is it worth it to double major in finance and accounting?
brett asked:
Hey, I am considering doing a double major in business (finance) and accounting. I can do it in 4 years, I would just have a tight schedule with a tougher work load and not be able to take any elective classes that seem interesting. Is it worth it to risk a better GPA if I were just to mahjor in accounting? How does it benefit me if I want to go into financial services (corporate finance, i-banking, private equity, hedge fund, venture capital…) and/or corp. finance in energy or healthcare?
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Hey, I am considering doing a double major in business (finance) and accounting. I can do it in 4 years, I would just have a tight schedule with a tougher work load and not be able to take any elective classes that seem interesting. Is it worth it to risk a better GPA if I were just to mahjor in accounting? How does it benefit me if I want to go into financial services (corporate finance, i-banking, private equity, hedge fund, venture capital…) and/or corp. finance in energy or healthcare?
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Nicles And Dimes In Israeli Venture Capital
Eze Vidra asked:
“By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day”, Robert Frost, American poet and winner of four Pulitzer prizes.
Israeli venture capital funds have been struggling to raise their target sums in the past few months, and the Israeli venture capital lost a quarter of a billion dollars for potential start up investments.
Tamir Fishman’s venture capital fundwill have to satisfy with a 100 million dollar fund rather than the $150 million it originally planned to raise. Tamir Fishman will also cease its fundraising efforts for a third fund Gemini Israel Funds had to settle for a $150 million fund, rather than the $200 million it originally planned for. It is the first time since 1997 that Gemini raises a fund smaller than $200 million. Giza Ventures has also dropped $50 million from its projected $150 million fund and has stopped its fundraising efforts on Giza 5. JVP and Genesis Partners are both currently working on raising additional funds, but are projected to fall 100 million dollar short as well by October. To add to the woes of the funds, partners are dropping right and left. According to YNET: Yuval Baharav, one of Sequoia’s senior partners has left the fund, to start a new company. Harel Beit-On has left Carmel Ventures. Michael Elias, one of Tamir Fishman’s five senior partners has left the fund for ‘family matters’. Gemini Ventures also shed one of its partners recently, Carmel Sofer, supposedly for his decision to start a doctoral program, but according to Israeli publications, due to disagreement on the fund’s investment strategy.
All together, it is a $250 million loss, out of an $800 million of total capital raised. The impact will likely be felt primarily by Israeli start ups, who are currently ‘thirsty’ for capital.
According to D&B, Israeli venture capital funds manage a total of 36 billion NIS (equivalent of approximately 9 billion dollars, depending on the exchange). That said, the active capital which is available for investment is only estimated at $1.31 billion and it is meant to suffice for the next couple of years. In comparison, in 2008 alone, investments in Israeli start ups reached $2.08 billion. Such a drastic decline in the available capital for start ups will seriously influence the growth of new technology companies, coming out of Israel.
The global economic crisis has hit the ’sponsors’ of venture capital including large pension funds, endowment funds and high net worth individuals. Calpers, the US largest pension fund with $183 billion under management, has already reported a 30% decline in the value of its assets since September, which represents an unprecedented loss of 70 billion dollar. Calpers was an investor in several Israeli venture capital funds such as Pitango, Carmel, Giza and Gemini.
Harvard’s endowment fund has lost 22% of its value, which came down to Eight billion dollars. The stock market and the collapse of the US real estate industry are the main causes for it loss. After these funds pulled out some of the money from those under performing asset classes, venture capital suddenly had a 3% to 10% share of their portfolio, which drove endowment funds to diversify more and eventually decrease their investments in risky ventures.
In the words of the New York Times:
Harvard, like other schools, is expected to be hurt by declines in other revenue streams, as well as the endowment. As families of students find themselves increasingly in need of financial aid, the revenue from tuition could fall. In addition, as the downturn puts strain on the government, federal grants and contracts for sponsored research are likely to encounter added stress.
There is not too much or a silver lining in the state of the venture capital industry in Israel. As discussions on potential government VC bailouts begin to take place in the US, the Israeli VCs are following attentively. One thing that did not change is the amount of raw talent and innovation coming out of Israel. This are vulnerable times for Israeli VCs, but a great opportunity for international funds who want to increase their presence in Israel.
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“By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day”, Robert Frost, American poet and winner of four Pulitzer prizes.
Israeli venture capital funds have been struggling to raise their target sums in the past few months, and the Israeli venture capital lost a quarter of a billion dollars for potential start up investments.
Tamir Fishman’s venture capital fundwill have to satisfy with a 100 million dollar fund rather than the $150 million it originally planned to raise. Tamir Fishman will also cease its fundraising efforts for a third fund Gemini Israel Funds had to settle for a $150 million fund, rather than the $200 million it originally planned for. It is the first time since 1997 that Gemini raises a fund smaller than $200 million. Giza Ventures has also dropped $50 million from its projected $150 million fund and has stopped its fundraising efforts on Giza 5. JVP and Genesis Partners are both currently working on raising additional funds, but are projected to fall 100 million dollar short as well by October. To add to the woes of the funds, partners are dropping right and left. According to YNET: Yuval Baharav, one of Sequoia’s senior partners has left the fund, to start a new company. Harel Beit-On has left Carmel Ventures. Michael Elias, one of Tamir Fishman’s five senior partners has left the fund for ‘family matters’. Gemini Ventures also shed one of its partners recently, Carmel Sofer, supposedly for his decision to start a doctoral program, but according to Israeli publications, due to disagreement on the fund’s investment strategy.
All together, it is a $250 million loss, out of an $800 million of total capital raised. The impact will likely be felt primarily by Israeli start ups, who are currently ‘thirsty’ for capital.
According to D&B, Israeli venture capital funds manage a total of 36 billion NIS (equivalent of approximately 9 billion dollars, depending on the exchange). That said, the active capital which is available for investment is only estimated at $1.31 billion and it is meant to suffice for the next couple of years. In comparison, in 2008 alone, investments in Israeli start ups reached $2.08 billion. Such a drastic decline in the available capital for start ups will seriously influence the growth of new technology companies, coming out of Israel.
The global economic crisis has hit the ’sponsors’ of venture capital including large pension funds, endowment funds and high net worth individuals. Calpers, the US largest pension fund with $183 billion under management, has already reported a 30% decline in the value of its assets since September, which represents an unprecedented loss of 70 billion dollar. Calpers was an investor in several Israeli venture capital funds such as Pitango, Carmel, Giza and Gemini.
Harvard’s endowment fund has lost 22% of its value, which came down to Eight billion dollars. The stock market and the collapse of the US real estate industry are the main causes for it loss. After these funds pulled out some of the money from those under performing asset classes, venture capital suddenly had a 3% to 10% share of their portfolio, which drove endowment funds to diversify more and eventually decrease their investments in risky ventures.
In the words of the New York Times:
Harvard, like other schools, is expected to be hurt by declines in other revenue streams, as well as the endowment. As families of students find themselves increasingly in need of financial aid, the revenue from tuition could fall. In addition, as the downturn puts strain on the government, federal grants and contracts for sponsored research are likely to encounter added stress.
There is not too much or a silver lining in the state of the venture capital industry in Israel. As discussions on potential government VC bailouts begin to take place in the US, the Israeli VCs are following attentively. One thing that did not change is the amount of raw talent and innovation coming out of Israel. This are vulnerable times for Israeli VCs, but a great opportunity for international funds who want to increase their presence in Israel.
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Part 2: How to Write a Business Plan to Raise Capital - Corporate Objectives
Len McDowall asked:
In this continuing series of articles on how to write a Business Plan or Information Memorandum to raise capital, Part 2 discusses business plan content specifically ‘corporate objectives’.
Corporate Objectives
When writing your business plan it’s important to state what aims and objectives the entrepreneurs are striving to achieve, both personally and for the company. In addition, these goals must be appropriate to the company’s industry sector and must blend with the objectives of potential investors who are approached, since venture capital investment can be considered as a partnership it is vital that each party has the same broad objectives.
This section on ‘corporate objectives’ will aid the investor in his or her appraisal process and avoids entrepreneurs wasting valuable time and energy trying to sell what may be a perfectly good business opportunity to financiers who admire the idea but are not likely backers.
Entrepreneurs will have to address four basic issues:-
• What do the founders want for themselves: money, power, success, excitement, status?
• What do the founders want for their company - to go public to sell out, to build an empire?
• How do the founders and corporate objectives fit with the experience of other companies in the industry sector? Investors will question business plans which deviate significantly from industry norms.
• What are the venture capitalists objectives and how do these compare with the above?
If these objectives are not coherent investors will resist.
The content of Business Plans will be covered further in subsequent articles by Len McDowall.
© Len McDowall, Integral Capital Group 19th October, 2007
www.integralcapital.com.au
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In this continuing series of articles on how to write a Business Plan or Information Memorandum to raise capital, Part 2 discusses business plan content specifically ‘corporate objectives’.
Corporate Objectives
When writing your business plan it’s important to state what aims and objectives the entrepreneurs are striving to achieve, both personally and for the company. In addition, these goals must be appropriate to the company’s industry sector and must blend with the objectives of potential investors who are approached, since venture capital investment can be considered as a partnership it is vital that each party has the same broad objectives.
This section on ‘corporate objectives’ will aid the investor in his or her appraisal process and avoids entrepreneurs wasting valuable time and energy trying to sell what may be a perfectly good business opportunity to financiers who admire the idea but are not likely backers.
Entrepreneurs will have to address four basic issues:-
• What do the founders want for themselves: money, power, success, excitement, status?
• What do the founders want for their company - to go public to sell out, to build an empire?
• How do the founders and corporate objectives fit with the experience of other companies in the industry sector? Investors will question business plans which deviate significantly from industry norms.
• What are the venture capitalists objectives and how do these compare with the above?
If these objectives are not coherent investors will resist.
The content of Business Plans will be covered further in subsequent articles by Len McDowall.
© Len McDowall, Integral Capital Group 19th October, 2007
www.integralcapital.com.au
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Best way to borrow money - venture capitalism?
lead2jesus asked:
I have a small business that would do a lot better if there was some capital. The problem is credit. I own all of my equipment and my building as well as an accounts receivable but banks do not care. So, the question is - how to find a reliable venture capitalist. Also, what is the best agreements for venture capitalism investments?
All I know is that I am a GREAT chiropractor as well as have a drug testing business that has the potential to go National but no financing.
I love the suggestion on business plan!!!
The point is not to go into debt.
I understand that one chiropractor has only so much capability but I am so below my capability due to inability to advertise. There are many secondary income centers that can be put in a Chiropractic office but require initial outlay of income to do so.
I appreciate the information on those who would like 51% interest in the company - too scary for me at this time. I have worked extremely hard to get where I am to lose my business on a technicality.
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I have a small business that would do a lot better if there was some capital. The problem is credit. I own all of my equipment and my building as well as an accounts receivable but banks do not care. So, the question is - how to find a reliable venture capitalist. Also, what is the best agreements for venture capitalism investments?
All I know is that I am a GREAT chiropractor as well as have a drug testing business that has the potential to go National but no financing.
I love the suggestion on business plan!!!
The point is not to go into debt.
I understand that one chiropractor has only so much capability but I am so below my capability due to inability to advertise. There are many secondary income centers that can be put in a Chiropractic office but require initial outlay of income to do so.
I appreciate the information on those who would like 51% interest in the company - too scary for me at this time. I have worked extremely hard to get where I am to lose my business on a technicality.
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How do I assemble a good management team?
xkweek asked:
I understand that angels and venture capital companies look for a rock solid business plan (idea) and an incredibly
competent management team. What is the first step in assembling your team especially when financially you’re very limited? Any advise?
I understand that angels and venture capital companies look for a rock solid business plan (idea) and an incredibly
competent management team. What is the first step in assembling your team especially when financially you’re very limited? Any advise?
Thank you for your time!
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Venture Capital Strategies - Web Marketing
Karen Benjamin asked:
s to capital raising, Internet is actually your best resource, not only you can find enormous amount of information, private equity firm and venture capital fund profiles - you can also use press releases and articles to your advantage. When comes to capital raising and deal assessments - the fist starting point for venture capital funds is always go to Internet, they will look at your website and do a detailed web search on your company and the industry. A good web marketing strategy will result in large amount of articles published or information about your company, and this is a great point to demonstrate to venture capital providers that you have a good marketing strategy in place already. If the venture capital providers are unable to find any information on your company, they are likely to skip your company due to insufficient information available on Internet - that they unable to find information to carry out even basic due diligence. Therefore, do not under-estimate the importance of web marketing and importance of press releases. Things you can do to impress Venture Capital Funds ? Client Profile - This is the best way to impress venture capital firms - it demonstrates you have existing clients, it shows you have client testimonials. If you have clients in diversified industries, include that and shows venture capital funds that you have diversified clients. ? Multilingual Website - This demonstrates you have international perspective, most of venture capital funds I have met are pretty global oriented people, they are not interested in just a company with a domestic market share. Popular languages are Chinese and Spanish - the 2 fastest growing communities in the world. ? Lots of Press Releases - Make regular press releases, best, if you can have them in different languages. If the venture capital fund can find press releases about your company independently, they will always be impressed. ? Plain Language - Big common mistake is use technical jargons, that always bore people to tears, imagine that venture capital funds review 5 to 10 business opportunities a day, you have less than 30 minutes to impress them, skip the jargons and save for later discussions. ? Know your competitors - No. 1 question asked by venture capital funds is always who your competitors are, and how are they going? If you are in an industry that all of your competitors are doing poorly, why should you be different? Highlight how your business is different from your competitors. Show them press release or company profiles about your competitors, these can always be obtained from Internet, show them you have carried out market intelligence. ? Blogs - Use blogs, company blogs, this can be for your own press releases or simply ideas and company development - venture capital firms have been finding this quite useful, and this can also help you in terms of web marketing. There are also other web marketing techniques you should explore to attract venture capital investors - join various private equity and venture capital groups and forums such as Facebook and LinkedIn as well as groups for your industry. This is a very useful technique and by doing so, many companies have established useful business networks and connections with others - we have done this for many years and we have established thousands of business contacts. The best way would be to ultimately creating a group for your industry on your own - that will continue to attract more like minded people to your group.
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s to capital raising, Internet is actually your best resource, not only you can find enormous amount of information, private equity firm and venture capital fund profiles - you can also use press releases and articles to your advantage. When comes to capital raising and deal assessments - the fist starting point for venture capital funds is always go to Internet, they will look at your website and do a detailed web search on your company and the industry. A good web marketing strategy will result in large amount of articles published or information about your company, and this is a great point to demonstrate to venture capital providers that you have a good marketing strategy in place already. If the venture capital providers are unable to find any information on your company, they are likely to skip your company due to insufficient information available on Internet - that they unable to find information to carry out even basic due diligence. Therefore, do not under-estimate the importance of web marketing and importance of press releases. Things you can do to impress Venture Capital Funds ? Client Profile - This is the best way to impress venture capital firms - it demonstrates you have existing clients, it shows you have client testimonials. If you have clients in diversified industries, include that and shows venture capital funds that you have diversified clients. ? Multilingual Website - This demonstrates you have international perspective, most of venture capital funds I have met are pretty global oriented people, they are not interested in just a company with a domestic market share. Popular languages are Chinese and Spanish - the 2 fastest growing communities in the world. ? Lots of Press Releases - Make regular press releases, best, if you can have them in different languages. If the venture capital fund can find press releases about your company independently, they will always be impressed. ? Plain Language - Big common mistake is use technical jargons, that always bore people to tears, imagine that venture capital funds review 5 to 10 business opportunities a day, you have less than 30 minutes to impress them, skip the jargons and save for later discussions. ? Know your competitors - No. 1 question asked by venture capital funds is always who your competitors are, and how are they going? If you are in an industry that all of your competitors are doing poorly, why should you be different? Highlight how your business is different from your competitors. Show them press release or company profiles about your competitors, these can always be obtained from Internet, show them you have carried out market intelligence. ? Blogs - Use blogs, company blogs, this can be for your own press releases or simply ideas and company development - venture capital firms have been finding this quite useful, and this can also help you in terms of web marketing. There are also other web marketing techniques you should explore to attract venture capital investors - join various private equity and venture capital groups and forums such as Facebook and LinkedIn as well as groups for your industry. This is a very useful technique and by doing so, many companies have established useful business networks and connections with others - we have done this for many years and we have established thousands of business contacts. The best way would be to ultimately creating a group for your industry on your own - that will continue to attract more like minded people to your group.
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How do I locate potential investors in my existing business?
QDK asked:
11 years in business. It is a high tech company with a new product. The product is unique and we have already sold and shipped several orders. Now we have more orders but the company needs a financial shot in the arm to really take off big. There is very good potential but it’s not bankable because of the risk involved. I own all of the shares of the company and am ready to seek outside investment. With no experience in selling company stock I have no idea where to find potential investors. It’s too small for venture capital. What avenues should be persued to find investors. Serious answers only please.
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11 years in business. It is a high tech company with a new product. The product is unique and we have already sold and shipped several orders. Now we have more orders but the company needs a financial shot in the arm to really take off big. There is very good potential but it’s not bankable because of the risk involved. I own all of the shares of the company and am ready to seek outside investment. With no experience in selling company stock I have no idea where to find potential investors. It’s too small for venture capital. What avenues should be persued to find investors. Serious answers only please.
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