| Venture capital investments almost always involve investments in assets which cannot be liquidated immediately and the return on which is highly uncertain. Venture capital investments also have several significant characteristics. The investment process The investment process of venture capitalists is longer compared to most other investors and includes a close scrutiny of the product, the technology, the market, and the management. Involvement in the company after the investment Venture capital investors, as money managers, are usually much more actively involved in the management of their portfolio firms than most investors in capital markets. The investment objective A venture capital investment is made with the declared intention of exiting it within a fixed period of time. The types of companies in which the capital is invested Venture capital investments are usually made by purchasing the equity (either ordinary shares or preferred shares which are convertible into ordinary shares) of companies in the private sector, as distinguished from buying and selling traded securities. The risk of and return on the investment In venture capital investments, the chances of an investment losing value or being lost altogether are high. Therefore, investors in venture capital funds expect a significant compensation for the risk involved in their investment. Where investments in startups are concerned, the risks involved in the investment are typically higher than in investments in more marketable assets. First, an infant company is more exposed to changes in the market and to recessions. It does not usually generate revenues which enable it to survive on its own resources, and it is therefore more dependent on raising external capital, the availability of which depends to a great extent on the condition of the capital market. In addition, since the company places most of its hope in products not yet fully functional, there is a risk that the products will not function or sell as anticipated, that the young and inexperienced management will not succeed in driving the company forward, or that another competitor will overtake the company in conquering the relevant market (for a discussion of the IRR required in investments in startups, see the section on the discount rate used by VCs). The human factor A venture capitalist will prefer, more than in other types of investments, to invest in a company which has a good management team in which he believes, than in a company with a more promising product and target market but with a management team in which he has no faith. A weak management team could cause the entire investment to be lost or require the investor to dedicate much time to managing and monitoring the investment. Due to the illiquidity of investments of this type, an exit is usually not readily available, and the investor must therefore carefully consider whether he is prepared to join the company for several years. |
