My name is Germán Estrada Mendoza. I'm from Lima, Perú. I'm a corporate finance specialist with deep expertise in technology entrepreneurship and venture creation. At Notre Dame's ESTEEM Graduate Program, I combine my passion for innovation with extensive experience in startup finance and business development.
My focus lies at the intersection of financial strategy and technological advancement, where I help founders and business leaders navigate the unique challenges of high-growth ventures. Drawing from my experience as both an entrepreneur and finance professional, I bridge the gap between traditional financial principles and the dynamic needs of modern tech startups.
Currently, I teach courses that prepare the next generation of tech entrepreneurs to make sound financial decisions in environments of high uncertainty and rapid change. My approach emphasizes practical, real-world applications while maintaining the analytical rigor essential for success in today's competitive landscape.
Let's connect if you're interested in tech entrepreneurship, startup finance, or building innovative ventures that make a difference.
Finance in the Age of Tech Innovation
My passion for teaching finance has found its ideal expression at Notre Dame's ESTEEM Graduate Program, where I focus on a critical distinction: traditional corporate finance versus the dynamic world of tech startups. While classical finance principles remain foundational, today's innovation-driven companies operate under fundamentally different conditions that demand a fresh perspective.
In contrast to traditional corporate finance, which often emphasizes steady cash flows and established valuation metrics, my courses address the unique challenges of tech startups. These ventures operate in environments of extreme uncertainty, where traditional financial metrics may not fully capture their potential. We explore how rapid growth often precedes immediate profitability and why conventional valuation methods need adaptation for companies with negative cash flows but exponential growth potential.
Teaching at Notre Dame is particularly rewarding because it involves guiding students through this complex landscape. We examine real-world cases in which successful tech companies initially puzzled traditional financial analysts—companies that prioritized user acquisition over revenue, invested heavily in R&D, or disrupted established markets. Through our discussions, students learn to balance classical financial principles with modern startup realities, understanding when to apply traditional metrics and when to consider alternative frameworks.
Our curriculum addresses explicitly key questions that challenge today's tech entrepreneurs:
How do you value a company with negative earnings but rapid user growth?
When should a startup prioritize growth over profitability?
What metrics matter most in early-stage tech ventures?
How can founders effectively communicate their financial story to investors?
I bring my academic expertise and practical experience from founding a tech startup to these discussions. This dual perspective helps students understand not just the theory but also the real-world pressures and decisions tech entrepreneurs face. Through hands-on projects and case studies, students learn to navigate the critical early stages of venture development, where traditional financial rules often need creative reinterpretation.
The goal is to prepare our students for the realities of modern entrepreneurship – where they might need to justify significant upfront investments in technology, explain the value of a growing user base to investors, or make strategic decisions about market expansion versus immediate profitability. This approach has proven particularly valuable for our ESTEEM students, who often go on to found or join high-growth technology ventures.
My teaching philosophy at Notre Dame embraces this evolution in financial thinking. I help students develop the analytical rigor of traditional finance and the flexible, innovative mindset required in today's tech ecosystem. I build a bridge between time-tested financial principles and the dynamic, often unconventional financial strategies driving modern innovation.
My Experience
Germán Estrada Mendoza is the Director of Academic Curriculum for the ESTEEM Graduate Program within the IDEA Center at the University of Notre Dame, where he also serves as an Assistant Teaching Professor. He combines academic excellence with extensive industry experience in technology entrepreneurship, venture creation, and corporate finance.
In his role, Professor Estrada Mendoza leads the design of the ESTEEM program's curriculum, ensuring it remains at the forefront of technological innovation and entrepreneurship education. He is instrumental in integrating emerging trends—such as artificial intelligence, data science, biotechnology, and corporate innovation—into the curriculum, preparing students to navigate and lead in rapidly evolving industries.
As an educator, he teaches core courses focused on the technology startup process and financial metrics, including Entrepreneurial Finance, Startup Idea Validation, and the Tech Startup Sprint Series. Professor Estrada Mendoza also serves as an Academic Advisor for the Capstone Project/Master’s Thesis course, mentoring students through the comprehensive process of venture creation—from initial ideation and technology commercialization to market validation, financial modeling and go-to-market strategies. His mentorship has been pivotal in helping students develop innovative and financially sustainable business ventures.
Prior to joining Notre Dame, he was a part-time professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), specializing in business valuation, mergers and acquisitions, and entrepreneurship. With over a decade of experience teaching corporate finance at both undergraduate and graduate levels, he has also consulted on numerous corporate and startup projects, providing expertise in financial modeling and strategic planning.
In addition to his academic roles, Professor Estrada Mendoza co-founded 90pct, a technology startup focused on providing intuitive financial tools for small business owners in Latin America. As Chief Executive Officer, he led the development of TinkuApp, a web application designed to simplify financial and accounting reporting through automated solutions. This venture demonstrated his ability to identify market needs and develop scalable technological solutions, as well as his expertise in navigating the challenges of launching and managing a startup in emerging markets.
Earlier in his career, he was responsible for the business valuation practice within the Deals & Corporate Finance team at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Lima, Peru. In this capacity, he led financial restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and other strategic engagements for some of Peru's most prominent financial institutions, investment banks, and private equity funds.
His investment industry experience includes serving as Head of Equity Research at a Peruvian boutique investment bank and as an Equity Research Analyst in the Investment Banking division at BBVA in Peru. In these roles, he developed deep expertise in fundamental analysis, advising clients on investment strategies and providing insights into market dynamics.
Academic and Professional Interests
· Technology Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation
· Entrepreneurial Finance and Financial Modeling
· Mergers and Acquisitions and Business Valuation
· Strategic Partnerships and Venture Capital Engagement
Education
· Master of Science in Engineering, Science, and Technology Entrepreneurship, University of Notre Dame
· Master in Finance and Administration, Escuela de Negocios EOI – Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC)
· Bachelor of Social Science in Economics, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP)
Email: [email protected]
Some videos about finance topics that I consider important.
¿Qué es el NOPAT? Definición y fórmula
Construcción de los Flujos de Caja Libre (FCFF&FCFE)
Lectura e interpretación del ROIC vs WACC
FCFF método directo e indirecto
¿Qué es el EBITDA? Definición y fórmula
¿Qué es el ROIC? Definición, fórmula y aplicación
La dinámica de los componentes del WACC
Dinámica de los estados financieros 1.0
Activos operativos y no operativos
¿Qué es el interés minoritario y cómo identificarlo?