It’s back! SoftBank Group Operator School for startups returns with the focus on fund-raising

Last year, thousands of entrepreneurs and students took part in SoftBank Group Operator School, where founders of SoftBank portfolio companies and operational experts led master classes for the greater community and Miami Dade College, Florida International University and University of Miami students took a startup-focused curriculum.  It was such a success, SoftBank Group International is bringing back its Operator School beginning Feb. 24 with a free seven-week program focused on preparing founders for fund-raising, from seed stage to IPO.

The SoftBank Group Operator School’s mission is to cultivate a new generation of diverse tech talent  by sharing lessons that will help accelerate tech startups’ growth in South Florida and Latin America. In 2021, SBOS reached 5,000 attendees from 50 countries.

Laura Gaviria Halaby, head of ecosystem development and crypto value creation for Softbank Group International, will host the program, which will feature an online master class speaker series “meant to inspire and teach the next generation of tech operators how to thrive and make an impact,” she said.

Following up on last year’s series that included 29 master classes from some of the region’s top founders (you can watch them on demand here), this year’s confirmed speakers for the fund-raising series include SoftBank Latin America Fund Managing Partner Paulo Passoni, SoftBank Group International Managing Partner and CHRO Francisco Sorrentino, SoftBank Latin America Fund Early Stage Managing Partner Rodrigo Baer, Olist Founder and CEO Tiago Dalvi, VTEX Founder and Co-CEO Geraldo Thomaz, and Pipefy Founder and CEO Alessio Alionco.

Lessons,  beginning Feb. 24, will be Thursdays from 12-1:30 pm. Topics will include Introduction to Venture Capital, Startup Valuation, Fundraising Process, Pitching, Term Sheets, Deal Negotiation, Board Management, and Growth Venture Capital.  Find the full agenda here.

“Our vision for the SoftBank Group Operation School is to continue delivering content that can help accelerate tech startups’ growth in Latin America, South Florida and around the world,” said Gaviria Halaby. “We know the importance for entrepreneurs and operators to learn from each other, and SBOS is the ideal platform to do that.”

Register for the free SBOS here.

PHOTO at top of post: Matthew Vega-Sanz, co-founder of Lula, leads a class for SoftBank Group Operator School last year.

Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg and email her at [email protected]

READ MORE RECENT SOFTBANK NEWS ON REFRESH:

Nancy Dahlberg