Howard & Jan Oringer Seminar

While institutional venture capital has been around for over 50 years, has financed every major technology wave, has been responsible for the creation of many successful companies and millions of jobs, it remains a rather opaque profession.  High technology entrepreneurs seek it often without understanding the value a VC can bring to their startup, but also the problems that can arise when the wrong investor is involved in their venture.  Few understand that while VCs provide risk capital, they are in the risk avoidance business.  In this talk we will explore the factors used by institutional VCs to decide on new and follow on investments in order to minimize risk, analyze the characteristics of successful VCs, and provide recommendations to entrepreneurs on how to identify the appropriate VC for their venture.