The role of the exit in the initial screening of investment opportunities: The case of business angel syndicate gatekeepers

The exit process has been largely ignored in business angel research.. The practitioner community identifies the difficulty in achieving exits as the most pressing problem for investors. This has been attributed to the failure of investors to adopt an exit-centric approach to investing. The validity of this claim is examined via a study of the investment approach of 21 ‘gatekeepers’ (managers) of angel groups in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Most gatekeepers say that they do consider the exit when they invest. However, this is contradicted by a verbal protocol analysis which indicates that the exit is not a significant consideration in their initial screening process. The small number of exits achieved by the groups is consistent with the general lack of an exit-centric approach to investing. Only three groups exhibit evidence of a strong exit-centric approach to investing. The lack of exits may have a negative impact on the level of future angel investment activity

Venture capital-backed firms, unavoidable value-destroying trade sales, and fair value protections

This paper investigates the implications of the fair value protections contemplated by the standard corporate contract (i.e., the standard contract form for which corporate law provides) for the entrepreneur–venture capitalist relationship, focusing, in particular, on unavoidable value-destroying trade sales. First, it demonstrates that the typical entrepreneur–venture capitalist contract does institutionalize the venture capitalist’s liquidity needs, allowing, under some circumstances, for counterintuitive instances of contractually-compliant value destruction. Unavoidable value-destroying trade sales are the most tangible example. Next, it argues that fair value protections can prevent the entrepreneur and venture capitalist from allocating the value that these transactions generate as they would want. Then, it shows that the reality of venture capital-backed firms calls for a process of adaptation of the standard corporate contract that has one major step in the deactivation or re-shaping of fair value protections. Finally, it argues that a standard corporate contract aiming to promote social welfare through venture capital should feature flexible fair value protections.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reduced COPD Exacerbation Risk Correlates With Improved FEV1: A Meta-Regression Analysis.

BackgroundThe mechanism by which various classes of medication reduce COPD exacerbation risk remains unknown. We hypothesized a correlation between reduced exacerbation risk and improvement in airway patency as measured according to FEV1.MethodsBy systematic review, COPD trials were identified that reported therapeutic changes in predose FEV1 (dFEV1) and occurrence of moderate to severe exacerbations. Using meta-regression analysis, a model was generated with dFEV1 as the moderator variable and the absolute difference in exacerbation rate (RD), ratio of exacerbation rates (RRs), or hazard ratio (HR) as dependent variables.ResultsThe analysis of RD and RR included 119,227 patients, and the HR analysis included 73,475 patients. For every 100-mL change in predose FEV1, the HR decreased by 21% (95% CI, 17-26; P < .001; R2 = 0.85) and the absolute exacerbation rate decreased by 0.06 per patient per year (95% CI, 0.02-0.11; P = .009; R2 = 0.05), which corresponded to an RR of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.81-0.91; P < .001; R2 = 0.20). The relationship with exacerbation risk remained statistically significant across multiple subgroup analyses.ConclusionsA significant correlation between increased FEV1 and lower COPD exacerbation risk suggests that airway patency is an important mechanism responsible for this effect

The benefit : a well-written entrepreneurial business plan is to an entrepreneur what a midwife is to an expecting mother

The evaluation of new ventures often involves two key aspects of entrepreneurial business plans: how best to write them and how best to rate (evaluate) them. Ultimately the performance of the venture should be the definitive criterion of quality. Surprisingly, the writing, rating and performance effects of entrepreneurial business plans (EBPs) comprise three related but under researched areas. This article empirically tested principles for writing and rating entrepreneurial business plans to draw inferences on how to improve the private equity investment evaluation process. A simplified perspective of General Systems Theory guided our empirical investigation of the input and outcome of the VC investment decision. Our empirical investigation reveals that entrepreneurial business plans that comport with the writing principles from the literature improve a new venture\u27s likelihood of success

A Framework for Understanding Opportunity Recognition.

Presents a framework for understanding opportunity recognition by entrepreneurs and private equity financiers. Description of the opportunity formulation process; Types of information about the environment that entrepreneurs use to identify opportunities; Phases of the opportunity recognition process.Lindsay, Noel J. and Craig, Justi