Building Financial Literacy for Tomorrow's Founders
Practical finance training designed for startup founders navigating early-stage funding, cash flow management, and investor relations. Learn from practitioners who've raised capital, managed burn rates, and built sustainable businesses across the Australian startup ecosystem.
Learn About Our Approach
Declan Kowalski
Finance Strategy
Astrid Nørgaard
Investment RelationsLearn from People Who've Been There
Our instructors aren't just finance professionals. They've pitched to VCs, negotiated term sheets, and managed runway during uncertain times. Declan spent five years as CFO for two Series A startups in Sydney before moving into education. Astrid worked with early-stage companies across Melbourne's fintech scene, helping founders understand what investors actually look for.
What you'll get is honest feedback on your financial models, real talk about common mistakes, and frameworks that actually work when you're trying to keep a startup alive. They've made the errors so you don't have to.
- Small group sessions with direct access to instructors who respond to questions based on their actual experience
- Review of your financial projections with feedback that considers your specific business model and market
- Case studies from Australian startups, including what went right and what didn't
- Office hours where you can discuss your fundraising strategy or cash flow concerns without judgment
What You'll Actually Learn
Six months of focused training starting September 2025. We cover the financial fundamentals that matter when you're building something from scratch.
Financial Modeling
Build projections that investors can trust and you can actually use for planning. We'll work through revenue forecasting, cost structures, and unit economics specific to your business type.
Fundraising Fundamentals
How to approach investors, what they look for in your numbers, and how to structure deals that don't leave you with regrets. We cover everything from angel rounds to Series A preparation, including the paperwork nobody tells you about.
Cash Flow Management
The unglamorous stuff that keeps companies alive. Monthly planning, burn rate calculation, and knowing when to worry about your runway.
How We Work Together
This isn't a lecture series where you sit and take notes. You'll bring your actual business challenges, we'll work through them together, and you'll leave with financial frameworks you can apply immediately.
Assessment Phase
We start by understanding where your business is right now. What stage are you at? What's your business model? What keeps you up at night financially? This shapes how we structure the rest of your learning.
Core Training
Weekly sessions covering financial modeling, investor relations, and cash management. You'll build real models using your business data, not generic examples that don't apply to your situation.
Applied Practice
Between sessions, you're implementing what you learned. We review your work, identify gaps, and adjust our approach based on what's actually challenging for you. This continues through the entire six months.