

    Outcome — A cohort model that survives a hostile question.

    10 hrs · 3 tasks

    • Rebuild their model

      Build

      From raw data, not their deck.

      5 hours

    • Cohort retention

      Research

      Where does the curve flatten, and does it?

      3 hours

    • Sensitivity table

      Build

      Which single variable breaks the return?

      2 hours

  4. W4

    Team & cap table

    Outcome — A clear read on ownership, dilution and founder incentive.

    10 hrs · 3 tasks

    • Cap table reconstruction

      Build

      Pro-forma post-round with pool and SAFEs converted.

      4 hours

    • Reference calls

      Research

      Two references, structured, off-list where possible.

      3 hours

    • Incentive read

      Review

      Does the founder still care at exit? Show the maths.

      3 hours

  5. W5

    Risk & terms

    Outcome — A risk register with mitigations, and a term recommendation.

    10 hrs · 3 tasks

    • Risk register

      Build

      Ranked by impact × likelihood, each with a mitigation.

      4 hours

    • Term sheet read

      Research

      Preference, participation, control. What you'd change.

      3 hours

    • Returns scenarios

      Build

      Bear, base, bull with stated probabilities.

      3 hours

  6. W6

    Investment committee

    Outcome — A memo and a live defence in front of the IC.

    11 hrs · 4 tasks

    • Write the IC memo

      Build

      Recommendation first. Variant perception explicit.

      5 hours

    • Pre-read circulation

      Review

      Send it early; absorb the written challenges.

      2 hours

    • IC defence

      Present

      Twenty minutes, mostly questions.

      2 hours

    • Case study writeup

      Build

      Publish to your FutureFit skills passport.

      2 hours

Ready to take the track?

Applications close two weeks before the Autumn 2026 cohort starts.

Apply now