Essentials of Venture Capital

ALEXANDER HAISLIP specializes in venture capital and technology investment analysis. He is a columnist for Forbes.com and has been a senior writer at Thomson Reuters's Venture Capital Journal and Private Equity Hub for the past four years. He holds an economics degree and a finance certificate from Princeton University and a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Mr. Haislip has won awards from the New York Financial Writers Association, the National Press Foundation, and the Western Publishing Association. The London-based Management Consultancies Association recognized him as one of the "Best Young Management Writers." In addition to researching and writing, Mr. Haislip also conducts conferences and moderates panels of experts on topics such as venture capital, cleantech, energy, buyouts, fundraising, and private equity. You can find more information about Mr. Haislip at his Web site, www.AlexanderHaislip.com.

• Preface ixAcknowledgments xv1 Industry Overview 1What Is Venture Capital? 1How Venture Capital Works 8Performance Expectations 16Venture Capital in Crisis 28Summary 37Notes 382 Careers and Organization 39Launching a Career 39Nurturing Your Career as a Venture Capitalist 43Firm Structure and Organization 54Planning for the Future 60Summary 64Notes 663 Fundraising 67Fundraising Is a Venture Capitalist’s Number-One Priority 68What Limited Partners Want 71Working with Limited Partners 73Why Invest in Funds That Lose Money? 80First-Time Funds 89Bigger Funds 97The Future of Fundraising 99Summary 101Notes 1034 Investing Basics 105What Makes a Good Deal? 105Macroeconomics of Investing 109Investment Process 114Stock Classifications 118Typical Preferred Stock Clauses 120Stock During Different Stages of Development 128Syndication 131Valuation 133Summary 140Notes 1425 Finding Investments 145Gathering Opportunities 146Hunting for Investments 148Growing Your Own Investments 159Alternative Methods 163Missed Opportunities 169Summary 170Notes 1726 Getting the Money Back 175Gains from Investment 176Going Public 178Getting Acquired 188The IPO Crisis 195Solving the IPO Problem 197Are Fewer IPOs a Bad Thing? 200New Strategies and Adaptations for Liquidity 204Summary 216Notes 2197 Booms, Bubbles, and Busts 223Riding the Waves 225Boom Beginnings 230Bubbles 237Busts 242Summary 249Notes 2518 Going Global 253Strategies for Foreign Investing 254Venture Capital Outside the United States 263Israel 264China 270India 277Russia 283Europe 288The Rest of the World 296Summary 300Notes 303About the Author 307Index 309