Venture capital is an important source of funding for start-up and other companies that have a limited operating history and don’t have access to capital markets.  A venture capital firm (VC) typically looks for new and small businesses with a perceived long-term growth potential that will result in a large payout for investors. 

Who is a Venture Capitalist?  

A venture capitalist is not necessarily just one wealthy financier.  Most VCs are limited partnerships that have a fund of pooled investment capital with which to invest in a number of companies.  They vary in size from firms that manage just a few million dollars worth of investments to much larger VCs that may have billions of dollars invested in companies all over the world.  VCs may be a small group of investors or an affiliate or subsidiary of a large commercial bank, investment bank, or insurance company that makes investments on behalf clients of the parent company or outside investors.  In any case, the VC aims to use its business knowledge, experience and expertise to fund and nurture companies that will yield a substantial return on the VC’s investment, generally within three to seven years.  

Returns for Investors: 

Not all VC investments pay off.  The failure rate can be quite high, and in fact, anywhere from 20 percent to 90 percent of portfolio companies may fail to return on the VC’s investment.  On the other hand, if a VC does well, a fund can offer returns of 300 to 1,000 percent.    

Partnership: 

In additional to a portion of the equity, a VC expects to have a say in how its portfolio company operates.  Ideally, the VC fosters growth at the company through its involvement in managerial, strategic, and planning decisions.  To do this, the VC relies on the expertise of its general partners who may be former CEOs, bankers, or experts in a particular industry.  In most cases, one or more general partners of the VC take Board of Director positions at a portfolio company.  They may also help recruit key executives to the portfolio company. 

Size of Funding:

It’s important to do your homework before approaching a VC for funding, to make sure you’re targeting the right potential partner for your business needs.  Not all VCs invest in ‘start-ups.’  While some may invest small amounts of “seed” capital for very early ventures, many focus on early or expansion funding, while still others may invest at the end of the business cycle, specializing in buyouts, turnarounds, or recapitalizations.  

Investment Preferences: 

VCs may be generalists that invest in a variety of industries and locations.  More typically, they specialize in a particular industry.  Make sure your company falls within the VC’s target industry before you make your pitch – a VC that’s focused on biotechnology start-ups will not consider your request for later-stage funding for expansion of your semiconductor firm.  You can often gain insight into a VC’s investment preferences by reviewing its website. 

In addition to industry preferences, VCs also typically have a geographic preference.  Being in the same general location as a portfolio company allows the VC to better assist with business operations such as marketing, personnel, and financing.     

Keep in mind that venture capital is not an option for all new businesses.  In fact, VCs are very selective in choosing new companies to invest in, so your company may not qualify.  They’re most interested in businesses with high growth potential that will allow them to successfully exit with a higher than average return in a time frame of roughly three to 10 years, depending on the type of investment.  Given the rigorous expectations, most venture funding goes to companies in rapidly expanding industries such as technology, biotechnology, and life sciences.

Commercially viable.  Does the company have a product or service that can be reproduced efficiently to generate revenue? 

Identifiable market.  Is there a clearly defined market for the company’s product or service?  Does the company’s product or service meet an identifiable need in that industry?  Does the company have a reasonable plan to meet the identified need in an efficient, revenue-generating manner?

Strong management.  Does the company’s leadership inspire confidence?  Do they have the vision, expertise, and the ability to propel a business to a significant level of growth?  Does the team consider best practices of those that have gone before them? 

Sustainable competitive advantage.  Has the company hit upon an idea that’s truly unique to the industry, one that has significant barriers to entry that will inhibit others from encroaching upon its market?  Has the company considered economic and technological change that may affect the business model?  Who are the company’s potential competitors, and what are those companies’ strengths and weaknesses? 

Like a banker, a VC will also consider factors such as results of past operations, amount of funds needed and their intended use, future earnings projections and conditions.  But unlike a banker, a VC is a part owner rather than a creditor, so it’s looking for potential long-term capital, rather than interest income.  A common rule of thumb is that a VC looks for a return of three to five times its investment in a five- to seven-year time period. 

A lot may also depend on the relationship between you and the VC.  Often, the firm will have you meet with every one of its individual partners to determine whether there’s a consensus on how the company will be co-managed.  Don’t underestimate the value of mutual respect, teamwork, and understanding.

Seed Capital.  If you’re just starting out and have no product or organized company yet, you would be seeking seed capital.  Few VCs fund at this stage and the amount invested would probably be small.  Investment capital may be used to create a sample product, fund market research, or cover administrative set-up costs. 

Startup Capital.  At this stage, your company would have a sample product available with at least one principal working full-time.  Funding at this stage is also rare.  It tends to cover recruitment of other key management, additional market research, and finalizing of the product or service for introduction to the marketplace.   

Early Stage Capital.  Two to three years into your venture, you’ve gotten your company off the ground, a management team is in place, and sales are increasing.   At this stage, VC funding could help you increase sales to the break-even point, improve your productivity, or increase your company’s efficiency. 

Expansion Capital.  Your company is well established, and now you are looking to a VC to help take your business to the next level of growth.  Funding at this stage may help you enter new markets or increase your marketing efforts.  You should seek out VCs that specialize in later stage investing.  

Late Stage Capital.  At this stage, your company has achieved impressive sales and revenue and you have a second level of management in place.  You may be looking for funds to increase capacity, ramp up marketing, or increase working capital.  

Bridge Financing: You may also be looking for a partner to help you find a merger or acquisition opportunity, or attract public financing through a stock offering.  There are VCs that focus on this end of the business spectrum, specializing in initial public offerings (IPOs), buyouts, or recapitalizations.  If you are planning an IPO, a VC may also assist with mezzanine or bridge financing – short-term financing that allows you to pay for the costs associated with going public. 

A key factor for the VC will be risk versus return.  The earlier a VC invests, the greater are the inherent risks and the longer is the time period until the VC’s exit.  It follows that the VC will expect a higher return for investing at this early stage, typically a 10 times multiple return in four to seven years.  A later stage VC may be seeking a two to four times multiple return within two years.

You might also consider a strategic investor partner in place of a VC investment.  This could be a vendor, customer, or other business partner with whom you’re currently working, who might be interested in investing in your company.  A strategic investor often has deeper pockets than an angel investor, but typically has a specific reason for investing in your company – make sure you know the reason behind the investment.  The investor may only want to leverage your technology for its own purposes, which could have a negative impact on your business.  Or, the investor may want a licensing distribution agreement if your company succeeds, which could benefit you.  Make sure your interests are aligned.

Before you approach a VC for funding, examine your goals.  How much capital do you need?  Do you want passive or active investors?  Are you looking to ramp up your marketing efforts?  Grow your management team?  Does your Board of Directors need more seasoned expertise?  Answering these questions for yourself will help you decide whom to approach for investment capital, whether that be a VC, angel investor, strategic investor, or other. 

If you choose the VC path, make your best effort to get an entrée into your target VCs through a trusted referral.  And always do your homework, both on the VCs you’re targeting and on your own business needs.  ‘Do the math,’ come to the table prepared, and keep your presentation brief and to the point.  Know your ultimate business objectives, and be honest about those goals with your prospective investors.

While an IPO may be the most visible and glamorous form of exit, it’s not the most common.  Most companies are sold through a merger or acquisition event before an IPO can occur.  If the portfolio company is bought out or merges with another company, the VC receives stock or cash from the event.  

Another alternative may be the reorganization of a portfolio company’s debt and equity mixture, called a recapitalization.  The VC exchanges its equity for cash, the management team gains equity incentives, and the company is positioned for future growth.

The first step in approaching a VC is to submit a business plan.  At minimum, your plan should include:

• a description of the opportunity and market size;
• resumes of your management team;
• a review of the competitive landscape and solutions;
• detailed financial projections; and
• a capitalization table.  

You should also include an executive summary of your business proposal along with the business plan.

Once the VC has received your plan, it will discuss your opportunity internally and decide whether or not to proceed.  This part of the process can take up to three weeks, depending on the number of business plans under review at any given time. 

Don’t be passive about your submission.  Follow up with the VC to check the status of your proposal and to find out if there’s additional information you could be providing that might help the VC with its decision.  If you are asked for further information, respond quickly and effectively. If possible, always try to get a face-to-face meeting with the VC. 

Keep in mind that most VCs receive an average of 200 business plans each month.  Of those, less than five percent will be invited to meet with the VC’s partners.  Just two percent will reach the due diligence phase, and less than one percent will be offered a term sheet.  Some 0.3 percent of those submitting a business plan will ultimately obtain VC funding.

**The overwhelming majority of successful proposals come from a trusted referral of the VC, such as a limited partner, another VC, a known attorney or accountant, or other professional.  If you can get your business plan referred by such a contact, you dramatically increase your odds of succeeding in getting VC funding.

Step 2: Introductory Conversation/Meeting

If your firm has the potential to fit with the VC’s investment preferences, you will be contacted in order to discuss your business in more depth.  If, after this phone conversation, a mutual fit is still seen, you’ll be asked to visit with the VC for a one- to-two hour meeting to discuss the opportunity in more detail.  After this meeting, the VC will determine whether or not to move forward to the due diligence stage of the process.

Step 3: Due Diligence

The due diligence phase will vary depending upon the nature of your business proposal.  The process may last from three weeks to three months, and you should expect multiple phone calls, emails, management interviews, customer references, product and business strategy evaluations and other such exchanges of information during this time period.

Step 4: Term Sheets and Funding

If the due diligence phase is satisfactory, the VC will offer you a term sheet.  This is a non-binding document that spells out the basic terms and conditions of the investment agreement.  The term sheet is generally negotiable and must be agreed upon by all parties, after which you should expect a wait of roughly three to four weeks for completion of legal documents and legal due diligence before funds are made available.

You will, no doubt, be particularly concerned with the valuation of your company set forth in the term sheet.  To arrive at this figure, the VC takes into account your management team, your company’s market and competitive advantage in the marketplace, and your earning potential.  The various factors that go into a valuation are determined during the due diligence phase.  Note the difference between pre-money valuation – the valuation of your company before a VC invests in it, and post-money valuation – the pre-money valuation plus the contemplated investment amount. 

A good tip for negotiating the best valuation is to have multiple VCs interested in investing in your company. 

In negotiating your term sheet, keep in mind that there are two central issues for the VC.   The first is the economics of the deal, i.e. the return on investment and the terms that dictate that return.  The second is control, meaning how the VC will be able to exercise control over your company’s decisions.  The pertinent negotiations will revolve around these two issues.

Venture capitalists may review hundreds or thousands of business plans in any given year.  Even if you think your ideas are proprietary, they may be just similar enough to another entrepreneur’s that the VC takes on the added risk of legal action against it just by signing your NDA.  Also, for the VC, accepting NDAs adds the administrative burden of having to keep track of which NDA covers what entrepreneur’s ideas. 

If you do insist on having a VC sign a NDA, below is a sample that you can customize and use it for your own: 

(ABC COMPANY) UNILATERAL

CONFIDENTIAL DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT dated __________________, 20___ , by and between ABC Company, a (your state) Corporation (“ABC Company”) and ____________(“Recipient”). 

WHEREAS, ABC Company and Recipient, for their mutual benefit and pursuant to a working relationship which has been or may be established, anticipate that ABC Company may disclose or deliver to a working relationship which has been or may be established, anticipate that ABC Company may disclose or deliver to Recipient documents, components, parts, information, drawings, data, sketches, plans programs, specifications, techniques, processes, software, inventions and other materials, both written and oral, of a secret, confidential or proprietary nature, including without limitation any and all information relating to marketing, finance, forecasts, invention, research, design or development of information system and any supportive or incidental subsystems, and any and all subject matter claimed in or disclosed by any patent application prepared or filed by or behalf of by ABC Company, in any jurisdiction, and any amendments or supplements thereto (collectively, “Proprietary Information”); and 

WHEREAS, ABC Company desires to assure that the confidentiality of any Proprietary Information is maintained; 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises, and the mutual convenants contained herein, ABC Company and Recipient hereby agree as follows: 

1.          For a period of sixty (60) months from the date hereof, Recipient shall hold in trust and confidence, and not disclose to others or use for Recipient’s own benefit or for the benefit of another, any Proprietary Information which is disclosed to Recipient by ABC Company at any time between the date hereof and twelve (12) months thereafter.  Recipient shall disclose Proprietary Information received under this Agreement to person within its organization only if such persons (i) have a need to know and (ii) are bound in writing to protect the confidentiality of such Proprietary Information.  This paragraph 1 shall survive and continue after any expiration or termination of this Agreement and shall bind Recipient, its employees, agents, representatives, successors, heirs and assigns.

2.          The undertakings and obligations of Recipient under this Agreement shall not apply to any Proprietary Information which: (a) is described in an issued patent anywhere in the world, is disclosed in a printed publication available to the public, or is otherwise in the public domain through no action or fault of Recipient; (b) is generally disclosed to third parties by ABC Company without restriction on such third parties, or is approved for release by written authorization of ABC Company; (c) if not designated “confidential” at the time of first disclosure hereunder, or is not later designated in writing by ABC Company within thirty (30) days from disclosure to Recipient to be of a secret, confidential or proprietary nature; or (d) is shown to ABC Company by Recipient, within ten (10) days from disclosure, by underlying documentation to have been known by Recipient before receipt from ABC Company and/or to have been developed by Recipient completely independent of any disclosure by ABC Company.

3.          Title to all property received by Recipient from ABC Company, including all Proprietary Information, shall remain at all times the sole property of ABC Company, and this Agreement shall not be construed to grant to Recipient any patents, licenses or similar rights to such property and Proprietary Information disclosed to Recipient hereunder.

4.          Recipient shall, upon request of ABC Company, return to ABC Company all documents, drawings and other tangible materials, including all Proprietary Information and all manifestation thereof, delivered to Recipient, and all copies and reproductions thereof.

5.          The parties further agree to the following terms and conditions:

                                             i.                Any breach by Recipient of any of Recipient’s obligations under this Agreement will result in irreparable inquiry to ABC Company for which damages and other legal remedies will be inadequate.  In seeking enforcement of any of these obligations, ABC Company will be entitled (in addition to other remedies) to preliminary and permanent injunctive and other equitable relief to prevent, discontinue and/or restrain the breach of this Agreement.

                                           ii.                If any provision of this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable, then such provision shall be construed and limited to the extent necessary, or severed if necessary, in order to eliminate such invalidity or unenforceability, and the other provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby.

                                          iii.                In any dispute over whether information or matter is Proprietary Information hereunder, it shall be the burden of Recipient to show both that such contested information or matter is not Proprietary Information within the meaning of this Agreement, and that it does not constitute a trade secret under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act or successor or similar law in effect in the State of (your state).

                                         iv.                No delay or omission by either party in exercising any rights under this Agreement will operate as a waiver of that or any other right.  A waiver or consent given by either party on any one occasion is effective only in that instance and will not be construed as a bar to or waiver of any right on any other occasion.

                                           v.                This Agreement shall be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.

                                         vi.                This Agreement is governed by and will be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of (your state), and the courts of (your state) shall be the exclusive forum.

                                        vii.                This Agreement is in addition to any prior written agreement between ABC Company and Recipient relating to the subject matter of this agreement; in the event of any disparity or conflict between the provision of such agreements, the provision which is more protective of Proprietary Information shall control.  This Agreement may not be modified, in whole or in part, except by an agreement in writing signed by ABC Company and Recipient. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first above written.

ABC Company

By:  ______________________

        Signature

______________________

Printed Name

______________________

Title

RECIPIENT

By:  ______________________

        Signature

______________________

Printed Name

______________________

Title