Venture Capitalists As Principals

Theoretical work on the principal-agent problem in financial contracting focuses on the conflicts of interest between an agent / entrepreneur with a venture that needs financing, and a principal / investor providing funds for the venture. Theory has identified three primary ways that the investor / principal can mitigate these conflicts - structuring financial contracts, pre-investment screening, and post-investment monitoring and advising. In this paper, we describe recent empirical work and its relation to theory for one prominent class of principals venture capitalists (VCs). The empirical studies indicate that VCs attempt to mitigate principal-agent conflicts in the three ways suggested by theory. The evidence also shows that contracting, screening, and monitoring are closely interrelated. In screening, the VCs identify areas where they can add value through monitoring and support. In contracting, the VCs allocate rights in order to facilitate monitoring and minimize the impact of identified risks. Also, the equity allocated to VCs provides incentives to engage in costly support activities that increase upside values, rather than just minimizing potential losses. There is room for future empirical research to study these activities in greater detail for VCs, for other intermediaries such as banks, and within firms.

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject Business economics - Banking, Stock Exchanges, Insurance, Accounting, grade: 1,0, Technical University of Darmstadt (Department of Banking and Finance), course: Venture Capital and Private Equity, 53 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: In the last decades venture capital has emerged as the major source of financing for young and innovative firms, replacing more and more bank credits, but also creating a new market niche for start-ups with a high risk of failure that may create substantial returns. With success stories of companies like Apple Computer, Intel, Federal Express, Microsoft, Sun Mircosystem, Compaq or SAP, this form of funding is meanwhile widely accepted. In the late 1970s the venture capital industry increased dramatically in the United States. In contrast, the venture capital sector in continental Europe used to be a very small market up to 1990. Figure 1 in the appendix shows the development of funds committed to independent US and European venture capital funds.1Today the venture fund market in Germany has reached a managed fund size of US$ 43 billion, an increase of 13.2 percent in regard to the previous year.2Therefore venture capital plays a crucial role in respect to innovation of an economy and has significant positive effects on society and a country’s economy. According to Sahlmann (1990) the term “venture capital” is defined as a “professional managed pool of capital that is invested in equity linked securities of private ventures at various stages in their development”. Gompers and Lerner (2001a) limit the definition to investments in privately held, high growth companies. Originally, the intent of venture capital is to finance young innovative companies. The term private equity describes the investment of equity in companies that are already established, e.g. companies in later stages of their life cycle. Today the two terms are often used as synonyms. In this paper we keep focusing on companies in early stages of life and thus use the term venture capital only. It should be mentioned that the focus of venture capital firms can be quite different. First venture capitalists can concentrate on different stages of companies (seed, start-up, first, second, third, fourth stage, bridge stage and liquidity stage financing) and second, venture capitalist can finance different industries or focus on a special group. The specialization has the advantage to gather deepened technological knowledge about an industry that can be used within the “venture cycle”. The innovative high-tech sectors, such as biotech or nanotech, would be good examples.

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.

From nineteenth-century whaling to a multitude of firms pursuing entrepreneurial finance today, venture finance reflects a deep-seated tradition in the deployment of risk capital in the United States. Tom Nicholas’s history of the venture capital industry offers a roller coaster ride through America’s ongoing pursuit of financial gain.

Venture Capital funds are the fastest growing sector of the financial industry, and possibly the least understood. In this book, the author provides a primer on what some of the world's best venture capitalists have in common. How do the world's top venture capitalists consistently obtain supernormal returns? How do they add value to entrepreneurs they have backed? Why is a top venture capitalist like a skilled chef? How did Lip Bu Tan, when he was Chairman of Walden, manage to invest in Creative Technology, despite the CEO's aversion for VCs? How did Nam Ho, Founder and Managing Partner of Altos Venture, turn an introduction by a Stanford Business School professor into a venture capital firm managing a quarter billion dollars of capital? How does Bing Gordon, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and author of the business plan that resulted in KPCB's investment in Electronic Arts, time exits properly? Why did Soo Boon Koh, Managing Director of IGlobe Ventures, back a GPS company which was filing for Chapter 11, in the post 9-11 market? The Way of the VC: Having Top Venture Capitalists on Your Board is essential reading for venture capital practitioners, including partners, principals, analysts, consultants and limited partners--both institutional and private. It is also useful to students of finance who want a better understanding of what goes on in the venture capital world.

Secure venture capital? Easy. Getting a business up and running or pushing a brilliant product to the marketplace requires capital. For many entrepreneurs, a lack of start-up capital can be the single biggest roadblock to their dreams of success and fortune. Venture Capital For Dummies takes entrepreneurs step by step through the process of finding and securing venture capital for their own projects. Find and secure venture capital for your business Get your business up and running Push a product to the marketplace If you're an entrepreneur looking for hands-on guidance on how to secure capital for your business, the information in Venture Capital For Dummies gives you the edge you need to succeed.

General Doriot created the first institutional venture capital fund in 1946 and set a standard for VC forever. Harvard Business School professor, war strategist and founder of INSEAD, one of Europe's most respected business schools, Doriot brilliantly articulated views on business formation, entrepreneurship, development and the dynamism of capital.

The principal goal of this monograph is to provide an overview of relevant aspects and research findings pertaining to the period after the venture capital firm (also known as venture capitalist or VC) has made the decision to invest in a particular portfolio company (or entrepreneur). Drawing principally upon refereed journal papers in entrepreneurship, finance, and management, our review is divided into six principal areas: (1) what venture capital firms do, (2) the impact of VCs on portfolio firms and other stakeholders, (3) the role of syndication, (4) the nature and timing of exit from VC investment, (5) the role of VCs in portfolio companies that undergo an initial public offering (IPO), and (6) the returns from investing in VC. The monograph concludes with a detailed outline of an agenda for further research. We provide a summary of the main papers in this literature in a set of tables in which we identify the authors, publication date, the journal, the main research question, the theoretical perspective, data, and the principal findings.