Venture capital is a type of private equity financing which is typically offered by venture capital firms to new startups, mid-stage, or emerging companies which have been deemed to have excellent growth potential or that have shown great growth in the past. Inventors typically fund these types of ventures through angel investors as a means of going public and obtaining a high-tech, highly lucrative business. Venture capitalists provide a third party source of funding which provides a sizable amount to assist an entrepreneur or startup in becoming profitable. These are some of the basic terms that are often used when discussing venture capital.
What exactly is venture capital and how does it work? Venture capital funds are a series of loans made to entrepreneurs based on the projection of future profits. Typically, this is done in return for a percentage of the future sales. The reason for providing venture capital is to help create value in the company by providing seed money to help fund start up, ongoing expenses, and paying for business operations. As you can see, venture capital firms typically work with relatively small sums of money compared to what a large angel investor would be willing to put into a given company.
The typical venture capital firm works very closely with entrepreneurs and their advisers. One of the first things that they will do is access personal information about an entrepreneur including their personal credit history, their financial backgrounds, and the details of their businesses. All of this personal information is vital to helping the venture capitalist determine if a particular entrepreneur has the right skills, experience, and personal qualities to launch a successful business. They also want to know what their overall risk is as well, which is why they will perform a comprehensive risk analysis before any loan is made.
A private equity firm will then evaluate the entire organization, including the people in it, the experience and history of the organization itself, its financial health, and any collateral or assets it has. While venture capitalists and private equity firms typically have different philosophies and goals, they both look at companies in similar ways. They both want to see value in a company that will make them money. They will also evaluate the companies’ financial statements, their debt and equity structure, management team, market competition, potential growth opportunities, and marketing strategy. All of these things are extremely important to the success of any given venture.
Finally, venture capitalists and angel investors will decide on funding levels and other goals. For instance, they may want to see a high rate of return on investment for the company. Or they may be interested in seeing significant future profit and loss numbers for the company so that they will continue to invest in it.
As you can see, there are many decisions to be made when you are looking to invest in a start up business. If you want to invest in a company that is already in operation, make sure to do your research before you invest. If you are looking to invest in an emerging company, you will need to talk with the people involved. And of course, when you are talking to potential angel investors, it is important to remember that they are interested in only one thing – making you money! And you need to ensure that this focus remains constant throughout the entire process. By following these tips, you will find that it is easier to find a venture capital firm to invest in your company when you need capital to finance the start up of your business.
