This paper examines if Swedish government funded venture capital has managed to achieve the general goals set out by the government. The basis of the paper is a report published by The Swedish National Audit Office in 2014 and the paper is analysing the picture given in the report. This has been done through four different studies to see in what phases that capital is given, if they act in a complementary way through time, in what region the capital is given and by studying if there is a financial difference in different portfolio companies. This has been done by comparing private and governmental venture capital firms. The result indicates that the government funded venture capital invest less in early stages compared to the private firms. There is no statistical difference when talking about the financial development of the portfolio companies. The government funded venture capital seems to be acting in more region compared to the private and has less investments in the big city areas. The government funded venture capital might act in a complementary way or they might be crowding out the private venture capital-firms. / Uppsatsen undersöker om statligt finansierat venture capital har uppfyllt de generella riktlinjer som satts upp av regeringen. Grunden till uppsatsen ligger i Riksrevisionens rapport från 2014 och analyserar den bild som läggs fram och försöker genom undersökningar och teori diskutera om kritiken är relevant. Detta har gjorts genom fyra olika undersökningar i syfte att se till vilka faser kapitalet skjuts till, om de agerar marknadskompletterande över tiden, vilka regioner kapitalet går till samt hur portföljbolagen presterar rent ekonomiskt över tiden. Detta görs genom en jämförelse mellan de privata och statliga venture capital-aktörerna. Det som resultatet indikerar är att de statliga aktörerna inte investerar i tidigare faser än de privata. Det går inte att statistiskt se en skillnad mellan de privata och statliga aktörerna gällande utvecklingen på de portföljbolag som de äger eller har ägt. De statliga aktörerna verkar gå in i färre storstadsregioner än de privata samt att de väljer att investera i fler regioner generellt. De statliga aktörerna verkar agerar marknadskompletterande över tid, det skulle dock kunna vara så att de tränger ut de privata aktörerna.

L’objectif de notre travail est de vérifier s’il existe une relation entre les mécanismes de gouvernance exercée par les capital-Investisseurs et la performance financière des entreprises camerounaises. Selon les théories juridico – financières et cognitives, des mécanismes peuvent influencer la performance financière. A partir d’un échantillon de 70 entreprises, observées sur la période de cinq ans, nos résultats indiquent que, conformément aux prédictions de la théorie de l’agence et celles qui ont trait aux théories cognitives de la gouvernance, la performance financière croît en présence des mécanismes traditionnels et liés au capital-Investissement. D’autre part, les capital-Investisseurs développent un mécanisme de gouvernance disciplinaire et cognitif spécifiques à un environnement africain particulier. / The objective of our work is to test a relationship between governance mechanisms using by venture capitalist and financial performance of Cameroonians companies. According to the legal theories - Financial and cognitive, mechanisms can influence financial performance. From a sample of 70 firms over the period of five years, our results indicate that, as predicted by the theory of agency and one that features the cognitive aspects of governance, financial performance grew in the presence of traditional mechanisms and specific venture capital.

Private equity is a specific way of financing business, which increases the equity of firms and does not affect cash-flow of the business. This thesis provides basic information on the operation of private equity and an overview of the private equity market in the Czech Republic. One of the fundamental problems in the Czech market is currently the lack of promotion of private equity and venture capital. Communication activities of CVCA (The Czech Venture Capital and Private Equity Association), which covers the promotion and providing of information about this topic on the Czech market, shows significant shortcomings. The basic goal of this thesis is therefore to address this problem and design a communication strategy for CVCA. Identified are key target groups, tools and methods of communication, which should lead to more intensive promotion and education about venture capital and private equity on the Czech market.

This study sought to examine whether the use of tax incentives to boost investment into the SME sector is an effective policy for economic development. More specifically, the study focused on the Section 12J tax incentive of the Income Tax Act of South Africa, which underpins the current venture capital companies' (VCC) regime for this country. This VCC regime is aimed at addressing the challenge of lack of access to finance by SMEs, and it does so by incentivising venture capital investors to provide equity capital to qualifying SMEs. These SMEs are, in turn, expected to grow and help reduce the economic challenges of poverty and unemployment in South Africa. A mixed methods research approach was adopted for this study. It was also inductive in nature, based on primary data collected from a survey of various stakeholders of the VCC regime using a convenience sampling method. The data variables of the study were based on factors relating to the impact that the VCC regime has had on SMEs in terms of financial performance and creation of decent employment. The study concludes that the VCC regime has had a positive impact on the South African SME sector in terms of financial performance and creation of decent employment. As a result, the VCC regime has shown to be an effective tool for addressing various economic challenges, such as: lack of access to finance faced by SMEs, high failure rate of SME businesses, and poverty alleviation through provision of decent employment by SMEs. Thus, the resultant recommendation submitted in the study is that the VCC regime should as such be extended beyond its current sunset date in order to ensure the South African economy continues to enjoy the benefits that the regime has to offer.

This thesis deals with the external financing of venture capital at selected enterprises in the Czech Republic. In the first chapter, theoretical bases of a venture capital will be issued from several perspectives of different authors and the principles, and corporate financing of venture capital will be subsequently explained. This chapter also describes the significance of venture capital as an alternative source of corporate financing in the Czech Republic in the context of European development and the basis for evaluation of the impact of venture capital on individual companies. In the analytical part, selected companies will be presented, and the results of the financial analysis for each year in the periods before, during the cooperation between the investor and the enterprise, and the venture investor withdrawal. Based on the results of the financial analysis and the analysis of the monitored period, economic development of selected enterprises will be compared, and the evaluation of whether a selected form of financing for the company was chosen appropriately or not, will be done. Eventually, possible ways of dealing with problematic situations will be determined.

Risk and return management is one of the core competencies of venture capital companies (VCCs) as they invest in young, innovative firms with a high return potential, but also high risk potential. Due to the liability of smallness, newness and financial constraints young, innovative firms are constantly under the threat of failure. In the scope of this dissertation are four related studies – three empirical studies and one literature review – analyzing the risk and return management of VCCs. In particular, risk assessment and risk management and value adding activities in the post investment phase were examined. In the first article, authors analyze which risks are relevant over the whole venture capital (VC) investment process and show how VCCs assess and documents risks in their deal documents. The second article studies risk management practices of VCCs. We show that the experience and the skills of the corresponding investment manager have a significantly negative impact on the failure risk of a venture. Article three analyzes value creation measures applied by VCCs. The results suggest that VCCs are highly engaged in supporting ventures in financial and human capital issues as well as in establishing strong governance mechanisms. The fourth article also deals with the foregone topic. This paper provides a literature analysis on value adding activity measures in VC investments, synthesizes the variables measuring the main levers of value adding and identifies directions for improvement in terms of data, variables and methods.:1. Introduction 2. The entire research project 3. Risk and return management of venture capital companies in the post-investment phase 3.1 Risk types and risk assessment in venture capital investments: A content analysis of investors´ original documents 3.2 Risk management in the venture capital industry: Managing risk in portfolio companies 3.3. Value adding activities of venture capital companies: A content analysis of investor´s original documents in Germany 3.4 Value adding activities in venture capital literature: A review on data, variables and methods 4. Further research in the venture capital field

Background: There has been a great effort in the venture capital research community in trying to identify what criteria are used by venture capital firms (VCFs) when evaluating new ventures as an investment opportunity. Efforts have also been put on trying to rank these criteria’s importance in relation to each other, with the main literature arguing that the new venture team (NVT) has the greatest influence over the VCF’s investment decision. Although there is scientific consensus regarding the superior importance of the NVT relative to other criteria, the practical methods used by VCFs to evaluate the NVT is highly underexplored. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the decision process and evaluation of NVTs by VCFs in the Nordic venture capital industry. Method: A qualitative method with an inductive approach conducted through semi-structured interviews with seven relevant industry professionals within the Nordic venture capital space. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the evaluation of NVTs follows a linear process of five sequential phases. Ten practical evaluation methods are identified as being used in the five phases of the process. The evaluation of specific NVT sub-criteria is found to be influenced by the availability of methods of evaluation in a respective phase of the process. Furthermore, it is found that the first phase of the process can only evaluate hard NVT sub-criteria, and that to evaluate soft sub-criteria, methods underlined by personal interaction between the two involved parties are necessary. The findings are synchronized into a framework depicting the dynamics of the NVT evaluation process and temporality of the NVT sub-criteria.

This study is within the field of financial innovation and entrepreneurship. The thesis’s primary purpose is to investigate how and why entrepreneurs in Sweden are positioning themselves in regarding Initial Coin Offerings as a new financial vehicle based on the Swedish regulations and the underlying factors to the entrepreneur’s point of view. The literature contributes a limited knowledge of the Swedish industry concerning ICOs, and therefore this research aims to enhance awareness. Through qualitative research based on eleven interviews, we conclude there is a general lack of knowledge and risk-aversion from the absence of regulations in Sweden. Furthermore, all interviewed entrepreneurs were open-minded about an ICO with certain limitations. Considering that, on average, an enticing secondary market has existed for the tokens issued by ICOs, and a remarkable amount of money has been left on the table by project promoters, investors seeking for potential profit have hoarded the cryptocurrency space, creating a situation similar to the dot-com bubble. Thus, we also discuss the benefits, drawbacks, and the possible fate regarding ICOs, a new financing method that should not be overlooked.

Whenever someone starts a company from scratch there is a great chance he or she (the entrepreneur) looks for funding. People who fund entrepreneurs and start-­‐ups are usually venture capitalists or business angels. Whether it is one or the other these people want to invest wisely. However without last year’s report piling up at the reception of this start-­‐up another approach is necessary. This master thesis focuses on how valuation is possible without haveing financial data. The main focus the thesis is to find whitch personal attributes you should look for in a successful future entrepreneur.

Crowdfunding is becoming a new form of funding used by entrepreneurs in Sweden who seek financing for their ventures or projects. This form of funding of which the crowdfunders invest in a nontraditional alternative requires a relationship between the crowdfunders and the entrepreneurs. This thesis aims to provide extensive information into how entrepreneurs and crowdfunders interact with each other. While considering research that has been carried out so far on the growth of crowdfunding, the author wishes to provide more detailed findings and an understanding of how crowdfunders and founders operate after equity crowdfunding.The empirical findings were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire from 20 Swedish entrepreneurs that are currently engaged with equity Crowdfunding and have received funding for their ventures. The basis for the design of the questionnaire was built upon a literature review and previous researches. The research was carried out as an exploratory study using a qualitative approach known as thematic method of data analysis to investigate entrepreneur and crowdfunders relationships and what successes can be recorded based on the relationship.This thesis indicates that the entrepreneurs were largely satisfied with the relationship and benefits they derived from equity crowdfunding. However, this research also presented challenges and benefits of crowdfunding as experienced by the respondents. The benefits of the crowdfunders-entrepreneurs relationship as a factor have contributed to entrepreneurs' wellbeing as described by the participants.