Venture Capital/Private Equity is medium to long-term finance provided in return for a shareholding in unquoted companies.

For the purposes of this guide ‘Private Equity’ refers to ‘Venture Capital’ and ‘Business Angel’ investments at stages in a company’s development, from the seed to expansion stages, as well as management buy-outs and buy-ins. The terms Venture Capital and Private Equity should therefore be regarded as interchangeable phrases.

The purpose of this booklet is to encourage you to start planning early when seeking finance to accelerate the growth of your business. It will explain how a Venture Capitalist approaches the process of investing equity in a business and what you need to do to improve your chances of raising equity.

It gives guidance on what should be included in your business plan, the most important document you will produce when searching for a private equity investor. The guide also demonstrates the positive advantages that venture capital/private equity will bring to your business.

This Guide's principal focus is upon Venture Capital Funds. However, the investment criteria that both Venture Capital Funds and Business Angels apply when assessing potential investee companies is often very similar - therefore the guide will benefit entrepreneurs and their advisers looking for private equity from both these sources. In short, the aim is to help you understand what Venture Capital Funds are looking for in a potential business investment and how to approach them.

Download A Guide to Venture Capital

PDF format, 1.48MB, provided by basis.ie.

Irish Venture Capital Association
in association with InterTradeIreland’s EquityNetwork

CONTENTS:

Foreword by Desmond Fahey,
Chairman of the Irish Venture Capital Association 2
Foreword by Barry Fitzsimons,
Chair of EquityNetwork 3
An Introduction to Venture Capital 4
• What is venture capital/private equity? 5
• How do I make my company attractive to a venture capitalist or an investor in general? 5
• Benefits of venture capital 7
• Questions to ask before approaching a venture capitalist 8
• The Business Plan 10
The Role of the Non-Executive Director 14
Sources of Venture Capital 15
Glossary of Terms 28
Irish Venture Capital Association Council 33
Irish Venture Capital Association – Associate Members 34
EquityNetwork – Steering Committee 38
– Executive 38
Useful Contacts 40

Visit BASIS (Business Access to State Information and Services) Website

BASIS (Business Access to State Information and Services) was established in 2000 as part of the Irish Government Action Plan 'Implementing the Information Society in Ireland'. The Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment is responsible for the development of the BASIS initiative.

The aim of the BASIS website is to deliver Government information and services to business 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from a single access point and with a consistent look and feel.

Information on the website is structured around the "life events" of a business, e.g. business start-up and development, paying taxes and employing staff.

In addition to providing several hundred articles on a wide range of topics, the BASIS website also offers the following services:

    * Links and contact details relevant to the subject on each page; and pointers to related subjects.
    * A Forms section giving access to the most commonly used application forms, returns and other forms.
    * Service Locator to find your local government services such as Tax, Fás and Enterprise Ireland offices.
    * What's New page keeping you up to date with Government information affecting business.
    * A free Updates facility, informing you by e-mail when articles on BASIS are updated.
    * Easy access to Government online services such as the Revenue Online Services and the Public Procurement Portal.

BASIS is working closely with REACH, the cross-departmental agency established by Government to improve the quality of service to customers of the Irish Public Service. In particular BASIS will work with REACH to provide a satisfying experience to the customer and develop a framework for the integration of services and the implementation of eGovernment in Ireland.

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