Do you think I could get an entry level job with a Venture Capital Firm?

I plan to go to UVA and get a degree. What degree should I get for venture capital? (economics, undergrad business, or finance?) I think one of my strongest suits is my international capability. I know English, French, and Chinese fluently, and have passable Spanish, Arabic, and Hindi. Where could I get an entry level job, how much will it pay, how fast does it promote, and what is the possibility I could actually get one? Thanks for any help.

Yes, absolutely.

Finance, economics, and accounting will all work.

Depending upon your interest and abilities, other majors may have appeal.

Keep in mind that connections and networking matter as much as or more than the degree and GPA. Use your time wisely at UVA. You have excellent opportunities to connect with and impress (1) alumnae, (2) professors, (3) administrative personnel, and (4) other students. Seek everything that interests you while in college and when something strikes you that (1) you like and (2) you are good at, milk the connections to the nth degree.

The best opportunities (and jobs) will always come from your network — the better the network…

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GoingGreen East Top 50

AO proudly presents the inaugural GoingGreen East 50. With this list, AO's editors and advisors introduce a new generation of game-changing greentech startups from the Eastern U.S. and Canada.

Duration : 4 min 26 sec

Read more

Where can I find a Venture Capital Broker?

Been in a profitable business for 2 years. We have grown every year. Now it is time to grow.

Where can I find a venture capital broker?

http://www.vfinance.com

http://www.vcfodder.com

http://www.nvca.org

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The Language of Biofuel

Sustainable Biochemicals Panel at GoingGreen East

Moderator: John Rennie, Editor-in-Chief, Scientific American
Mike Ladisch, CTO, Mascoma Corporation
Bill Frey, CEO, Qteros, Inc.
Scott Laughlin, CEO, Zymetis, Inc.
Jim Mahoney, CEO, Novomer, Inc.

From high-rise agriculture to genetic engineering to enlightened, knowledge intensive advances in agronomy, thanks to the emergence of sustainable biochemicals technologies, production of food, fuel, and other traditionally petrochemically dependent products are on the brink of being cleaner and more abundant than ever.

Duration : 1 min 52 sec

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10 Step-by-step Business Startup Guide: Step 4

STEP 4: Organizational Structure

This is the step where I need to select an organization structure that best fits my business model. I personally find there is no “best” structure for all businesses. However, I normally prefer to select one that provides me with high autonomy and low tax liability. Again, this will also depend on the national, federal or local tax structure for each business entity in the country or state I conduct my business.

Before setting up my company, I would do insight research on all the options available for my particular business model, particularly the advantages and disadvantages of each formation, paying special attention to the tax implication and government formalities as well as red tape in the location or country where I operate. I never assume all countries are similar.

Let’s take a look at four common forms of business ownership:

1. Sole proprietor

2. Partnership

3. Corporation

4. Limited Liability Company

Before selecting the form of business, I always find it best to work closely with a lawyer or a financial planner to ensure I have the right information, compliance and resources that allow me to make the right choice.

Sole Proprietor

This is a very popular form of business in many countries (i.e. America, Canada, UK, India, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc.) because so little is needed to set up a sole proprietorship. Apart from local business licenses, there are minimal government fees and paperwork. It is instant, cost effective and minimal (or even zero) compliant requirements by local authorities.

On the other hand, there is also considerable risk to consider. The owner’s personal assets are vulnerable to creditors and other liabilities. Sole proprietorship doesn’t get the advantage of certain tax breaks that are reserved for Corporation or Limited Liability Company.

In short, this form of business is very ideal for home based business that has no massive inventory or a high number of staffs.

Partnership

Similar to sole proprietorship, this form is very easy to set up and maintain, requiring minimal government fee and paperwork. The initial setup cost and maintenance fees to run a partnership are very low. Moreover, no capital is required to form a partnership. Each partner is not required to raise any capital to start this form of business.

On the downside, each partner is required to account full responsibility for all the company’s debts. If one of the partners defaults on a company loan, creditors can actually go after your personal assets and belongings. Besides that, capital raising is also very limited in a partnership. Just like sole proprietorship, partnership doesn’t get much tax incentives.

Corporation

There are a few types of corporations available depending on the location or country the owners conduct business. However, most corporations (in many countries) share similar characteristics.

The key advantage of incorporating a business is that it shields equity holders (owners) of the company from personal liability. In other words, if business hits hard times, creditors cannot go after the owners’ personal assets to make up for any company debts. Yet, most creditors nowadays would require the owners of the corporation to guarantee the shortfalls if the company goes under. Besides that, a corporation offers significant tax savings (usually not extended to sole proprietorship or partnership), greater business flexibility, company name protection and better opportunity to raise capital via venture capitalist or financial institution.

Bear in mind that corporations are not cheap to set up. It requires some initial set up fees and certain amount of regular maintenance. With a corporation, you have to keep a proper set of financial records, audited by a certified accountant. Depending on where the business is conducted, some government or local authority would require a minimum set of compliance and would also require regular fees to be paid.

There is one option that a corporation possesses – that allow owners to sell their shares of stock to the public (known as public listed corporation). Then this will involve higher startup capital (usually runs into the millions), more legal and meticulous accounting compliances to adhere to.

Limited Liability Company

As for many new entrepreneurs, choosing a business structure comes down to liability protection, low startup costing, tax savings and convenience. This form of business requires fewer formalities and less on-going paperwork than corporations while offering the same personal liability protection and tax flexibility. Just as with a corporation, the company name is protected, and the other members of the company are shielded from creditors and other company liabilities such as lawsuits. A limited liability company only requires the owners to keep minimal company records, and there is no limit to the number of equity owners.

Nonetheless, this form of business is dissolved when a member dies or undergoes bankruptcy. In comparison to sole proprietorship or partnership, it has more paperwork and complexity to set up and to be maintained.

*Note: Unproven teories to not be shown to my readers! If you need any small business startup help, feel free to visit my Website

=> To get the complete online business course on

small business startup guide, log on to

http://www.12daysonly.com , and redeem your

BONUS PACKAGE worth US$1,396.00

–

Disclaimer – This article may be freely reprinted in its entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Dave J
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/10-stepbystep-business-startup-guide-step-4-130307.html

10 Step-by-step Business Startup Guide: Step 6

STEP 6: Funding

This could be a very important step for businesses that require capital to startup and funding to keep overheads and inventories on track. Finding funding is not difficult. But getting the right funding is crucial. Of course there is a saying that goes, “beggars can’t be choosers”! Nonetheless, startup owners must be smart when seeking funding or it could turn their dream business into a nightmare.

I would normally identify my short term and long term business goals and the kind of business I am planning to launch. Once I finalize my directions, I would then identify which form of financing is right for me.

As money comes in many forms, let me tackle the available options to fund any kind of business:

* Oneself

* Debt Financing

* Grants

* Friends and Family

* Venture Capitalists

Oneself

First of all, I believe startup owners should look no further to find the funding they need i.e. savings, emergency accounts, credit cards, equity pulled from their home, extra cash from downgrading their car, etc. The upsides are owners get to maintain full control over their businesses, no equity holders to pay off if they made it big and there is no responsibility to report to anyone.

Nonetheless, if the business fails, they will face a lot of personal debts, high interest to pay off that could burden their monthly expenses and it limits the growth of their business (especially when they need more outlets or inventories for strategic growth).

Debt Financing

It refers to traditional bank loans. The lending process is inherently a tough one, but it’s also a system that has been the catalyst of success for many small-and-medium-scale business startups. The advantage of debt financing is owners don’t have to give up part of their business equity or control. Besides, they have instant access of capital when they need most throughout their business operation.

The core disadvantage – not many “new kids on the block” will qualify for bank loans because it typically goes for business with 2-5 years of history. Moreover, personal collateral is usually required to obtain any bank loan and if they failed to pay the loan they may end up filing for bankruptcy.

Government Grants

Grant is a very subjective form of funding because its source usually comes from government. Different governments at different times would launch different funding programs, but they all share one commonality; it is free money program designed to fuel the innovative fires of small businesses, and typically target specific groups or types of businesses. Of course the greatest advantage of getting a grant is owners need not payback even if the business failed.

Then again, the competition is stiff for grants as there is a high level of rigid red tape to be complied with and the usage of the grant (after being approved) are usually well defined.

Friends and Family

Just like it describes, a simple and direct way to raise capital in exchange for equity or as a loan to be repaid. The good side of borrowing from friends and family is, it’s less hassle, quicker and has less contractual obligations. The bad sides are the fund size is limited and the consequence of losing their money could lead to a sour relationship.

Venture Capitalists

They are made of individuals or organizations with large amounts of capital to invest in your business in expectation for higher returns. Getting investment from venture capitalists is equally as demanding as borrowing from the bank. They are demanding because they only invest in established companies. They usually get involved in the company’s decision making, and they must have an aggressive exit strategy to sell the business. Usually, they prefer a fast growing company i.e. Internet-based company.

Nevertheless, the upsides of venture capitalists’ funding are they can provide owners with powerful networks or contacts and owners need not payback if the business failed because they have big reservoir of money for owners to tap into.

*Note: Unproven teories to not be shown to my readers! If you need any small business startup help, feel free to visit my Website

=> To get the complete online business course on

small business startup guide, log on to

http://www.12daysonly.com , and redeem your

BONUS PACKAGE worth US$1,396.00

–

Disclaimer – This article may be freely reprinted in its entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Dave J
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/10-stepbystep-business-startup-guide-step-6-130310.html

Difficulty of Funding for Indian Entrepreneurs

Today India appears to be poised for phenomenal growth and this could be well observed at the start of the new millennium. India is becoming a priority destination for different foreign investors and venture capitalists. Today’s knowledge-based economy of India is considered as a fertile ground for the upcoming entrepreneurs. As a result, the Indian businesses are now adapting the global competitive environment. But previously, this was not the case; most of the early entrepreneurs had to face hindrances in the path of their success due to various reasons such as inadequate opportunities, scarcity of capital, lack of technology and many other factors.

India is a conservative nation and most of the people prefer regular monthly pay rather than embarking on any business venture on their own. In India, people do have innovative ideas but translating these ideas into business enterprises involves many risks which they find difficult to tackle. This has led to an overall cautious mindset amongst the upcoming entrepreneurs. Even if an individual makes up his mind to start up an enterprise, he fails to get proper motivation, financial backup as well as proper sources for funding. The most common difficulties faced by Indian entrepreneurs are non-availability of good credit schemes and complexities in acquiring long or short-term loans. Also the Indian banks show lack of interest in entrepreneurial projects and put hindrances in processing the funding request applications. These constraints make an entrepreneur feel handicapped in initiating any kind of business venture.

The reasons behind the difficulties of funding comprise of the communication gap between venture capitalists or finance agencies and entrepreneurs. Absence of good credit schemes as well as improper presentation skills also contribute to the difficulties of funding faced by Indian entrepreneurs. Many banks also fail to offer enduring loans for start up units. Most of the time, investors and finance companies do not thoroughly understand the entrepreneurs’ newly introduced concepts. It would help if the funding agencies and venture capitalists kept themselves abreast with newly developing technologies and their possible profitable uses.

However, the difficulties of funding can be solved by different entrepreneurship practices. The important aspect for entrepreneurship is the attitude to make the entrepreneur-investor partnership based on mutual trust. In this, one partner possesses the innovative idea and skills necessary for implementing an enterprise, whereas the other partner has capital required for execution. This kind of partnership can contribute to paramount success of an enterprise. The finance companies, funding agencies as well as banks should develop certain processes to asses the feasibility of any new business venture and based on this they should facilitate loans for good proposals. These investors, funding agencies and banks should also try and introduce credit schemes that are favorable for entrepreneurs and add to the economic development of the country.

vivek
http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/difficulty-of-funding-for-indian-entrepreneurs-240881.html

Does anybody know of good venture capital websites?

I am in the planning stage for an ambulance service and I my credit isn't good enough for an SBA loan so I am left with venture capital. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.feld.com/blog/ is a good blog on the subject. Here is a list of some others: http://andrewbfife.blogspot.com/2006/06/my-top-10-vc-bloggers.html

Don't forget about angels. They are probably a better source of capital if you have a more smallish operation.
http://www.inc.com/articles/2001/09/23461.html

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Making Sales Business-to-business

You make the sale to a business by understanding what kind of business that you’re dealing with. This means looking at the operating cash flow, the free cash flow, the sales, the financing debt capital and financing equity capital.

A company’s operating cash flow tells us how its operations can finance the business. Remember that available cash is a key parameter. A company’s free cash flow is the operating cash flow less cash invested in capital expenditures. Another key parameter is how long is a company’s cash cycle is. That is the amount of time from the production and investment in new inventory, to its sale and the collection of the cash for that. Sales and profit margins tell us about the company’s ability to attract new investment and their ability to expand the gross amount of their sales. We want to see how much the company is spending on new business, through hiring new sales people and offices, and making available to itself necessary plant and equipment. If companies are not raising enough cash through the operating cash flow to cover their investments, they will have to go to financing. This means going into debt. Another way that companies can raise cash flow is to go to the capital markets through venture capital, or raising money through selling stocks by an IPO (Initial Public Offering). The owner then becomes beholden to stock holders, but there is no faster way to raise new capital.

Companies do not occur in isolation. You have to look over their industry and how they relate to and compare to other companies in their industry. Is the company’s executive’s profit margin being squeezed tighter and tighter? Or does he have new products that because of their novelty can command a wide profit margin?

Once you have identified the specific industry, you want to understand the competitors that the company faces in that industry. The information that you can gather from publicly traded companies allows you to map several competitors to investigate. You can look at the public information, and guess similar parameters for privately owned, closely held companies. It is important to understand how specific companies line up in the competitive space as well as on a corporate level. Are companies in that field able to have local production, or are they forced to “globalize” and get the cheapest price available in the world? Are they sacrificing quality in order to get the greatest quantity of cheap production?

Adamheist
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/making-sales-businesstobusiness-91276.html

How Resource Companies Reduce Political Risk in Volatile Areas of the World – an Interview With Stephen Bailey

By Katherine Young

April 15, 2007

With resources in so-called ‘safe’ countries becoming increasingly scarce, and pressure from growing economies increasing the demand for commodities, resource companies, including juniors, are forced to look further afield for the next big thing. In the current economy, situations and environments that may have seemed too risky in the past have to be considered.

Katherine Young of the Resourcex Investor spoke to Stephen Bailey, Senior Vice President of Frontier Strategy Group – a global research and advisory firm that specializes in analyzing above-ground risks in natural resources industries – about what juniors can do to reduce political risk to their projects.

Resourcex Investor: What are the key factors a junior resource company should consider in assessing the political risk to their project?

Stephen Bailey: The first issue that should be considered is macro stability in terms of the safety of its workers both on the exploration side as well as the operations side. Is this the type of country where we feel safe, where we feel confident our workers could be safe?

Once that threshold is crossed then junior companies should consider other issues such as can we do business here while also maintaining sound legal and moral practices with respect to issues such as corruption, as well as issues such as the use of security forces to maintain the safety of assets and workers.

In a lot of environments it’s important for companies, and in particular junior companies, to think, given my size, what type of leverage can I bring to bear to ensure that I can be successful here even if conditions in the country deteriorate from a political perspective? Are there partnerships I can develop with NGOs and important government actors or international institutions that would help me to continue to operate if things were to deteriorate?

RI: You mentioned some key strategies like partnering with NGOs and developing relationships in governments. What would you outline as the other main strategies for reducing political risk?

SB: Before you can do anything, an essential prerequisite is to have a very firm understanding of where the environment you are operating in is likely to head…so what I mean by that is: if you’re in a country where there’s been significant civil conflict, like for example the Democratic Republic of the Congo, developing signposts such as: What is the percentage of members of the military that have been demobilized that continue to be armed? How have the elections played out and what have those elections meant for the positions of the key opposition leaders? By tracking those types of variables and signposts you are able to get a sense of where the environment is likely to head over time so that you can be on the proactive side rather than the reactionary side.

RI: What do you think junior companies can do to maximize leverage that they may have?

SB: The most important thing you can do to maximize leverage is, first from a governmental relations perspective, identify the key actors within the government who are likely to maintain their influence over time, those actors being technocrats or individuals within the government who are very well-respected [and are] unlikely to ever lose influence within the country…. Because if one administration is toppled by another or one administration is ushered out, you don’t want to be in a position where the administration that’s coming into power ushers you out in an attempt to remove any vestige of influence that the previous administration might have had.

The other thing is, in the communities where you operate it’s very important for junior mining companies to create very strong partnerships with NGOs both at the local and national levels – or I should say international levels – to make sure that their presence is sustainable by the people who are most affected by it. Through those partnerships, [junior companies are] able to extend and expand on a limited amount of resources [they] have to devote to these social issues. It’s really outsourcing some of the responsibility that you have in a way that allows your presence to be sustainable and politically popular.

RI: If a company was going to join with a joint venture partner as a strategy to reduce political risk, what are some of the downsides of that strategy?

SB: Joint venture partnerships comprise different types: partnerships with western companies that largely share your values, your operational practices and your interests; partnerships with other actors that are likely to have influence in a particular country or geography….

The main challenge comes with respect to the latter group, where those companies might not necessarily share the same legal obligations that western companies have and also might have different interests than western companies have, and in those cases it’s very important to recognize the reputational challenges that exist. If those companies do engage in corruption, or if their labour practices or environmental practices are not sound, part of that responsibility is ultimately going to be transferred to you as a joint venture partner.

It’s also important to recognize that the security of your assets is something that has to be protected. If you partner with a Russian or a Chinese company in an area where you don’t have influence it’s important to understand how you can maintain a long term alignment of incentives between the joint venture partner and yourself. It’s not enough just to bring money or technical skills to the table, because once that money and technical skill has been transferred to the joint venture partner you no longer have any use to them. So coming up with ways to maintain your leverage throughout the joint venture partnership [is important] and if you can’t do that, don’t enter the partnership.

RI: You suggested earlier that having another project in another country where the partner doesn’t have close ties, and you do, might be a good way to create incentive for the partner.

SB: Exactly. I think it’s very important for western companies to think outside of the box in terms of the joint venture projects of the future. When you’re operating in an area where you partner with [for example] a Chinese or a Russian company, the rules that apply to traditional partnerships with western companies may not apply. You have to be very creative in terms of creating an alignment of incentives, and one way to do that is by entering a more grand strategic partnership in which you give access in a country where you have significant influence in exchange for access in a country where they have significant influence. The benefit of that is that the country you partner with is less likely to expropriate or impair your asset because they recognize that would have ramifications for them in the country where they have less leverage.

RI: A balance of power.

SB: Exactly.

RI: How effective is political risk insurance?

SB: It’s really difficult to talk about it in broad terms. It really needs to be done on a case by case basis. In some countries it probably would be something that’s essential, in other countries it’s probably in the range of optional, and a lot of it depends on what type of risk an individual company is willing to bear.

If a company wants to have a greater upside it might forgo political risk insurance because the premiums are going to decrease their annual return rate. It’s also important to remember that there are other tool kits that companies have to limit their exposure, such as non-recourse debt financing that provides the company with capital foreign investment but does not leave them on the hook for those loans if the political situation deteriorates.

So, political risk insurance, non-recourse debt-financing, and joint-venture partnerships that spread risk across the partners are options you can use that limit your exposure. But it’s hard to talk about which ones should be used without talking about a particular environment.

RI: Are there any downsides to partnering with the World Bank?

SB: I think the World Bank is an excellent organization to partner with. One place where things can go wrong is if a company thinks that a partnership with the World Bank can solve all its problems. It’s important to have a broad array of partners on the national political level, the local level and the international level that minimize geopolitical risk exposure no matter what direction the country takes. If you put all your eggs in the World Bank basket, and the country decides they are going to take money from the Chinese [for example], then kicks the World Bank out, suddenly you’re left without a significant partner with influence in the country. So while it’s important to use the World Bank as a resource and a very important point of leverage in a lot of countries, it’s also essential that you diversify your partnership base to allow you to succeed no matter how the environment changes.

RI: One last question: if there’s a mine operating in a given country and they’ve run into problems either on the government level or the community level, and then another company wants to open a similar mine in that country, how can that second company protect itself from the problems the first company encountered and perhaps created?

SB: That’s a very good question and once again, it’s difficult to talk about that in generalities. Sometimes it’s because it’s not possible to operate there. For example a company could end up getting kicked out because the government has a new policy of nationalizing all assets and in that case it doesn’t really matter which company you are, it’s going to be difficult to come in…I think cases where there has been a company that has been essentially kicked out because the government has decided it wants to nationalize the asset, or is unhappy with western investors, the best thing you can do, or really the only chance you have of success, is to provide the government or the community or both with a new and long-term economic incentive to accommodate your presence. And that can be through partnering with the national company of the government such that they have a vested interest in having you operate there if they don’t have the technical skills to do it themselves, or one very innovative method that’s been used by some companies is to provide the community or the government, oftentimes the regional government or sometimes the national government, with an equity stake in the project and then to publicly float an entity as the subsidiary of the main company such that if the government does anything to impair the asset then it’s also going to be impairing the value of the equity that you’ve given to the government so it creates a clear long term alignment of incentives.

RI: Does that work on the small scale as well for junior companies?

SB: Absolutely. Let’s say you’re a company that only has one asset, if you’re open, and this is obviously on a case-by-case basis, but if you’re open to making the junior entity public and you give the government some stake in that public entity the same principle applies—to the extent that they do anything to impair your asset, the market value of whatever stake they have is going to be impaired as well.

Katherine Young
http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/how-resource-companies-reduce-political-risk-in-volatile-areas-of-the-world-an-interview-with-stephen-bailey-140138.html

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