www.getwsodo.

com
www.getwsodo.com

COURSE WORKBOOK
with Alexa von Tobel
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www.getwsodo.com

WELCOME

In this step-by-step online course you will learn What to expect How to get the most from the course?
the financially sound ways to set up your business
and grow it to new heights, all while taking less You are the founder and CEO of your business. This course In order to maximize your results and get sales upon
risk and avoiding money mistakes that so many teaches you what you need to know to be best at YOUR launch, we strongly recommend that you:
entrepreneurs make. job - which is having enough understanding to make
informed, strategic decisions.
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTORS • Mark your calendar to block out a daily slot
Every entrepreneur needs to ensure that their personal and
for at least 1 hour to fully commit to learning.
Alexa von Tobel, Founder LearnVest business finances are buttoned up and set up for success
Remember, success is a habit.
before “making money moves” and that includes making
When I was 22, I dropped out of Harvard Business sure you’ve got the right insurance in place, the right • Watch every video in the course, take lots of
School and founded LearnVest, which became the business structure set up and even clear financial goals in notes, do the workbook exercises and check
fastest-growing financial planning software company mind. out the tools and resources provided.
in the U.S. I grew LearnVest from a bootstrapped • Most importantly — TAKE ACTION. Nobody
NYC startup, raised $69 million in venture funding, I’ll then show you how to make informed, strategic said building a successful business was easy,
and then sold the business to Northwestern Mutual decisions for your business based off of your financial and you will at times run into blockers. But
for $375 million in 2015. reports and teach you how to properly scale from a action now is better than perfection later.
financial standpoint.
As I continued to run LearnVest as CEO until 2019, I By the end of this course, you’ll have your finger on
took the leap to the other side of the startup world, Each lesson comes with: the pulse of your business and know how and when to
creating my own $200M venture capital firm, Inspired make important, strategic decisions.
Capital, of which I am the Co-Founder and Managing • A bite-sized video
Partner. • Action items
• A corresponding workbook Cheers to your success,
• Tools & Resources Alexa and the Foundr Team

Who is this course for?

This course is for existing founders who already have a
Alexa von Tobel
business in the works – even if it's just a side hustle for
Founder of LearnVest, now. You need to know how to structure and organize your
Co-Founder of Inspired Capital finances to set your business up for growth and future
Instructor of Foundr's Finance for Founders course success (without bleeding cash!).

COURSE WORKBOOK
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COURSE OBJECTIVE Notes:

By the end of the course, you should have:

• A complete 3-year financial plan for your

business and budget plan that aligns with it.

• A timetable for business strategy and finance

check-ins with your team or your accountant/
bookkeeper.

• A plan to retain employees (your biggest

asset) in a financially sound way.

• A pathway to make/earn the capital you need

through bootstrapping, debt financing or equity
financing.

• Knowledge of when and how to make strategic

decisions according to your business reports.

COURSE WORKBOOK
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COURSE OVERVIEW
MODULE 1: MODULE 2: MODULE 3:
GOAL-SETTING FOR FINANCIAL FITNESS GETTING ORGANIZED FINANCE BASICS

❏❏ Welcome ❏❏ Paying Yourself ❏❏ Primer: The Key Terms and Key Reports
❏❏ The 6-Step Financial Fitness Pyramid ❏❏ Structuring Up Your Business ❏❏ Finding and Hiring an Accountant
❏❏ Reach for the Moon (Goal Setting) ❏❏ Separating Business vs. Personal Accounts ❏❏ The Balance Sheet
❏❏ Protecting Yourself and Your Business ❏❏ The Income Statement (P&L)
❏❏ Navigating Business Loans: Debt vs. Equity
Financing

MODULE 4: MODULE 5: BONUS MODULE

THE MULTI-YEAR BUSINESS PLAN AND THE FINANCE OF SCALING UP
BUDGET

❏❏ The 9-Grid Checklist: Crafting a ❏❏ When to Put Your Foot on the Gas ❏❏ Plug-n-Play Finance Spreadsheet Templates
Financially Sound Business Plan ❏❏ Hiring a Head of Finance ❏❏ Your 3-Year Business Plan (and the 9-Grid
❏❏ Estimated vs. Actual Budget ❏❏ The People Cost Checklist)
❏❏ Creating a Financial Plan ❏❏ Offering Equity to Keep Great Talent ❏❏ 1x Year of Foundr Magazine
❏❏ The Money Minute: Checking in With Motivated ❏❏ Fundraising: How to Know if it's Right For
Your Finances You
❏❏ The Multi-Million Dollar Pitch Deck

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ACTION ITEMS
MODULE: In this lesson, I’ll give you an overview of what you’ll
learn in the course. Specifically, I’ll teach you the
GOAL SETTING FOR blueprint of exactly how to build healthier financial
habits and processes. This will ensure that you don’t

FINANCIAL FITNESS
❏❏ Print out the pyramid or put it in an easy to access
miss anything important and that your habits and file on your computer.
processes are effective and stable enough to last in
the long term. ❏❏ Brainstorm and write down any notes or ideas you
think about for each stage.
• Identify Your Goals: Use the 9-Grid Checklist to ❏❏ Have the pyramid close to you as you do this
help you identify where you want to go and what course so you can start completing the various
LESSON: you want your business to achieve. stages.

SIX-STEP FINANCIAL
• Getting Organised: This will guide you in setting
up all the practical sides of running a business,

FITNESS PYRAMID
from bank accounts to financial staff and
checking accounts.
• The Basics: A quick skinny on everything you
need to know about business finance (from
income statement to balance sheets)
• Your Business Model: How to build a business
model that suits your business, helps you get
the most from your resources and network, and
guides your interactions with your accountant
and CFOs.
• Creating Good Habits: Habits make things
easier, because you don’t have to think about
doing them, and for CFOs and founders you
will need to have weekly, monthly, quarterly and
yearly financial habits to stay ahead.
• Scaling Your Business: How to make your
business more valuable, make better decisions,
and get your business in front of more
customers.

This is a framework to help you get organized in

your business so you can start scaling. This course
will teach you how to build these steps into your
business practices, so they become automatic.

COURSE WORKBOOK
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Notes:

TOOLS & RESOURCES

• 4 Ingredients of Financial Fitness,
Forbes.
• Top Financial Advice from Alexa von
Tobel, Smart Asset.
• How Alexa Created LearnVest, Time.

COURSE WORKBOOK
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MODULE: In this lesson you’ll learn exactly how to identify

your business goals and how to plot your course to
GOAL SETTING FOR get there. After all, you can’t hit a target if you don’t
know where it is.

FINANCIAL FITNESS • If you identify your long-term goals, shorter term

goals leading up to it, and what you have to do
each month to meet them, you’re more likely to
get where you’re going.
• It also helps people around you know what they
have to do and where you’re going.
LESSON:
• Goal setting can make the process more fun and
REACH FOR THE MOON •
give you reasons to celebrate.
It’s critical for focus.
(GOAL SETTING) • It will help you avoid short sighted decisions and
mistakes.

Steps for setting effective goals:

Step One: Clarity. Step Three: Hold Yourself Accountable

Be very clear about what you want with specific Have yearly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals.
timelines 3 years down the track. And then work These small, manageable pieces are easier to follow.
backwards and decide what you have to do today, They act as milestones so you can identify what’s
this week, month, and year to reach those goals. And going wrong and what’s going right. And they give
dream big, because no one else will do it for you! you a chance to celebrate.

And remember to celebrate your wins and

Step Two: Describe Everything. achievements.

A one-line goal isn’t enough, you need all the details

to help you move forward. Ask yourself:
• What does your goal look like?
• How are you reaching that goal?
• What are you doing?
• How are you getting customers?
And then put your goals in a spreadsheet and share
them with others.

COURSE WORKBOOK
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ACTION ITEMS
❏❏ Write down your goals, whether this is in a Word
doc or in Excel.
❏❏ Write down your 3-year financial goals.
❏❏ Break down the long goals into months and weeks.
❏❏ Share your goals with friends and partners.

3-year goal #1: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ 3-year goal #2: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ 3-year goal #3: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Quarterly goals: Quarterly goals: Quarterly goals:

Monthly goals: Monthly goals: Monthly goals:

Weekly goals: Weekly goals: Weekly goals:

COURSE WORKBOOK
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Notes:

TOOLS & RESOURCES

• I Just Started My Business, Now What?
Here’s How To Set Goals That Produce
Long-Term Profits, Foundr
• Examples of SMART Business Goals,
Heflo

COURSE WORKBOOK