An analysis of the venture capital process, from fund-raising through investing to exiting investments; a new edition with major revisions and six new chapters that reflect the latest research.
“An incisive history of the venture-capital industry.” —New Yorker “An excellent and original economic history of venture capital.” —Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution “A detailed, fact-filled account of America’s most celebrated moneymen.” —New Republic “Extremely interesting, readable, and informative...Tom Nicholas tells you most everything you ever wanted to know about the history of venture capital, from the financing of the whaling industry to the present multibillion-dollar venture funds.” —Arthur Rock “In principle, venture capital is where the ordinarily conservative, cynical domain of big money touches dreamy, long-shot enterprise. In practice, it has become the distinguishing big-business engine of our time...[A] first-rate history.” —New Yorker VC tells the riveting story of how the venture capital industry arose from America’s longstanding identification with entrepreneurship and risk-taking. Whether the venture is a whaling voyage setting sail from New Bedford or the latest Silicon Valley startup, VC is a state of mind as much as a way of doing business, exemplified by an appetite for seeking extreme financial rewards, a tolerance for failure and experimentation, and a faith in the promise of innovation to generate new wealth. Tom Nicholas’s authoritative history takes us on a roller coaster of entrepreneurial successes and setbacks. It describes how iconic firms like Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia invested in Genentech and Apple even as it tells the larger story of VC’s birth and evolution, revealing along the way why venture capital is such a quintessentially American institution—one that has proven difficult to recreate elsewhere.
Explanations to the inner workings of one of the least understood, but arguably most important, areas of business finance is offered to readers in this engaging volume: venture capital. Venture capitalists provide necessary investment to seed (or startup) companies, but the startup is only the beginning, there is much more to be explored. These savvy investors help guide young entrepreneurs, who likely have little experience, to turn their businesses into the Googles, Facebooks, and Groupons of the world. This book explains the often-complex methods venture capitalists use to value companies and to get the most return on their investments, or ROI. This book is a must-have for any reader interested in the business world.
Experts in public economics and financial economics discuss the special role of venture capital and if public policy should promote the venture capital industry; empirical and theoretical perspectives are developed. The existing literature in both public economics and financial economics often fails to consider how appropriate and effective public policy may be in promoting the venture capital industry. Public economics has dealt extensively with the effect of taxes and subsidies but has neglected the unique role of venture capitalists as active investors who provide not only funding but added value. Financial economics has emphasized the special role of the venture capitalist but has not focused on the real effects of venture capital in industry equilibrium or the role of public policy. This volume in the CESifo Seminar series brings together experts in public and financial economics to develop a theoretically and empirically informed international policy perspective for an era in which policymakers increasingly look to venture capital as a source of jobs, innovation, and economic growth. The chapters in part I analyze data on the levels of venture capital fundraising in Europe, problems in the bank-oriented beginnings of German venture capital finance in the 1970s, and the inefficiency of Canadian labor-sponsored venture capital funds. Part II looks at the effect of venture capital on labor market performance, the importance of exit opportunities, and the effect of information inflows on the venture capital cycle. The chapters in part III take the perspective of public economics, reviewing the role of public policy in addressing potential market failures, improving the quality of venture capital investments, and affecting entrepreneurial business activity through tax policy.
An engaging guide to excelling in today's venture capital arena Beginning in 2005, Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, managing directors at Foundry Group, wrote a long series of blog posts describing all the parts of a typical venture capital Term Sheet: a document which outlines key financial and other terms of a proposed investment. Since this time, they've seen the series used as the basis for a number of college courses, and have been thanked by thousands of people who have used the information to gain a better understanding of the venture capital field. Drawn from the past work Feld and Mendelson have written about in their blog and augmented with newer material, Venture Capital Financings puts this discipline in perspective and lays out the strategies that allow entrepreneurs to excel in their start-up companies. Page by page, this book discusses all facets of the venture capital fundraising process. Along the way, Feld and Mendelson touch on everything from how valuations are set to what externalities venture capitalists face that factor into entrepreneurs' businesses. Includes a breakdown analysis of the mechanics of a Term Sheet and the tactics needed to negotiate Details the different stages of the venture capital process, from starting a venture and seeing it through to the later stages Explores the entire venture capital ecosystem including those who invest in venture capitalist Contain standard documents that are used in these transactions Written by two highly regarded experts in the world of venture capital The venture capital arena is a complex and competitive place, but with this book as your guide, you'll discover what it takes to make your way through it.
Global financial markets might seem as if they increasingly resemble each other, but a lot of peculiar aspects qualify different markets with different levels of development. Private equity investors can take advantage of these variations. Structured to provide a taxonomy of the business, Private Equity and Venture Capital in Europe, Second Edition, introduces private equity and venture capital markets while presenting new information about the core of private equity: secondary markets, private debt, PPP within private equity, crowdfunding, venture philanthropy, impact investing, and more. Every chapter has been updated, and new data, cases, examples, sections, and chapters illuminate elements unique to the European model. With the help of new pedagogical materials, this Second Edition provides marketable insights about valuation and deal-making not available elsewhere. - Covers new regulations and legal frameworks (in Europe and the US) described by data and tax rates - Features overhauled and expanded pedagogical supplements to increase the versatility of the Second Edition - Focuses on Europe - Includes balanced presentations throughout the book
Showing how to develop and build a successful new venture pitch, this text deals with everything from the structure of venture capital firms and its influence on their objectives down to how to dress for the initial meeting with the potential investor.
The definitive guide to demystifying the venture capital business The Business of Venture Capital, Second Edition covers the entire spectrum of this field, from raising funds and structuring investments to assessing exit pathways. Written by a practitioner for practitioners, the book provides the necessary breadth and depth, simplifies the jargon, and balances the analytical logic with experiential wisdom. Starting with a Foreword by Mark Heesen, President, National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), this important guide includes insights and perspectives from leading experts. Covers the process of raising the venture fund, including identifying and assessing the Limited Partner universe; fund due-diligence criteria; and fund investment terms in Part One Discusses the investment process, including sourcing investment opportunities; conducting due diligence and negotiating investment terms; adding value as a board member; and exploring exit pathways in Part Two Offers insights, anecdotes, and wisdom from the experiences of best-in-class practitioners Includes interviews conducted by Leading Limited Partners/Fund-of-Funds with Credit Suisse, Top Tier Capital Partners, Grove Street Advisors, Rho Capital, Pension Fund Managers, and Family Office Managers Features the insights of over twenty-five leading venture capital practitioners, frequently featured on Forbes' Midas List of top venture capitalists Those aspiring to raise a fund, pursue a career in venture capital, or simply understand the art of investing can benefit from The Business of Venture Capital, Second Edition. The companion website offers various tools such as GP Fund Due Diligence Checklist, Investment Due Diligence Checklist, and more, as well as external links to industry white papers and other industry guidelines.
"Innovation and entrepreneurship are ubiquitous today, both as fields of study and as starting points for conversations among experts in government and economic development. But while these areas on continue to attract public and private investments, many measurements of their resulting economic growth-including productivity growth and business dynamism-have remained modest. Why this difference? Because not all business sectors are the same, and the transformative gains of some industries have been offset by stagnation or contraction in others. Accordingly, a nuanced understanding of the economy requires a nuanced understanding of where innovation and entrepreneurship occur and where they matter. Answering these questions allows for strategic public investment and the infrastructure for economic growth.The Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth, the latest entry in the NBER conference series, seeks to codify these answers. The editors leverage industry studies to identify specific examples of productivity improvements enabled by innovation and entrepreneurship, including those from new production technologies, increased competition, new organizational forms, and other means. Taken together, the volume illuminates whether the contribution of innovation and entrepreneurship to economic growth is likely to be concentrated, be it selected sectors or more broadly"--
The new edition of the definitive guide for venture capital practitioners—covers the entire process of venture firm formation & management, fund-raising, portfolio construction, value creation, and exit strategies Since its initial publication, The Business of Venture Capital has been hailed as the definitive, most comprehensive book on the subject. Now in its third edition, this market-leading text explains the multiple facets of the business of venture capital, from raising venture funds, to structuring investments, to generating consistent returns, to evaluating exit strategies. Author and VC Mahendra Ramsinghani who has invested in startups and venture funds for over a decade, offers best practices from experts on the front lines of this business. This fully-updated edition includes fresh perspectives on the Softbank effect, career paths for young professionals, case studies and cultural disasters, investment models, epic failures, and more. Readers are guided through each stage of the VC process, supported by a companion website containing tools such as the LP-GP Fund Due Diligence Checklist, the Investment Due Diligence Checklist, an Investment Summary format, and links to white papers and other industry guidelines. Designed for experienced practitioners, angels, devils, and novices alike, this valuable resource: Identifies the key attributes of a VC professional and the arc of an investor’s career Covers the art of raising a venture fund, identifying anchor investors, fund due diligence, negotiating fund investment terms with limited partners, and more Examines the distinct aspects of portfolio construction and value creation Balances technical analyses and real-world insights Features interviews, personal stories, anecdotes, and wisdom from leading venture capitalists The Business of Venture Capital, Third Edition is a must-read book for anyone seeking to raise a venture fund or pursue a career in venture capital, as well as practicing venture capitalists, angel investors or devils alike, limited partners, attorneys, start-up entrepreneurs, and MBA students.