Understanding early-stage VC decision-making : the role of the entrepreneur’s experience in obtaining equity financing within the German entrepreneurial ecosystem

In recent decades, there has been a significant rise in disruptive and innovative technological advancements that hold great promise for both the economy and society. Startups have played a significant role in this trend, becoming a crucial part of the dynamic German entrepreneurial ecosystem. Scholars agree that these ventures rely heavily on access to venture capital to fuel their operations and achieve their full potential. However, despite the crucial role of venture capital for start-ups, research on early-stage VC decision-making is still rare due to the subjective nature of the topic. Previous studies have mainly relied on quantitative methods, leaving ample room for qualitative research to generate new theories on the topic using grounded theory. Hence, this study employs the Gioia et al. (2013) approach on grounded theory to establish a model explaining the decision-making of early-stage funds in Germany and the rather unexplored role of the entrepreneur’s previous experience. The grounded theory model created based on the qualitative data proposes four aggregate dimensions which influence early-stage VC decision-making in Germany: 1) Assessment of Macroenvironment/Alignment with VC Interests, 2) Individual Approach to Venture Target, 3) Know-How of Founding Team, 4) Financial Viability and Venture Potential. The findings indicate that the entrepreneurs’ previous experience can serve as strong positive signaling in a VCs decision-making process, however not as the sole driver of an investment decision.Nas últimas décadas, houve um aumento significativo em avanços tecnológicos disruptivos e inovadores que apresentam grande promessa tanto para a economia quanto para a sociedade. As startups desempenharam um papel importante neste desenvolvimento, tornando-se parte crucial do ecossistema empreendedor alemão. Especialistas concordam que esses empreendimentos dependem fortemente do acesso a capital de risco para impulsionar as suas operações e alcançar o seu pleno potencial. Contudo, apesar do papel crucial do capital de risco para as startups, a pesquisa sobre decisões de capital de risco na fase inicial é escassa devido à natureza subjectiva do tema. Estudos anteriores basearam-se principalmente em métodos quantitativos, deixando espaço para investigação qualitativa gerar novas teorias usando a teoria fundamentada. Este estudo usa a abordagem da teoria fundamentada de Gioia et al. (2013) para construir um modelo que explique a decisão sobre onde investir os fundos de startup na Alemanha e o papel pouco explorado da experiência dos fundadores. O modelo de teoria fundamentada baseado nos dados qualitativos propõe quatro dimensões globais que influenciam a decisão dos fundos de capital de risco em fase inicial: 1) Avaliação do macroambiente, 2) abordagem individual ao alvo do empreendimento, 3) know-how da equipa fundadora, 4) viabilidade financeira e potencial do empreendimento. Os resultados indicam que a experiência prévia dos empreendedores pode ser um forte sinal positivo no processo de decisão de um investidor de capital de risco, mas não é o único factor determinante de uma decisão de investimento

Identifikation und Reduktion struktureller Unsicherheiten in hydrologischen Modellen

Eine zentrale Aufgabe der Hydrologie ist die Plausibilisierung der Struktur von Niederschlags-Abfluss- und Wasserhaushalts-Modellen. Je verschiedenartiger die beim Modellaufbau verwendeten und beim Modelleinsatz zu berechnenden Daten unter Einhaltung der geforderten Genauigkeit ausfallen dürfen, desto größer ist der Nutzen für die Praxis. Der reduktionistische Ansatz über die Entwicklung möglichst detaillierter "physikalischer" Prozessmodelle hat sich bislang wenig bewährt. Die einfacheren Konzeptmodelle bleiben in vielen Anwendungsbereichen dominant. Die Frage, wie sich die modellstrukturelle Unsicherheit hochgradig abstrakter Konzeptmodelle erkennen, quantifizieren und reduzieren lässt, ist Gegenstand umfassender wissenschaftlicher Debatten. Die vorliegende Dissertation entwickelt entsprechende Methoden zur numerischen Integration konzeptioneller Prozessgleichungen und zur Unsicherheitsidentifikation mittels Ensemble-Techniken und erprobt diese an den Modellen HBV$_{96}$ und LARSIM$_{ME}$

In vitro-Testung von Goldnanopartikeln als Radioenhancer in der Strahlentherapie

Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, die Tumorzelllinie A549 und die Normalgewebszellen BEAS-2B in ihrem Ansprechen auf Gold-Nanopartikel (GNP) mit einem Durchmesser von 50 nm zu untersuchen und festzustellen, ob diese sich als Radioenhancer eignen. Dazu wurden verschiedene In-vitro-Methoden angewandt, die die Wirkung der GNP sowohl auf die Tumorzellen, als auch auf die Normalgewebszellen, genauer charakterisieren sollten

High-Dose Enalapril Treatment Reverses Myocardial Fibrosis in Experimental Uremic Cardiomyopathy

AIMS: Patients with renal failure develop cardiovascular alterations which contribute to the higher rate of cardiac death. Blockade of the renin angiotensin system ameliorates the development of such changes. It is unclear, however, to what extent ACE-inhibitors can also reverse existing cardiovascular alterations. Therefore, we investigated the effect of high dose enalapril treatment on these alterations. METHODS: Male Sprague Dawley rats underwent subtotal nephrectomy (SNX, n = 34) or sham operation (sham, n = 39). Eight weeks after surgery, rats were sacrificed or allocated to treatment with either high-dose enalapril, combination of furosemide/dihydralazine or solvent for 4 weeks. Heart and aorta were evaluated using morphometry, stereological techniques and TaqMan PCR. RESULTS: After 8 and 12 weeks systolic blood pressure, albumin excretion, and left ventricular weight were significantly higher in untreated SNX compared to sham. Twelve weeks after SNX a significantly higher volume density of cardiac interstitial tissue (2.57±0.43% in SNX vs 1.50±0.43% in sham, p<0.05) and a significantly lower capillary length density (4532±355 mm/mm(3) in SNX vs 5023±624 mm/mm(3) in sham, p<0.05) were found. Treatment of SNX with enalapril from week 8-12 significantly improved myocardial fibrosis (1.63±0.25%, p<0.05), but not capillary reduction (3908±486 mm/mm(3)) or increased intercapillary distance. In contrast, alternative antihypertensive treatment showed no such effect. Significantly increased media thickness together with decreased vascular smooth muscles cell number and a disarray of elastic fibres were found in the aorta of SNX animals compared to sham. Both antihypertensive treatments failed to cause complete regression of these alterations. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates that high dose ACE-I treatment causes partial, but not complete, reversal of cardiovascular changes in SNX

Differential Ly-6C expression identifies the recruited macrophage phenotype, which orchestrates the regression of murine liver fibrosis

Although macrophages are widely recognized to have a profibrotic role in inflammation, we have used a highly tractable CCl(4)-induced model of reversible hepatic fibrosis to identify and characterize the macrophage phenotype responsible for tissue remodeling: the hitherto elusive restorative macrophage. This CD11B(hi) F4/80(int) Ly-6C(lo) macrophage subset was most abundant in livers during maximal fibrosis resolution and represented the principle matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) -expressing subset. Depletion of this population in CD11B promoter–diphtheria toxin receptor (CD11B-DTR) transgenic mice caused a failure of scar remodeling. Adoptive transfer and in situ labeling experiments showed that these restorative macrophages derive from recruited Ly-6C(hi) monocytes, a common origin with profibrotic Ly-6C(hi) macrophages, indicative of a phenotypic switch in vivo conferring proresolution properties. Microarray profiling of the Ly-6C(lo) subset, compared with Ly-6C(hi) macrophages, showed a phenotype outside the M1/M2 classification, with increased expression of MMPs, growth factors, and phagocytosis-related genes, including Mmp9, Mmp12, insulin-like growth factor 1 (Igf1), and Glycoprotein (transmembrane) nmb (Gpnmb). Confocal microscopy confirmed the postphagocytic nature of restorative macrophages. Furthermore, the restorative macrophage phenotype was recapitulated in vitro by the phagocytosis of cellular debris with associated activation of the ERK signaling cascade. Critically, induced phagocytic behavior in vivo, through administration of liposomes, increased restorative macrophage number and accelerated fibrosis resolution, offering a therapeutic strategy to this orphan pathological process

Elevation of the antifibrotic peptide N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline: a blood pressure-independent beneficial effect of angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitors

Blockade of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is well recognized as an essential therapy in hypertensive, heart, and kidney diseases. There are several classes of drugs that block the RAS; these drugs are known to exhibit antifibrotic action. An analysis of the molecular mechanisms of action for these drugs can reveal potential differences in their antifibrotic roles. In this review, we discuss the antifibrotic action of RAS blockade with an emphasis on the potential importance of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition associated with the antifibrotic peptide N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline (AcSDKP)

Influence of experimental design on the interference and facilitation effect of the Stroop task: a meta-regression analysis

The Stroop task is used to measure cognitive interfering processes and attention control. The most common type of Stroop is the color-word Stroop task where participants have to react to the ink color and ignore the word meaning. Slower reaction times for the incongruent condition compared to the congruent or the neutral one can be found (interference effect), as well as faster reaction times for the congruent condition compared to the neutral one (facilitation effect). There are several other characteristics, which might influence these two effects. However, inconsistent results are discussed in the literature concerning comparisons between different characteristics and their influence on the interference and facilitation effect. Additionally, for some characteristics, no comparisons and influences were investigated at all. In this study, we used the robust variance estimation method to conduct meta-regression analyses over the behavioral reaction times. We included 80 studies, which contributed 118 effect sizes for the interference and 25 effect sizes for the facilitation effect. We investigated whether five different moderators have an influence on the interference or facilitation effect. Only the moderator level emotional Type of Stroop showed a significant influence only on the interference effect, resulting in a smaller interference effect when the emotional type of Stroop is used. Missing data, imprecise effect size measurements and a selective study sample might be reasons for inaccurate estimations of the underlying true effect size and, therefore, insignificant results concerning the moderator influence

Influence of powder feed parameters on the powder stream in laser metal deposition (LMD) by high-speed and high-resolution imaging

Laser metal deposition (LMD) is a blown powder process used for the additive manufacturing of large components or the generation of functional geometries on semi-finished parts. In LMD laser intensity and powder mass flow distribution within the process zone must be precisely matched for a welding bead of predefined shape and a consistent layer quality. Therefore, the present work analyses the powder stream of a single injector that is commonly used for discrete coaxial nozzles in LMD. Several powder size classes are investigated in a range of 45 μm and 106 μm. The influence of carrier gas flow rate and powder mass flow rate variations on powder stream characteristics like particle velocity and propagation were determined up to a distance of 10 mm from the nozzle by high-speed imaging at a frequency of 30 kHz with a high spatial resolution. It was found that particle velocity depends mainly on carrier gas flow rate and particle size. Additionally, the measurement shows that the divergence increases for higher distances and higher particle sizes.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG1