Venture Academy
Join our program in association with Trinity College and Founders at Cambridge University for an immersive experience in Venture Capital at Cambridge. An 8-week hands-on programme guided by leading investors kicking off in Lent Term.
Apply for 2026
Apply to Venture Academy 2026
Open to all Cambridge University students passionate about startups, investing, or entrepreneurship. Applications close November 30, 2025.
Questions: Contact us at info@ventureacademy.co.uk
Learn from Leading Venture Capitalists
Gain practical VC experience from leading practitioners evaluating real startups with exposure to diverse investment philosophies, development of professional analytical frameworks, and cross-disciplinary collaboration mirroring the venture capital industry.
Program at a Glance
Venture Academy bridges Cambridge students with the venture capital ecosystem through hands-on startup analysis, guided by leading investors and founders.
It is an 8 week programme running during Lent Term every Wednesday. Food will be available from 5:00PM and the investor roundtables will kick off at 6:00PM and end around 7:30PM. Over the eight weeks, student participants will break into groups to work on "live" startup investments to present to an Investment Committee in the final week - who will select one of the startups to present with a £10,000 prize.
Why VC Academy?
Real world Experience
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Evaluate actual early-stage startups
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Work directly with founders
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Present to real VC panels
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Create professional investment memos
Career Development
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Build VC analytical frameworks
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Network with investors & founders
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Earn certificate of attendance
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Learn diverse investment philosophies
Collaboration
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Cross-department teams
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Small cohort (20 students only)
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Trinity College association
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Open to anyone from Cambridge University
Curriculum
Your 8-Week Journey
Background
How venture capital funds are raised, managed, and invested, what are the core economics of VC, including management fees, carried interest, and the relationship between Limited and General Partners.
The Investment
Alongside the students, four early stage startups will also participate in the programme who will be the subject of the student groups hands-on investment analysis. They will be actively honing their proposition and one of the participating startups will be awarded £10k from the Investment Committee.
Topics
Assessing founders; analyse markets, competition, and business models; and evaluate product innovation, defensibility, and IP. Understanding financial viability, traction, and growth, as well as legal diligence, risk assessment, to creatie a concise, data-driven investment memo.
Investment Committee
The final week focuses on the students and startups who will each pitch to an Investment Committee alongside their final Investment Memo. Each startup and its student group will each have 15 minutes to present to a panel of investors, from which the committee will then award a £10k prize to the top team.