SCHOLARSHIPS FOR

First Generation College Students

Uplift Program

ABOUT THE SBIA’s

The Small Business Investor Alliance’s (SBIA) Uplift Program seeks to expand the talent pipeline into lower middle market private equity by sponsoring students in US-based undergraduate programs through an industry-recognized financial modeling course. Students who complete the course and find the coursework interesting will have the opportunity to be added to SBIA’s exclusive private equity network. In addition, SBIA will maintain engagement post-graduation to keep students apprised of networking and career opportunities within the lower middle market. By enabling undergraduate students to attain meaningful real-world skills prior to graduation, the SBIA Uplift Program aims to increase the number of graduates competitively prepared for entry-level roles in lower middle market private equity upon earning a Bachelor’s degree, and expand access to careers in private equity for students that may not have considered a career in finance.

Learning Objectives

FMC® PROGRAM

✓ Excel Formatting Techniques and Keystroke Efficiency
✓ Three Statement Model
✓ Public Comparables Analysis
✓ Precedent Comparables Analysis
✓ Discounted Cash Flow Analysis
✓ Valuation “Football Field”
✓ Leveraged Buyout Analysis

COURSE

Highlights

✓ 100% online

✓ 35 videos, 8 hours of instruction

✓ 15-20 hours of committment to earn certifications

✓ Access to videos for 2 years

✓ Unlimited exams

✓ No accounting or finance knowledge required

CANDIDATE

Qualifications

✓ Attends a public university or college in the U.S.

✓ Currently a 2nd year student (expected to earn their bachelor’s degree between December 2026 and June 2027) or 1st year student (expected to earn their bachelor’s degree between December 2027 and June 2028)

✓ Has academic integrity and a demonstrated interest in learning

✓ Is a first-generation college student (neither of your parents completed a 4-year college or university degree)

ADVENTIS SUCCESS STORIES

HOW TO APPLY

If you are interested in exploring this opportunity, please reach out to uplift@sbia.org. The link to apply is below.

Small Business Investor Alliance

ABOUT THE

The Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA) was formed in 1958 to represent the original American venture capital and private equity funds. As the small business investing market grew more complex, so did SBIA. SBIA now includes conventional private equity funds, private debt funds, Business Development Companies (BDCs), Rural Business Investment Companies (RBICs), Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs), and other funds investing in American private small businesses through a range of strategies (e.g., venture lending, growth equity, minority equity, control equity, mezzanine and other private debt, unitranche). SBIA also represents intermediaries, investment banks and the institutional investors, or Limited Partners, that invest in lower middle market small businesses.

Questions

Frequently Asked

  • The FMC® Program consists of approximately 8 hours of asynchronous videos and course materials in the Adventis portal. These are available for two years after enrollment. The videos are designed for candidates to learn financial modeling from scratch and enable enrollees to complete the FMC® Program at their own pace. Enrollees also get free access to our online exams and can take as many exams as they’d like in order to earn our certifications.

  • By earning our certifications, enrollees develop the skills required to efficiently build properly formatted three-statement financial models from scratch and be proficient in valuation and leveraged buyout concepts. Because getting certified requires candidates to practice building out our financial models from scratch many times, those seeking certification are forced to learn by doing, which greatly enhances retention as well as a technical understanding of financial and accounting principals.

    Many enrollees take our program to prepare for internship and full-time interviews for investment banking, private equity, and other competitive fields in finance. Our certification process is highly aligned with their technical interview prep, as it helps them to internalize, rather than memorize, key concepts that are asked in interviews. The certification also provides them with strong talking points, as the certification process enables them to tell stories that demonstrate their financial acumen, work ethic, attention to detail, and resilience.

    Additionally, our certifications give enrollees a strong skill set that greatly enhances their on-the-job performance in class projects, case study competitions, internships, and full-time positions.

  • The FMC® Program is meant for individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. Participants with a liberal arts background that have little to no accounting or finance experience can get a lot out of the FMC® Program. We take participants through each step of building out financial models so they will learn finance and accounting concepts as they progress through the program and without having to do any extra research on their own. Alternatively, if participants have a strong finance and accounting background, they can also get a lot out of the FMC® Program, as we teach them how to build best-of-class financial models quickly and efficiently.

  • The FMC® Program is most valuable for roles in investment banking, private equity, equity research, and related industries. However, it is also valuable for corporate finance, corporate development, transaction services, valuation services, and a slew of other industries. And it’s also valuable for general roles in business that typically requires work to be done in Microsoft Excel, but doesn’t require financial modeling work, such as accounting, consulting, and treasury.