For Founders & Teams
Keep control. Capture value.
The terms you sign today determine what you keep at exit. Most founders learn this too late.
Founding Cohort Begins In
The Stakes Are Real
Example Case Study
A $60 million "win" where founders got nothing.
A software company sold for $60 million. The press called it a win. Investors celebrated. But when the waterfall was calculated, something had gone terribly wrong.
The terms that killed them
- Several rounds of preferred stock stacked above common
- 1x liquidation preferences on each round
- 8% cumulative dividends that kept compounding
- Management incentive plan carved out on top
Final Distribution
No one explained the impact of stacked liquidation preferences—not the lawyers, not the CFO.
The math was set years before the exit, in documents they signed to keep the company alive.
This is what structural literacy prevents.Meet your instructors
Built by operators who've been in the room.
Not academics. Not consultants. Founders and investors who've structured $5.75B+ in exits.
Christopher J. Velis
NACD.DC · Serial Founder · Board Director · Venture Investor · Lead Inventor
Founded Auris Health and led it to a $5.75 billion exit to J&J—the largest VC-backed medtech acquisition on record. $9.76 billion in M&A transactions negotiated. 23 US patents filed, 5 issued.
Full bio
Dr. Christos Kelepouris
DBA · JD · Fulbright Specialist · UAE–Stanford Innovation Fellow
Selected by the UAE Prime Minister's Office as a Stanford Innovation Fellow. 15+ years developing founders and advising governments across three continents. Multiple advanced degrees.
Full bioThe Information Gap
The playing field isn't level.
VCs do 50+ deals. You do one. They know every clause. You're learning as you sign.
What Investors Know
- Every liquidation preference structure
- How anti-dilution ratchets compound
- Which protective provisions matter
- How to structure board control
- When to push for drag-along rights
What You'll Know
- How to model every exit scenario
- Which terms actually destroy value
- How to negotiate from leverage
- When to walk away from a term sheet
- How to protect your exit outcome
The Framework
Three pillars of structural literacy
Raising Capital
Master funding pathways, dilution math, and every investment instrument from SAFEs to preferred stock.
Governance & Control
Navigate boards, voting rights, and protective provisions that determine who really runs the company.
Scaling & Exit
Learn the growth pathways, expansion strategies, and exit structures that maximize your outcome.
The Curriculum
7 courses. One structural operating system.
Built from real deals, real failures, and real exits.
Unbreakable
The Resilient Entrepreneurial Mindset
Build grounded confidence, turn mistakes into accelerators, and design your personal resilience system.
Branding
Building Authority Through Story
Move beyond slogans to build real authority—the market's recognition that you're credible, consistent, and competent.
Capital & Value
Funding Pathways & Deal Mechanics
Master cap table mechanics, dilution math, and every investment instrument from SAFEs to preferred stock.
Negotiation
High-Stakes Deals & Everyday Power
Learn to see negotiation as a continuous discipline. Apply frameworks to fundraising, hiring, and exits.
Boards & Governance
Power, Duties, and Control
Understand how power shifts once investors join. Navigate fiduciary duties and protective provisions.
Expansion
The Architecture of Scale
Learn the growth pathways and structural decisions that separate companies that scale from those that collapse.
Exit Strategy
Liquidity and Legacy
Master IPOs, acquisitions, deal structures, buyer psychology, and how to protect your mission through the transaction.
What Structure Makes Possible
A clean exit where founders captured majority value.
Growth-stage tech company with multiple acquisition offers. Instead of just chasing the highest headline number, they'd structured every round with discipline.
Structural Advantages They Built
- Early insistence on single 1x non-participating preference
- No stacked ratchets, no toxic anti-dilution
- Well-designed option pool so key people stayed through sale
- Board composition negotiated so founder remained a decisive voice
Result
Mid-nine-figure exit. Founder and early team captured majority of proceeds.
Because the structure was clean, an already good outcome became a life-changing one for the people who built the company.
What Founders Say
Results That Speak
Chris taught me how to navigate real complexity. When I was facing a critical license negotiation and a turbulent funding round, his AEIOU guidance gave me the clarity and decision structure to break chaos into solvable moves. I did the work—but I won because of what he taught me.
In my career evaluating training and leadership programs across the U.S. Army and beyond, very few met the level of rigor, structure, and real-world execution I see in AEIOU. This program stands out immediately.
Dr. Christos' advisory work builds disciplined judgment around risk long before it appears on a balance sheet—when it is still preventable. That capability is rare, highly practical, and essential at the senior banking and board level.
Choose Your Track
Invest in structural clarity
No payment required to apply. Tuition is due only after acceptance.
Teams of 3 or more? Contact us for custom pricing.
Founder Seat
For solo founders building their operating system
Full program access
- All 7 courses + video curriculum
- 9 live sessions with Chris & Christos
- Complete templates & frameworks
- Cohort community access
- AEIOU Credential eligibility
Founder + Operator
For founder teams who need shared language
Includes 2 seats
- Everything in Founder Seat
- Second seat for co-founder or key operator
- Complete templates
- Cohort community access
- Credential eligibility for both
Founder + Advisory
For founders preparing raises or exits
Program + private strategy
- Everything in Founder Seat
- 2 private 90-minute strategy sessions
- Business plan review & guidance
- Term sheet review & negotiation prep
- Priority access to instructors
Is This Right for You?
This program is not for everyone.
Yes, if you...
- Have raised capital or are about to
- Want to understand terms before you sign them
- Are building for a meaningful exit
- Want to get the product development to revenue phase right
- Are willing to invest 3-5 hours per week
- Want to protect your team's outcome
Not for you if...
- You're looking for a quick hack
- You think fundraising is just about pitch decks
- You're not ready to engage with complexity
- You want someone to do the work for you
- You're allergic to spreadsheets and term sheets
- You believe exits just "happen" to good companies
How to Join
Your Path to Certification
Apply
Submit your application. Choose solo or with team members.
Review
We review your background. We may schedule a call.
Decision
Notification within one week of application.
Enroll
Pay tuition and join the founding cohort.
After You Complete the Program
AEIOU Certification
Complete the program successfully and receive your AEIOU credential
Founding Member Status
Special recognition in the AEIOU Academy Association
Continuing Education
Earn additional credentials as you continue with AEIOU
The terms you sign determine what you keep.
Stop learning by losing. Join founders who understand the structural game before the stakes are real.
Limited seats. Founding cohort pricing. No payment required to apply.
