MGT 816 · Fall 2026

Readings

Everything you need to prepare for each session, with direct links. Only three kinds of items are not linked directly from this page, because they are licensed or graded:

• Textbook chapters (Fabozzi; Ramsinghani for Session 12) — buy the book or read it through Yale Library (details below).
• The HBS FeedBurner case — licensed; get it through the coursepack link on Canvas.
• The Solstice Robotics case packet — a graded case, released on Canvas on September 21.

Everything else — podcasts, articles, guides, workshop materials — is linked here and on the Schedule.

The textbook

Frank J. Fabozzi, Entrepreneurial Finance and Accounting for High-Tech Companies (MIT Press, 2016) — the course textbook; chapter and page assignments are listed per session below.

• MIT Press page (ISBN 978-0-262-03498-2)
• Yale Library catalog — check for the e-book before buying

Mahendra Ramsinghani, The Business of Venture Capital (Wiley) — Chapter 25 only, for Session 12 (exits).

• Yale Library catalog — the Wiley e-book is the easiest route for a single chapter

Readings by session

Session 1 — The private-company CFO and the financial infrastructure

Wed Sep 2

• Fabozzi Ch. 1 (skim)
• a16z podcast: Cash, Growth, and CEO–CFO — podcast, ~30 min

Session 0 — CFO Toolkit Bootcamp — accounting refresher, Excel cap-table warm-up, group formation

Fri Sep 4

No advance reading — just show up.

Session 2 — Cap Table Lab — formation through Series A, dilution, option-pool mechanics

Wed Sep 9

• Fabozzi Ch. 7, pp. 127–130 and 140–143

Session 3 — Legal and people infrastructure — entity choice, legal documents, worker classification

Mon Sep 14

• Fabozzi Ch. 3
• QSBS primer (Canvas) — 2-page handout, posted before Sep 14 — use this updated version, not older web explainers (the law changed July 2025)

Session 4 — Case 1: FeedBurner — founding teams and splitting the pie

Wed Sep 16

• HBS case 9-809-089 (coursepack) — licensed — get it through the HBS coursepack link on Canvas; not hosted on this site
• Lebret (2017), Equity in Startups — free paper — skim the founder-split sections
• Gimlet podcast: How to Divide an Imaginary Pie — StartUp season 1, episode 3, ~25 min

Session 5 — Equity compensation — instruments, accounting, and tax (83(b), ISO/NQSO, AMT, 409A, QSBS, ASC 718)

Mon Sep 21

• Fabozzi Ch. 4
• FreshBites 409A mini-case (self-check) — ungraded; posted on the Materials page when released

Session 6 — KPIs, budgeting, and forecasting — driver-based planning and unit economics

Wed Sep 23

• Fabozzi Ch. 2, pp. 15–30, and Ch. 13, pp. 241–257
• HBR: The True Measures of Success (Mauboussin, Oct 2012) — also available through Yale Library’s HBR access if you hit the paywall
• Pre-class quiz on Canvas

Session 7 — AI-assisted forecasting workshop (laptops required)

Mon Sep 28

• Download the workshop kit (Problem Sets page)
• Read the one-page AI-for-FP&A ground rules
• Verify an AI login

Session 8 — Case 2: Solstice Robotics — taxes and employee stock options

Wed Sep 30

• Solstice Robotics case packet (Canvas) — released Sep 21 with Case 2 — Canvas only (graded case)

Session 9 — Revenue recognition and margins — ASC 606, bookings vs. revenue, SaaS models

Mon Oct 5

• Fabozzi Ch. 8, pp. 150–160, and Ch. 10, pp. 197–198

Session 10 — Boards, board packages, and audit readiness

Wed Oct 7

• Sequoia: Preparing a Board Deck
• Feld: The Best Approach to a Board Package

Session 11 — Fundraising — process, term sheets, SAFEs and convertible notes, venture debt

Mon Oct 12

• Fabozzi Ch. 6, pp. 100–103, and Ch. 7, pp. 133–136
• Bessemer Guide to Venture Debt (skim) — free white paper (PDF)

Session 12 — Exits — M&A, private equity, IPO readiness; course synthesis and exam guidance

Wed Oct 14

• Fabozzi Ch. 2, pp. 30–35
• Ramsinghani Ch. 25 — The Business of Venture Capital — see the textbook section of the Readings page

Optional background readings

Not required; for students who want to go deeper.

• Fabozzi Chs. 9–11 (the financial statements) and Ch. 26 (IPOs) — textbook
• Doidge, Karolyi, and Stulz (2017), The U.S. Listing Gap, Journal of Financial Economics
• Ball and Shivakumar (2008), Earnings Quality at Initial Public Offerings, Journal of Accounting and Economics
• Hellmann and Wasserman (2017), The First Deal: The Division of Founder Equity in New Ventures, Management Science
• Bengtsson and Hand (2009), CEO Compensation in Venture-Backed Firms

Journal links go through the publisher (DOI) — use the Yale Library proxy or campus network for full text.

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See also: Schedule · Materials (slides and handouts) · Cases · Problem Sets