Venture screening process Essays

Venture screening process Essays Venture screening process Essay Venture screening process Essay The new venture is an enterprise of a business nature in which there is considerable risk of loss as well as chance of gain (Oxford English Dictionary, 1989, Vol. XIX, p. 520). The word venture literally means a risky undertaking, which makes venture capitalists risk-takers. However, like all other types of investors, venture capitalists will only invest if perceived returns are greater than perceived risk. The saying, greater the risk, greater the return holds for venture capital financing provided it is not a speculative deal. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and quantify the probability of risk. The study by MacMillan, Siegel, and Narasimha have been undertaken to determine which criteria are important for evaluate new venture proposals. Some criteria have been point out by the Journal as the common criteria. This article is going to have a review on those criteria provide by MacMillan, Siegel, and Narasimaha and have a critical analysis whether those criteria provided could make the venture proposals successful. Summaries of the journal According to the study, the most important criteria is the quality of the entrepreneur that ultimately determines the funding decision. In the first part of the study, 24 criteria were scaled under 5 catalogs and use a survey method to examine the importance of them. The results of the study have found out that personality and experience, product and market characteristics and financial consideration are the most important criteria for venture capitalists to qualify the proposals. For personality and experience, the most important personality characteristics are evidence of staying power and an ability to handle risk. For product and market characteristics, the most important characteristic appears to be some proprietary protection. Finally for the financial considerations, the key concerns are with high upside potential and high investment liquidity. Then the study has identified 5 out of 10 most commonly rated criteria as essential have to do with the entrepreneurs themselves. By and large venture capitalists will not back ventures unless the entrepreneur is capable of sustained effort, has demonstrated leadership in the past, evaluates and reacts to risk well, has a track record relevant to the venture, and is capable of articulating the venture well. The study has also point out the characteristics of critically flawed proposals is a is important for venture capitalists to qualify the projects. That is , proposals that would be rejected by a significant majority of venture capitalists if they had only two flaws of the previous mentioned five most important criteria. Finally, with a factor analysis, the study allocates the venture capitalists into 3 broad types the Purposeful Risk Managers, the Determined Eclectics and the Parachutists. The Purposeful Risk Managers seeks the entrepreneurs with demonstrated leadership skills and a product and market with characteristics that clearly reduce the risk to manageable levels. The Determined Eclectics appear to deliberately impose an absolute minimum number of restrictions. And the Parachutists willing to support most ventures as long as they feel that they have a high liquidity parachute. The study by MacMillan, Siegel and Narasimha did provide us some common criteria for evaluating new proposals, but there are still some critics on those criteria listed by the author. Critiques of the journal According to the conclusion of the journal, the most important thing to consider for evaluation a new proposal is the quality of the entrepreneur. But in the real world venture capital practices there are some cases which quite match the criteria provide by MacMillan, Siegel and Narasimha and still failed. For example, according to the information provided by the study of MacMillan, Siegel and Subbanarasimha 1987, the investment on a highly familiar with the targeted market and had a well-established relevant track record team could just failed because the lack in capacity for sustained and intense effort. And also, according to the flawed ventures studies in this journal, it was said that if the proposals cannot match at least two of those indicator criteria the venture capitals would give up it. But there do are some example that represents a venture team lacking in terms of all the desirable criteria but only have high product protection and become successful. Finally, we should mention that Research by social judgment theorists suggests that espoused decision-making processes (that this present arguing study fallen in) may be a less than accurate reflection of in use decision-making processes (Shepherd, 1999, p.76). Conclusion The study that carried out by MacMillan, Siegel and Narasimha provide us some common criteria for evaluating new venture proposals. Those criteria are useful tools to indicate the successful of certain venture. Some of those criteria are key finds that still influence the venture capitalists in nowadays. But we should also notice there are numbers of criteria for judging a new proposal and some of those criteria have been marked as important criteria. But in real world practice proposals might be failed just because the lacking of the least important criteria even if they have all the other important criteria. And also, some venture cases may well successful with only one less important criteria (product protection) even they do not have any other desirable criteria mentioned by the study. As venture capital present a risk taking action, it is better to have a careful view on those criteria and chose the most appropriate one to reduce the risk to the lowest point. REFERENCES MacMillan, Zemann, Subbanarasimha, P. N 1987, Journal of Business Venturing Criteria distinguishing successful from unsuccessful ventures in the venture screening process Fred Pries 2001, Distinguishing successful from unsuccessful venture capital investments in technology-based new ventures: How investment decision criteria relate to deal performance, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Brealey Myers, Principles of corporate finance, McGraw-Hill 2003

Unveiling the Unknown This essay is a persuasive essay for English class concerning space exploration and reasons in which to do so.

Unveiling the Unknown This essay is a persuasive essay for English class concerning space exploration and reasons in which to do so. Some of Life's greatest questions have always been "Who are we?" "Why are we here?" and "Where are we going?" In a lifetime, most of us will probably never discover the answers to these questions. Many people use God as an outlet for answers to the questions they cannot explain themselves. Whether you believe in God or not, you are never going to truly know if he exists until death. That's why re-focusing our efforts on space exploration is the key to understanding everything going on around us. Space is out there waiting for us to reveal its mysterious secrets. Earth's future depends on space exploration. Life on Earth is beginning to wear away, and if we want to do something about it we must find new solutions.Perhaps the most important reason why human beings should focus on space exploration is because of the lack of natural resources on Earth.English: Artist's rendering of a Mars Exploration ...Someday we will run out of resources and it will be too late to find other solutions to our problems. That's why we have to study different ways of creating resources, so in the future we will have numerous ways of solving our problems. Asteroids have many minerals that aren't found on Earth. If we found out a way to drill asteroids and bring the minerals back to Earth's surface, we could make up for whatever we ran out of. Another possibility to drilling is we may find new minerals that can be used in the industrial field. Hematite, magnetite, and taconite are all minerals that can be found on Mars and the moon. When Earth's minerals become scarce we can use minerals other planets have to offer. These minerals can be useful for making steel, automobiles, and other types of transportation.Another reason why space...

Conjugation of Past or Preterite Tense Verbs in Spanish

Conjugation of Past or Preterite Tense Verbs in Spanish As one of Spanishs two simple past tenses, the preterite  has a conjugation that is essential to learn. It is the verb form used most often to tell of events that have already happened and that are seen as completed. The other simple past tense, the imperfect, is used for past actions that are not completed, meaning the past action did not have a definite beginning or a definite end. How to Conjugate the Preterite Tense In Spanish, verbs are the words that change the most often and depend on different tenses, moods, gender, and agreement in person according to what needs to be conveyed in the sentence. A verb ending can indicate when the action occurs, and also give the listener a better idea of who or what is performing the action. As is the case with standard Spanish conjugation rules, the preterite verb forms are made by removing the infinitive ending of the verb, such as -ar, -er or -ir, and replacing it with an ending that indicates who is performing the action of the verb. Verbs agree in person and number. For example, the infinitive or base form of the verb that means to speak is hablar. Its infinitive ending is -ar, and the verb stem is habl-. To say I spoke, remove the -ar, add -à © to the stem, forming hablà ©. Yo hablà © is I spoke. To say you spoke, singular you in an informal way, remove the -ar, add -aste to the stem, forming hablaste:  Tu hablaste is You spoke. Other forms exist for other personal pronouns. The endings are slightly different for verbs that end in -er and -ir, but the principle is the same. Remove the infinitive ending, then add the appropriate ending to the remaining stem. Conjugation of Regular -AR Verbs in the Preterite Tense Person -Ar Ending Infinitive: Hablar Translation: To Speak yo - habl I spoke t -aste hablaste you (informal) spoke l, ella, usted - habl he/she spoke, you (formal) spoke nosotros, nosotras -amos hablamos we spoke vosotros, vosotras -asteis hablasteis you spoke (informal) ellos, ellas, ustedes -aron hablaron they spoke, you (formal) spoke Conjugation of Regular -ER Verbs in the Preterite Tense Person -Er Ending Infinitive: Aprender Translation: To Learn yo - aprend I learned t -iste aprendiste you (informal) learned l, ella, usted -i aprendi he/she learned, you (formal) learned nosotros, nosotras -imos aprendimos we learned vosotros, vosotras -isteis aprendisteis you learned (informal) ellos, ellas, ustedes -ieron aprendieron they learned, you (formal) learned Conjugation of Regular -IR Verbs in the Preterite Tense Person -Ir Ending Infinitive: Escribir Translation: To Write yo - escrib I wrote t -iste escribiste you (informal) wrote l, ella, usted -i escribi he/she wrote, you (formal) wrote nosotros, nosotras -imos escribimos we wrote vosotros, vosotras -isteis escribisteis you wrote (informal) ellos, ellas, ustedes -ieron escribieron they wrote, you (formal) wrote In the preterite tense, regular -er and -ir verbs use the same pattern of endings. Additionally, the first-person plural, the we form of nosotros and nosotras, has the same conjugation for both the present indicative tense and the preterite past tense for -ar and -ir verbs. The word hablamos can mean either we speak or we spoke, and escribimos can mean either we write or we wrote. In most cases, the context of the sentence makes clear which tense is intended. Conjugations of Common Irregular Verbs Below are the preterite-tense for the irregular verbs you are most likely to use. Irregular forms are shown in boldface; the forms given follow the same order as in the charts above, beginning with the first-person singular and continuing to the third-person plural. dar (to give): di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron. decir (to say, to tell): dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron. estar (to be): estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron. haber (to have as an auxiliary verb): hube, hubiste, hubo, hubimos, hubisteis, hubieron. hacer (to make, to do): hice, hiciste, hizo, hizimos, hicisteis, hicieron. ir (to be): fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. (Note that the preterite conjugations of ir and ser are identical.) llegar (to arrive): lleguà ©, llegaste, llegà ³, llegamos, llegasteis, llegaron. poder (to be able, can): pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron. poner (to put): puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, puisisteis, pusieron. querer (to be): quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron. saber (to know): supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron. ser (to be): fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. tener (to have or possess): tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron. ver (to see): vi, viste, vio, vimos, visteis, vieron.

Spicy Cola Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Spicy Cola - Case Study Example Last Chance with the plan to expand its product line wants to enter into the soft drink beverage market. With the new product Spicy Cola the company wants to grab the market with its difference in the product feature. The company primarily targets the Australian supermarkets in Class A category and is not expected to be in direct competition with the similar player of the market like Pepsi and Coca Cola.The new product from Last Chance is mainly targeted towards the young generation for its trendy, cool and active nature and taste of the drinks. This product differentiation from the company is expected to have huge potential in the market for its unique taste. This research is mainly concerned with the development of the branding plan for the product. For finding the drawbacks of the product qualitative research survey was conducted amongst sample customer to understand the need of the product and its packaging for a proper implementation of the strategy in accordance to the mood, ta ste and color of the soft drink. The branding plan describes each and every aspects of the launch process from brand name, logo, target market, positioning strategy, pricing strategy, promotion and advertisement and packaging design for Spicy Cola to brand equity management system for the evaluation of the product success after the launch in the market. Rationale for brand name & brand mantra Building a brand name and brand mantra are one of the essential dimensions of product development process. Building a powerful brand name can even name the whole category of products like Xerox refers to photocopy category (Marconi & American Marketing Association, 2000, p. 4). Last Chance needs to develop a strong brand name for its Soft drinks in the market so that customers are more familiar to the product and can recognize the difference from its name. On the other hand brand mantra depicts the features of the product with a short phrase. The phrase gives the idea to the customer the positi on in the market and the target market which can influence the group to be more attracted towards the product (Keller, 2008, p. 144). The new soft drink from Last Chance was named as ‘Spicy Cola’ which clearly depicts its difference from the other players with its ‘SPICY’ flavor and also gives the impression in the mind of the people about its trendy, cool taste from the name which was mainly targeted towards the young generation. Brand elements and attributes Brand element is the nature of the product offered by the company and general information about the product with its characteristics and features (Keller, 2008, p. 163). It is the product features which make them different from others in the competitive market. With more relevance with the market need and the character of the product the more successful a brand can be in the market. Spicy Cola with its trendy, cool style refers to the friendly, free nature of the young generation. The black color and candy smell of the drink was perceived to be for both the genders and for all the age group of 12 to 30 and for all the cities. The sparkling cinnamon taste can be consumed at any point of time by the people. The design which was selected after the research survey also suits the identity of the product features which has a great potential to grab the market share in the cold drink beverage industry. Target Market Identifying the target audience can help the company to launch its product in a more successful manner. The primary and the secondary target market are needed to be identified by Last Chance in accordance to the product features and properly implement its strategy to the market to increase sales

Human resource performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human resource performance - Essay Example As coaching managers, they have to pay attention to the behaviors, values and skills that are linked to the desired outcomes by the organization. As the senior manager, I will emphasize on the need for listening as this aspect is counter-intuitive. For instance, I would ask the managers to meet with the employees or even the supervisors and managers so as they discuss the difficulties they encounter. Through sharing their points of view, these parties develop rapport; thus, accommodate each others point of view. Additionally, I will plan to focus on the behaviors that need to be changed. I will highlight these change areas in meetings. For instance, I will clearly highlight that use of unwanted language is unacceptable in the office, with specific examples that some employees or even supervisors used. Through explaining this out rightly to the employees will reduce chances of reoccurrence of the same as the particular individuals with these behaviors will know that have been identified from the crowd (Bacal 162). As the senior manager, I will focus on the need to explain the importance of interpersonal relationships in the workplace. As argued by Bacal, performance can only be attained in an organization only if another people’s interests are identified and respected (155). In this case, chances of verbal abuse will be minimal as the managers will instill the feeling of co-working in the entire workplace. None of the employees or supervisor will, therefore, take up a perfectionist role; thus, reduction of hostility and an increase in the employee relations (Weintraub & Hunt 112). In terms of increased turnover, I will train managers on the need to be more patient while hiring and not do it out of mere desperation. Gathering adequate information on an applicant is vital for the long term success of the company as the manager will hire the best person from the list of

Corporate finace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Corporate finace - Essay Example Online Travel Portal Limited used to be the former name of Opodo Limited prior to July 2001. It is a subsidiary of Amadeus IT Holding, South Africa. However, it is based in London, UK and was incorporated in the year 2000. The Financial Times reported that Permira Advisers Ltd. and AXA Private Equity seem to join hands together for the purpose of buying Opodo Limited from Amadeus IT Holding SA at the cost of â‚ ¬500 million that is equal to USD 682.5 million. The prime objective of the planned buyout is to develop the best online booking services provider through merging the Opodo Limited with the eFreame and Go Voyages SA. Also, the American Carlyle Group has shown some intend to buy Opodo limited due to which the bids for Opodo exceeded â‚ ¬400 million since any bid would probably be challenged by Carlyle Group. Some sources reported that the Permira would bid through Vacaciones eDreams, S.L. where as the Axa would be bidding through Go Voyages SA. The process of this sale wi ll be handled by the JPMorgan Chase. Permira and Axa have been bidding against each other for the acquisition of medium sized European web based travel agencies prior to joining together so as to acquire Opodo Limited. In the last year, Permira defeated Axa so as to acquire eDreams-Spanish online agency where as the Axa won against Permira for the acquisition of Go Voyages. After which they together planned to develop a giant European agency through merging the Opodo Limited, after its acquisition if their bid for it is successful, with the previously acquired eDreams and Go Voyages. At present, the Amadeus IT Holding owns the Opodo Limited and this business venture involves only 4 % of their entire business turnover. Financial Performance Indicators Financial performance indicators for the three companies are provided below. Chart 1: Annual Sales Permira Advisers Ltd for the Last 5 Years in Million USD. The chart 1 given above provides interesting information about the annual sales of the Permira Advisers Ltd that enables us to apprehend the performance of the company before the acquisition of OPODO Limited. Chart 2: Annual Sales AXA Private Equity for the Last 5 Years in Million USD. The chart 2 given above provides interesting information about the annual sales of the AXA Private Equity that enables us to apprehend the performance of the company before the acquisition of OPODO Limited. Chart 3: Annual Sales OPODO Limited for the Last 5 Years in Million USD. The chart provides interesting information about the annual sales of the OPODO Limited that enables us to apprehend the performance of the company before its acquisition. Due to the above performance of Opodo, other companies are interested towards its acquisition. Why Are Mergers & Acquisitions Interesting? The most important factor for the mergers and acquisitions is the existence of "synergies" that enables the two companies to operate more efficiently together in comparison to be working individually . Nevertheless in some cases, organization may obtain tax benefits from a merger or acquisition. 'Horizontal' mergers that take place between companies functioning in the same industry at the same production level may also be instigated through the wish for greater market power, as in the current case of OPODO acquisition by the Permira and AXA (being merged together). Also,

Childhood Obesity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Childhood Obesity - Research Paper Example It should also be noted that children are becoming obese at a younger age and as Ebbeling et al (2002) put it, this can be highly attributed to the sedentary life lived for most part of the day at school. Arguing from Ebbeling claim, it is evident that many obese children take little or no time to engage in physical activities. Research indicates that children age 6-11 are vulnerable to obesity because of the nature of life they lead. For example, a child goes to school by bus, takes most of his time in class seated, and goes home by bus. This child may have no time to engage in an exercise that would result into sweating. Healthy living guides demand that children should engage in physical exercise in order to make them active. Many parents are not aware of the danger involved when a child does not take any exercises. Method of data collection For this research, questionnaires will be used as the method of data collection. The questionnaires will be designed in such a way that it wi ll allow the obese children, parents and teachers or social workers to respond. This will ensure that adequate information is collected relating to the child’s eating habits and level of activity both at home and school. Data collection will take place at home and school with the consent of the teachers and parents. Another method of data collection would be research information obtained from libraries. This information would help to identify aspects that promote obesity among children. Preliminary findings Results obtained so far indicate that many children in the US are becoming obese at a younger age and at the same time; there is a rise in the number of pre-schools in center-based programs (Peiser et al, 2005). According to the findings obesity cases in... The paper tells that main cause of child obesity is physical inactivity is important because childhood obesity is steadily affecting low income and middle-income countries. This means that childhood obesity is not just about eating in excess or getting a lot of calorie-rich drinks and foods. It should also be noted that children are becoming obese at a younger age and as Ebbeling et al put it, this can be highly attributed to the sedentary life lived for most part of the day at school. Research indicates that children age 6-11 are vulnerable to obesity because of the nature of life they lead. For example, a child goes to school by bus, takes most of his time in class seated, and goes home by bus. This child may have no time to engage in an exercise that would result into sweating. Healthy living guides demand that children should engage in physical exercise in order to make them active. Many parents are not aware of the danger involved when a child does not take any exercises. The re port recommends increase in time allocated for physical exercise among children in school. Another recommendation of the report is to limit time taken by children playing non-physical games. This will lead children to active participation. In conclusion, obesity is a disease that results from accumulation of too much fat in the body. Obesity leads to low self-esteem, social stagnation and health complexities. Research findings indicate that physical inactiveness of a child promotes obesity among the children. Largely, accumulation of fats in the body results from eating without spending the same amount of energy.