Realities of long-term post investment performance for venture-backed enterprises

This paper constructs a model of long-run performance for SMEs that have received venture capital backing. The model explains performance by financial structure. FAME data are used for estimating performance equations over the period 1989 to 2004 for UK businesses in their post-investment period. The econometrics uses robust techniques, including least absolute error (LAE) and Tukey trimean estimation. It is shown that the key determinants of performance (measured by ROSF) are profit margins and risk, with lesser, but significant, roles played by liquidity and gearing. The sample is used to identify consistently high performers, and chronic low performers. From the latter group, two detailed case studies illustrate how chronic low performance can emerge, in each case caused by failure to achieve technological milestones, and thereby failing, ultimately, to convince investors of potential company worth

Practitioner views on financial reporting for smaller entities

This paper has four purposes. First, to establish the policy background leading to a special financial reporting standard for small firms (FRSSE), aimed at reducing compliance costs. An indirect policy implication of this was that small firms would be stimulated, for example, in terms of start-up rate, performance (including survival rate, and profitability, and growth), and contribution to employment and innovation within the economy. Second, to consider the implications for FRSSE itself on compliance costs, and to ask what forms they may take. Third, to analyse new evidence on adopters and non-adopters of the FRSSE. Fourth, to cast this new evidence into a cost effectiveness framework, to judge whether adopters who engage in upgrading of skills to implement the FRSSE had attained a net benefit as compared to non-adopters. The conclusion, based on this preliminary evidence, is that upgrading of skills to implement the FRSSE has indeed led to a significant net benefit

Co-evolution of Information Systems in Fast-Growing Small Firms

The paper examines the co-evolution of different dimensions of information systems for a sample of fast-growing small firms. The investigation uses primary source longitudinal empirical evidence. The data are taken from a large database on the lifecycle experience of one-hundred-and-fifty new business starts over a four-year period. They were collected by face to face interviews with owner-managers of small entrepreneurial firms. Interviews were conducted using an administered questionnaire that covered the agenda of markets, finance, costs, business strategy, the development of a management information system, human capital, organisation and technical change. This work uses primarily the data on management information systems. The basic approach used is to compare the attributes of the fastest and slowest paced firms, as identified by their growth rates. We then examine the evolution of these firms' management information systems. The measures used to identify changes in systems include: capital investment techniques, such as return on investment, residual income, net present value, internal rate of return and payback period; methods for managing costs, like just-in-time management, activity-based costing, quantitative risk analysis, value analysis, strategic pricing and transfer pricing; and using computer applications for storing information, project appraisal, financial modelling, forecasting and sensitivity analysis. 'Time lines' are graphed to show the points at which various features of information systems are introduced (e.g. data storage, forecasting, sensitivity analysis), and derived techniques (e.g. ROI, ABC) implemented. Firms are dichotomised into highgrowth and low-growth groups. Comparisons are made within firms and across firms in terms of the co-evolution of different aspects of their accounting information systems

Venture capital investor behaviour in the backing of UK high technology firms : financial reporting and the level of investment

This paper is an empirical investigation into the ways in which venture capitalists value (and invest in) high technology firms, focusing on financial reporting, risk disclosure and intangible assets. It is based on questionnaire returns from UK investors in diverse sectors, ranging from biotechnology, through software/ computer services, to communications and medical services. This evidence is used to examine: (a) the usefulness of financial accounts; (b) the implications of technopole investment; (c) the extent of investor control over the investee's AIS; and (d) the role of investor opinion (e.g. on disclosure, due diligence and risk reporting) in determining the level of equity provision

Venture capital and risk in high-technology enterprises

We find UK investors and entrepreneurs are significantly concordant in rankings of investments and key factors for risk but significantly discordant on risk classes. Investors emphasise agency risk (e.g., motivation, empowerment, alignment), and entrepreneurs emphasise business risk (e.g., market opportunities)

Deformation and Adhesion of Thin Metallic Films on Flexible Substrates

Flexible electronics are conductive circuits, components and lines integrated onto elastic substrates. These systems often consist of metallic thin films deposited onto thin sheets of glass, metals stainless steel or polymeric materials such as polyethylene or polystyrene. These systems are currently being studied for a wide variety of aeronautic and astronautical applications including: electronic skins, solar sails, and antennae structures. For applications include only moderately elevated temperatures (near 200 ¡C) and low strains (insert range), engineers have proposed incorporation metallic lines onto polymeric substrates. Like traditional microelectronic systems with films on hard substrates, the reliability is controlled by the film-substrate interfacial strength and film structure. Currently, there are no reliable models or experimental studies that examine how these if deformation in the substrate takes places. To design these models, experimental evidence of how these systems deform is needed. This project looks at adhesion energy as a function of thickness, rigid interlayer, and substrate stiffness and substrate deformation. This study will also examine bulge testing as a way to characterize flexible electronic systems and will be modified to be capable of testing with heat. This study has three major aims. The first was to characterize the fracture pathways and morphology from delamination due to compressive and tensile residual stress. The second aim was to differentiate between deformation seen in rigid substrates from that seen in compliant substrates. The last aim was to design a bulge test system that is capable of controlled strain rate and moderate temperature ranges. This study looked at three distinct behaviors of metallic films on polymer substrates. The first part of this study looked at how film thickness, interlayer chemistry and thin film residual stress influence the fracture along the metal-polymer interface. This was done by observing fracture on two model systems, W/PMMA and W/PS. Tungsten was chosen since this films system can be deposited with a large rage stresses. Compressive and tensile W films (100-600nm) were sputter deposited onto PMMA and also PS substrates. The PS and PMMA systems were characterized using Hutchinson and Sou\u27s models for rigid elastic systems. For tensile driven fracture of the interface between W/PS it was found that as film thickness increases so does energy release rate (0.002 J/m2 to 0.011 J/m2) since the true adhesion does not change. With the inclusion of an interlayer the energy release rate decreased by an order of magnitude (.001 J/m2 to 0.035 J/m2). The compressive W/PMMA systems showed the same trends; an increase in energy release rate with an increase in film thickness; however, trends of varying buckle sized were observed on the 400 and 600 nm films. The compressive films without an interlayer were up to 3 orders of magnitude larger than the tensile films (0.8 J/m2 to 2.4 J/m2 ) and the interlayer only slightly increase the energy release rate (0.4 J/m2 to 2.8 J/m2 ). A \u27ridge\u27 formation in the W/PMMA around the crack tip has been identified, this substrate deformation not seen in metal-ceramic systems. A large buckles corresponds to a large amount of deformation seen in the substrate, film thickness showed no apparent trend. Bulge testing, is a testing method capable of characterize the composite modulus, residual stress, adhesion and other system properties of these flexible systems. The Clemson University system was verified for system repeatability. The Clemson University bulge test system measures the deflection of membranes. Using a Polytec MSA 400 laser vibrometer, capable of taking submicron deflection measurements when pressure is applied using a, Druck DP515 pressure controller, which can control the strain rate (0.1 psi/s to 2 psi/s) and a maximum pressure of 30 psi and is accurate to 0.001 psi. The membrane geometry and diameter were either controlled by a Swagelok clamping system for roll-to-roll applications or micromachined membranes, fabricated at the University of Minnesota Nanotechnology Center. The clamping design allowed for use of 4 mm, 6mm and 10 mm diameter circular membranes. Additional considerations for improving the measurements of flexible systems were adjusting the clamping system design to include a microstage, data curve fitting and super gluing the sample to the clamp to provide accurate and reproducible measurements (that range from +/- 500 μm), using 100 nm Au on 25 μm of Kapton as a model system. A heater was added to measure the effects of temperature on the deflection of flexible systems. Using ceramic heaters (maximium temperature of 300 ¡C) inserted into holes drilled in the side of the clamp, an Omega CNi1/8 temperature controller (accurate to 0.5 ¡C) was used to regulate the temperate with feed back from a J-type thermocouple. The system was verified using a one μm clamped in a six mm circular clamp and found a biaxial modulus of 150 GPa and residual stress of 180 MPa. However, the system showed that was susceptible to and external resonance frequency. This was done by applying a load of three psi and holding for an interval lasting from ten minutes to one hour. The creep could not be calculated due to interference from an outside system, however the strain rates (from 0.1 PSI/s to 2.0 PSI/s) at lower temperature show no effect on the system. When the temperature was increased to 150 ¡C the higher strain rates showed more deflection. This was not expected because thinner polymer membranes have less strain rate sensitivity

Massage Therapy: Your Immune System May Knead It

Massage therapy has been shown to enhance immune system function through both physical and psychological mechanisms. Massage therapy physically increases lymph circulation and white blood cell distribution. Psychologically, it reduces stress hormone levels thereby disinhibiting proper immune system function. Appreciation for these positive clinical effects could allow massage therapy to be more widely accepted as a complementary medical treatment for many diseases