Venture Capital & Private Equity

Definitions: Venture Capital & Private Equity
Associations
Directories: Venture Capital, Private Equity, etc.
Getting Funded
Industry Surveys and Trends
Recent Books & Career Information

Definitions: Venture Capital & Private Equity

Leveraged Buyout:

Acquisition of a firm by raising its purchase price mainly through borrowing secured by the same firm's assets. After the purchase, the loan is paid from the firm's cash flow and/or by selling off its assets (called 'asset stripping'). (From BusinessDictionary.com)

The use of a target company's asset value to finance the debt incurred in acquiring the company. (Answers.com, from Dictionary of Business Terms, 3rd edition, by Jack P. Friedman, published by Barron's Educational Series, Inc)

Private Equity:

Money invested in firms which have not 'gone public' and therefore are not listed on any stock exchange. Private equity is highly illiquid because sellers of private stocks (called private securities) must first locate willing buyers. Investors in private equity are generally compensated when: (1) the firm goes public, (2) it is sold or merges with another firm, or (3) it is recapitalized . (From BusinessDictionary.com)

Equity capital that is made available to companies or investors, but not quoted on a stock market. The funds raised through private equity can be used to develop new products and technologies, to expand working capital, to make acquisitions, or to strengthen a company's balance sheet. (Answers.com, from Dictionary of Business Terms, 3rd edition, by Jack P. Friedman, published by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.)

Venture Capital:

Startup or growth equity capital or loan capital provided by private investors (the venture capitalists) or specialized financial institutions (development finance houses or venture capital firms). (From BusinessDictionary.com)

Money made available for investment in innovative enterprises or research, especially in high technology, in which both the risk of loss and the potential for profit may be considerable. Also called risk capital. (Answers.com, from Dictionary of Business Terms, 3rd edition, by Jack P. Friedman, published by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.)

Venture Capital Firm:

Government, semi-government, or private firm that provides startup or growth equity capital and/or loan capital to promising ventures for returns that are higher than market interest rates. (From BusinessDictionary.com)

For more information see:

Galante's Venture Capital & Private Equity Directory
Pardee Reference - Section 12 - Career Resources/Finance & Investing
X HG 4961 V36 2007
"Private Equity Primer" (at very begining of book) provides a short introduction of various facets of the industry including Leveraged buyouts, Venture Capital, Mezzanine debt, Funds-of-Funds, as well as commonly asked questions and terms.
For more on history and trends see:

What is Venture Capital?
http://www.nvca.org/def.html
Basic information and explanation of terminology, from the National Venture Capital Association.

Associations

National Venture Capital Association
http://www.nvca.org
Trade association of the Venture Capital Industry. Membership consists of venture capital firms that manage pools of risk equity capital designated to be invested in high growth companies. Member firms are listed on the website. Free data on the site includes an overview of the venture capital industry, valuation guidelines, model legal documents, and latest industry statistics, compiled in conjunction with Pricewaterhousecoopers and Thomson Financial. Members of the association receive additional benefits.

Venture Capital Institute
http://www.vcinstitute.org
Over twenty years of providing quality educational services to worldwide venture capital managers and equity investors.

European Venture Capital Association
http://www.evca.com/html/home.asp

Trade association that represents the European Venture capital industry.(site under construction).

Venture Capital Associations in countries outside of the U.S. (List in: Private EquityResearch: Tools of the Trade), pp. 64-67), at the Reference Desk

Directories: Venture Capital, Private Equity, etc.

Directories listed below, are in Pardee Reference - Section 12 - Career Resources/Finance & Investing

Corporate Finance Sourcebook: The Guide to Major Capital Investment Sources and Related Financial Services. Annual National Register Company
X HG4057 A1565 2007
Directory of major venture capital companies, commercial finance and leasing companies, private insurance lenders, commercial banks, investment bankers, business brokers, pension managers, major trusts and more.

Massachusetts Venture Capital Directory; The Complete Guide to Venture Capital, Private Equity, Incubator, and Equity Investors
X HG 5128 M3 M37 2005 (new edition on order)

Financial Yellow Book: Who's Who at the Leading U.S. Financial Institutions
X HG65 F52
Lists names and phone numbers of officers and management, and major subsidiaries, divisions and affiliates, of Venture Capital, as well as other types of financial institutions. See Index by Financial Services Rendered.

Galante's Venture Capital & Private Equity Directory
X HG 4961 V36 2007
Detailed profiles and statistics on over 2,000 early, middle and late-stage investors. Includes points of contact, funding stage preferences, industry preferences, and geographic preferences, as well as money raised.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers Money Tree Survey
http://pwcmoneytree.com
A quarterly study of equity investments made by the venture capital community in emerging private companies in the U.S. View by company, region, industry, stage of development, and type of financing. Can be used as a directory by using custom search.

Venture Capital Database (VCDB)
http://punctuative.com/vcdb/
A free listing of venture capital firms; includes an interactive map. Created by Matt Winn of Chrysalis Ventures. Firms can be searched by location or by areas of interest.

Getting Funded

ACE-NET
Angel Capital Electronic Network
(http://acenet.csusb.edu/)
Ace-Net conducts networking, educational, training and research activities that would provide assistance to both investors and entrepreneurs. It helps individual accredited investors, SBICs, and institutional venture capitalists to find small, growing companies through a secure Internet database, and it provides ongoing training and research to enhance the business skills of entrepreneurs and small investors.

Venture Capital Handbook
HG 4965 G57 2002 (Pardee Library, 2nd floor)
A "nuts and bolts" approach on how to raise venture capital. Includes overview of the industry, what venture capitalists look for,and step-by-step process of raising funds.

Business Finance.Com
http://www.businessfinance.com
"America's Business Funding Directory". Free advice, information, and matchmaking network; assists businesses, to obtain capital, find government programs, get expert help, and more.

Garage Technology Investors
http://www.garage.com
Matchmaker and network helping entrepreneurs and investors create, build, and fund promising early-stage technology companies.

U.S. Small Business Administration
http://www.sba.gov
Website provides information on financing through SBA loan programs, equity capital, and SBA partners (financing programs administered through private sector lenders and organizations).

vFinance.com
http://www.vfinance.com
Produced by vFinance, Inc., this site provides listings of venture capital and angel investors. The site also allows new business owners to post business plans.

Industry Surveys & Trends

PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Private Equity Report (2008)
This 2008 report highlights the challenges private equity firms are facing – ranging from issues that all agree are fundamental, such as how to create sustainable value, through to those that many private equity houses have yet to take seriously, in particular sustainability.

The Money Tree Report - PricewaterhouseCoopers
http://pwcmoneytree.com
The MoneyTree Report is a quarterly study of venture capital investment activity in the United States. As a collaboration between PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based upon data from Thomson Financial. Free registration is required to access such information as venture capital investment volume, current quarter data, historical trend data, corporate venture activity, New England Money Tree Health Industries Report for 2006, and other studies. A custom search for current quarter can be conducted for investees that match criteria such as region, industry, stage of development and financing sequence.

Global Venture Capital Insights Report - Ernst & Young
Interviews with leading venture capitalists from around the world on the conditions and opportunities for venture capital.

Global Trends in Venture Capital - Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
An annual survey conducted with venture capitalists in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and Israel. The intent is to gather insight into the attitudes and intentions of venture capitalists regarding geographic regions and industry sectors over the next five years. For latest report, go to nvca.org and click on Research, then Recent Research Studies.

Dow Jones Venture Capital Press Release
http://venturecapital.dowjones.com/press/statistics.html
Current statistics, in Excel format, on venture capital investment in the U.S. and in Europe.

Thomson Press Release
http://www.thomson.com/pr/press_room/tf/?count=20&subsection=tf&secondary=tf_priv_equiconsulress Release
See "Latest Press Releases for Private Equity" under "Financial Press Releases"

FeatureFax. National Venture Capital Association
http://www.nvca.org/ffax.html
Aggregate statistics are reported quarterly at NVCA's web site. Check under Recent News & Statistics. Project of NVCA with the Kauffmann Foundation and Venture Economics.

Factiva [About]
Full text articles from major business and finance magazines and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal.

For a list of additional periodicals available electronically, consult the Electronic Journals page; enter "venture capital" or "private equity" as keywords.

Recent Books & Career Information

Careers in Venture Capital (WetFeet.com Insider Guide) Pardee Reference - Section 12 - Career Resources/Finance & Investing
X HG 4751 C37
Includes overview of the industry, company profiles and employment related information.

Creative Capital : Georges Doriot and the Birth of Venture Capital
HG172.D67 A58 2008 (Pardee Library, 2nd floor)

The Glocap Guide to Getting a Job in Private Equity
Pardee Reference - Section 12 - Career Resources/Finance & Investing
X HG 4530 K67 2007

Vault guide to the top private equity employers.
Pardee Reference - Section 12 - Career Resources/Finanace & Investing
X HG 4963 V38 2006

The Venture Capital Cycle by Paul Gompers and Josh Lerner, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 2d.ed.
HG 4963 G66 2004 (Pardee Library, 2nd. floor )
An examination of the fund-raising, investing, and exit stages of venture capitalists.

For additional books on Venture Capital and Private Equity, search the Boston University Catalog for "Venture Capital," "Venture Capital -- United States -- Handbooks, Manuals..."