The Startup Bet – Venture Investing Masterclass | SunYta
Venture Investing Masterclass · SunYta

Make smarter
startup bets.

A practitioner-led programme by two of India's most credentialled venture and financial planning minds.

By the end of 5 sessions, you'll know how to read a term sheet, evaluate a startup's valuation, and structure your first angel investment — without the mistakes most first-time investors make.

5Live sessions
4×75mCore + Q&A
+1Bonus class
2Instructors
Aug '26Next batch
Class 0175 min + Q&A

The Startup Universe

Startup stages, the Valley of Death, investment thesis, and what to look for before backing a company.

Class 0275 min + Q&A

The Case for Venture

Return expectations, myth-busting on AIFs, angel vs. syndicate vs. fund — the full landscape decoded.

Class 0375 min + Q&A

Evaluating the Deal

Deal sourcing, valuation frameworks, legal diligence, and term sheet navigation — before you sign.

Class 0475 min + Q&A

After the Cheque

Post-investment involvement, exit strategies, startup taxation, and choosing the right route.

Bonus ✦60 min · Free

Founder Talk + AI Research

Live founder session, a Shark Tank dissection, and AI-powered startup research — in session.

Term SheetValley of DeathAngel InvestingAIF CategoriesCap TableExit StrategyPre-Seed · Seed · Series ADue DiligenceSHA / SSAVenture FundStartup ValuationLP-GP DynamicsDeal Sourcing Term SheetValley of DeathAngel InvestingAIF CategoriesCap TableExit StrategyPre-Seed · Seed · Series ADue DiligenceSHA / SSAVenture FundStartup ValuationLP-GP DynamicsDeal Sourcing
Who this is for

This programme is built for you if —

You don't need a finance degree or prior investment experience. You need curiosity and the intent to invest seriously.

💼

HNIs & working professionals

You've built wealth in your career and want to put capital to work in startups — intelligently, not on gut feel.

You've considered angel investing but didn't know where to start
You want to understand AIF funds before committing capital
📊

Finance & wealth professionals

You advise clients on wealth — and need to speak the language of venture investing with authority.

Your clients are asking about startup exposure
You want to add venture diligence to your advisory toolkit
🚀

Aspiring angel investors

You're looking at your first cheque and want to make it with a structured framework, not a referral and hope.

You want to understand term sheets before you sign one
You want to know what to ask a founder in a pitch meeting
Why this programme

Venture returns are real.
Venture mistakes are expensive.

Most investors approach startups with instinct and hope. This programme gives you the frameworks, vocabulary, and diligence skills to invest with conviction — not just capital.

🎯

Thesis before ticket

Learn how professional investors define their investment thesis before looking at a single pitch deck.

🔍

Rigorous diligence

Go beyond the pitch — understand what financials, legal docs, and term sheets mean for your downside risk.

💡

Myths busted

Cut through the noise on AIFs, syndicates, unlisted vs. venture — and what each vehicle truly delivers to an LP.

🎬

Live deal anatomy

Dissect a real Shark Tank episode and use AI research tools for startup evaluation — hands-on in the bonus session.

The curriculum

Five sessions.
One complete playbook.

Each session builds on the last — structured like a real deal journey, from first principles to exit.

01
The Startup Universe75 min + Q&A
  • What startups really are and what distinguishes them from ordinary businesses
  • The stages of startup life: seed to scale, and the story behind each phase
  • Risk and return at every stage — where the real bets are placed
  • Understanding the Valley of Death and why most startups don't survive it
  • Investment thesis — the crux of every smart venture bet
  • What to actually look for before backing a startup
02
The Case for Venture75 min + Q&A
  • Why venture investing deserves a place in your portfolio — the real argument
  • Return expectations: what history says vs. what advisors promise
  • Myth-busting — venture investing vs. unlisted company investing
  • Angel investing, syndicates, and funds: how each route actually works
  • Understanding AIF categories I, II, and III in depth
  • What venture funds do — and how they make money for LPs
03
Evaluating the Deal75 min + Q&A
  • Sectoral classification and business types — mapping the opportunity landscape
  • Deal sourcing — where and how professional investors find the right companies
  • Deal evaluation frameworks used by active angel investors and VCs
  • Startup valuation: art, science, or sophisticated negotiation?
  • Legal and financial diligence — what to verify before signing anything
  • Term sheets, SHA, and SSA — decoded in plain language
04
After the Cheque75 min + Q&A
  • Post-investment involvement — what smart money actually does post-close
  • Exit strategies — secondary sales, buybacks, IPO, and M&A paths
  • Taxation on startup investments — structuring to protect your returns
  • Choosing your route: funds vs. syndicates vs. direct angel investing
  • Key metrics for evaluating and comparing startup fund managers
Bonus Session60 min · Complimentary
  • Live founder talk — hear directly from a founder building in the trenches today
  • Dissecting a Shark Tank episode — applying your new framework to a live pitch
  • Using AI for startup research — tools and workflows that actually save time

Batch 1 opens August 2026

Only 40 seats. Early bird pricing closes 15 July 2026.

What you walk away with

Not terminology.
Actual decision-making ability.

Each outcome is a concrete skill you can apply the week after the programme ends.

01

Read and negotiate a term sheet

Understand liquidation preference, anti-dilution clauses, and pro-rata rights — before you're in the room.

02

Evaluate a startup's valuation

Know whether the ask is reasonable — using frameworks that active investors actually use in India today.

03

Choose the right investment vehicle

Angel direct, syndicate, or AIF fund — understand the trade-offs, tax treatment, and liquidity of each.

04

Ask the right questions in a pitch

Evaluate founder-market fit, runway logic, and exit realism — in the meeting, not after it.

05

Structure your first investment

Know what to put in a SHA, how to document the deal, and what governance rights to ask for.

06

Plan your exit from day one

Understand secondary markets, buyback clauses, and how taxes interact with different exit timelines.

What past participants say

Built on a track record of real results.

SunYta has trained 6,000+ finance professionals. These are words from people who've sat in Sunita's sessions.

★★★★★

"I've attended several finance workshops, but this was the first time someone explained the Valley of Death in a way that made me understand the risk I was about to take. I restructured my whole thesis after session 2."

Rohit Mehta

Senior Manager, Private Bank · Mumbai

★★★★★

"The term sheet session alone was worth the entire fee. I had signed one before attending this — and I realized I hadn't understood half of what I'd agreed to. Sunita breaks it down without assuming you're a lawyer."

Priya Nambiar

CFP® & Independent RIA · Bengaluru

★★★★★

"I came in thinking I understood AIF funds. I came out realizing I was comparing apples and tractors. The myth-busting on Class 2 was a genuine eye-opener — practical, current, and India-specific."

Aditya Kulkarni

Entrepreneur & Angel Investor · Pune

Your instructors

Taught by practitioners.
Not just professors.

Two experienced professionals at the intersection of financial planning and venture capital — sharing what actually works in the field.

Ajay Modi
Venture Capital · Piper Serica

Ajay Modi

CFA Charterholder · Partner, Piper Serica Advisors

Ajay is a Partner at Piper Serica Advisors, leading firm-wide growth across venture capital and public markets. He brings analytical discipline and real-world VC conviction — covering deeptech bets, founder-market fit evaluation, and India's evolving startup investment landscape.

15+Startup investments
12+Yrs in markets
CFACharterholder
View LinkedIn Profile ↗
Sunita Rao
Lead Trainer · SunYta

Sunita Rao

CFA Charterholder · Founder, SunYta

Sunita brings 16+ years of financial planning expertise and a rare ability to make complex structures feel intuitive. As founder of SunYta and India's leading CFP trainer, she has shaped how thousands of financial professionals understand wealth, investment structures, and advisory practice.

16+Yrs experience
6,000+Professionals trained
150+CFPs produced
View LinkedIn Profile ↗
How it works

Simple to join.
Intense to complete.

Five live sessions over five weeks. Zero prerequisites. Recordings available for 30 days post-session.

01

Enroll & pay

Reserve your seat online. Cohort is capped at 40 — first come, first served.

02

Get access

Pre-reading, session links, and a WhatsApp cohort group 5 days before we begin.

03

Attend live

One session per week. 75 minutes of content + Q&A with both instructors.

04

Apply it

Leave with a deal-evaluation checklist, term sheet glossary, and valuation framework.

Pricing

One programme.
Two ways to join.

All participants get the same live sessions, both instructors, and the bonus class. Early bird seats are limited.

⚡ Early Bird · Closes 15 July

₹12,000

8,999

+ 18% GST  ·  All-in: ₹10,619

  • All 4 core sessions (75 min each)
  • Bonus session — complimentary
  • Live Q&A with Ajay Modi & Sunita Rao
  • Session recordings (30-day access)
  • Deal evaluation checklist & templates
  • WhatsApp cohort community access
  • SunYta certificate of completion
Reserve Early Bird Seat → ⏳ Only 40 seats · Batch 1 · August 2026
EMI available: ₹3,540 × 3 months via Razorpay
Regular Price

12,000

+ 18% GST  ·  All-in: ₹14,160

  • All 4 core sessions (75 min each)
  • Bonus session — complimentary
  • Live Q&A with Ajay Modi & Sunita Rao
  • Session recordings (30-day access)
  • Deal evaluation checklist & templates
  • WhatsApp cohort community access
  • SunYta certificate of completion
Enroll at Regular Price

* Prices exclude GST. GST invoice provided. Group discounts for 3+ from same organisation — write to [email protected]

Frequently asked

Questions before you commit.

No prior experience needed. The programme takes you from first principles — what a startup is, how venture capital works — all the way to deal evaluation and term sheet negotiation. Existing knowledge will be deepened in the later sessions.
This is an educational masterclass, not a SEBI-regulated certification. It's designed to build knowledge and decision-making frameworks for informed investing — not to substitute for regulated financial advice. You will receive a SunYta certificate of completion.
Yes. All sessions are recorded and available for 30 days post-session. We strongly recommend attending live for the Q&A interaction, but recordings ensure you don't miss content if something comes up.
One live session per week, approximately 75–90 minutes including Q&A. Sessions are scheduled on weekday evenings or weekend mornings — timing confirmed with the cohort. Total duration: 5 weeks.
Full refund if cancelled 7 days before batch start. 50% refund within 3–7 days. No refund thereafter, but you can transfer your seat to another batch or person. Write to [email protected] for refund requests.
Absolutely. Class 2 specifically covers how to evaluate venture funds and AIFs as an LP — what to look for in a fund manager, how returns are structured, and what questions to ask before committing capital. You don't need to do direct deals to benefit.
Ready to begin

Your first venture deal
starts here.

Join 40 professionals building the frameworks to invest in India's startup ecosystem — with rigour, not just optimism. Batch 1 opens August 2026.

Questions? Write to [email protected] — we reply within 24 hours.