Financing the Entrepreneurial Venture: A Casebook

Financing the Entrepreneurial Venture focuses on financial management within entrepreneurial firms. Most of these are young firms, although some are more established. The book examines these firms at all phases of their life cycle, from the initial idea generation to the ultimate harvesting of the venture. The book covers firms in a diverse set of industries including high technology, low technology, and services. A significant fraction of the cases focus on non-U.S. ventures. Additionally, the issues of gender and diversity are addressed in a number of settings.

Financing the Entrepreneurial Venture entails understanding both sides of the balance sheet. Consequently, the book looks at issues related to both sides as well. The first section of the book explores how to evaluate entrepreneurial business opportunities, that is, the asset side of the balance sheet. The skills necessary to make good investment decisions include developing a framework of analysis for business opportunities. The process also entails reinforcing and enhancing valuation skills. With these tools, one will be able to qualitatively and quantitatively assess markets and opportunities.

The second section of the book examines how entrepreneurial investments are financed. An emphasis is placed on understanding financial institutions and deal terms. It then examines how entrepreneurial firms which have succeeded need to continually finance the scaling of their operations. What are the financial issues that affect these types of firms? How do the sources and terms of financing change? This transition to the second product or opportunity is often the most difficult time for the entrepreneurial enterprise. The book then concludes with an examination of harvesting. Unless an entrepreneur plans for the future realization on investment, he or she could get left holding the bag with little value having been created.