Venture capital

Venture capital

This overview is a guide to the Lexis®PSL Corporate content within the Venture capital subtopic, with links to the appropriate materials.

Venture capital investment background and financing

Venture capital is a type of private equity investment provided to start-up businesses with little or no operating history. These businesses are generally too small to raise capital in the public markets and are unable to secure debt finance. It is a high-risk investment and accordingly the investor will require a high rate of return.

Venture capital firms investing in these companies bring managerial and technical expertise to the business.

There are different phases of venture capital investment, depending largely upon the stage of the investee company’s development and the level of investment required.

First round investment in very early-stage businesses, or seed capital investment, is usually confined to family and friends of management, as well as business angels.

Second and subsequent rounds of investment, beyond seed capital stage, are generally the focus of venture capital firms, investment trusts, venture capital trusts, enterprise capital funds and business angels.

Venture capital funds (otherwise referred to as private equity funds) are operated by

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