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share issue on a stock market。
62 The Thirty…Day MBA
Private equity
There are three main sources of private equity： business angels； venture
capital firms and corporate venture funding。
Business angels
One likely first source of equity or risk capital will be a private individual
with his or her own funds； and perhaps some knowledge of your type of
business。 In return for a share in the business； such investors will put in
money at their own risk。 They have been christened ‘business angels’； a
term first coined to describe private wealthy individuals who back a play
on Broadway or in London’s West End。
Most angels are determined upon some involvement beyond merely
signing a cheque and may hope to play a part in your business in some way。
They are hoping for big rewards – one angel who backed Sage with ￡10；000
in its first round of ￡250；000 financing saw his stake rise to ￡40 million。
These angels frequently operate through managed networks； usually
on the internet。 In the UK and the United States there are hundreds of
networks； with tens of thousands of business angels prepared to put up
several billion pounds each year into new or small businesses。
Finding a business angel
The British Business Angels Association （bbaa。uk） has an online
directory of UK business angels。 The European Business Angels Network
（eban） has directories of national business angel associations both inside
and outside of Europe at （eban 》 Members） from which you can
find individual business angels。
Venture capital
Venture capital （VC） providers are investing other people’s money； o。。en
from pension funds。 They have a different agenda from that of business
angels； and are more likely to be interested in investing more money for a
larger stake。
In general； VCs expect their investment to have paid off within seven
years； but they are hardened realists。 Two in every 10 investments they
make are total write…offs； and six perform averagely well at best。 So； the one
star in every 10 investments they make has to cover a lot of duds。 VCs have
a target rate of return of 30 per cent plus； to cover this poor hit rate。
Raising venture capital is not a cheap option and deals are not quick to
arrange either。 Six months is not unusual； and over a year has been known。
Every VC has a deal done in six weeks in its portfolio； but that truly is the
exception。
Finance 63
Finding venture capital
The British Venture Capital Association （bvca。uk） and the European
Venture Capital Association （evca） both have online
directories giving details of hundreds of venture capital providers。 The
Australian Government （austradeict。gov。au/Globl…VC…directory/
default。aspx） has a global venture capital directory on this website and the
National Venture Capital Association in the United States has directories
of international venture capital associations both inside and outside the
United States （nvca 》 Resources）。
You can see how those negotiating with or receiving venture capital rate
the firm in question at The Funded website （thefunded） in terms
of the deal offered； the firm’s apparent petence and how good they
are managing the relationship。 There is also a link to the VC’s website。 The
Funded has 2；500 members。
Corporate venturing
Venture capital firms o。。en get their hands dirty taking a hand in the
management of the businesses they invest in。 Another type of business is
also in the risk capital business； without it necessarily being their main line
of business。 These firms； known as corporate venturers； usually want an
inside track to new developments in and around the edges of their own
fields of interest。 For example； Microso。。； Cisco and Apple have billions of
dollars invested in hundreds of small entrepreneurial firms； taking stakes
from a few hundred thousand dollars up to hundreds of million。
And it’s not just high…tech business that take this approach。 McDonald’s
held a 33 per cent stake in Prêt à Manger while it worked out where to take
its business a。。er saturating the burger market。 HM Revenue and Customs
（hmrc。gov。uk/guidance/cvs。htm） has a useful guide entitled ‘The
Corporate Venturing Scheme’； explaining the scheme； tax implications and
sources of further information。
Private capital preliminaries
Two important stages will be gone through before a private investor will
put cash into a business。 The emphasis put on these stages will vary according
to the plexity of the deal； the amount of money and the legal
ownership of the funds concerned。 For example； a business angel investing
on their own account can accept greater uncertainty than； say； a venture
capital fund using a pension fund’s money。
Due diligence
Usually； a。。er a private equity firm signs a le。。er of intent to provide capital
and you accept； it will conduct a due diligence investigation of both the
management and the pany。 During this period the private equity firm
64 The Thirty…Day MBA
will have access to all financial and other records； facilities； employees
etc to investigate before finalizing the deal。 The material to be examined
will include copies of all leases； contracts and loan agreements in addition
to copious financial records and statements。 It will want to see any management
reports； such as sales reports； inventory records； detailed lists of
assets； facility maintenance records； aged receivables and payables reports；
employee organization charts； payroll and benefits records； customer
records and marketing materials。 It will want to know about any pending
litigation； tax audits or insurance disputes。 Depending on the nature
of the business； it might also consider ge。。ing an environmental audit
and an insurance check…up。 The sting in the due diligence tail is that the
current owners of the business will be required to personally warrant that
everything they have said or revealed is both true and plete。 In the
event that proves not to be so； they will be personally liable to the extent of
any loss incurred by those buying the shares。
Term sheet
A term sheet is a funding offer from a capital