The impact of ESG characteristics on startup valuation: An empirical study in the Venture Capital setting

This thesis serves as an attempt to establish the initial empirical linkage between environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and startup valuation by venture capitalists. While substantial academic work has addressed the ESG topic and how firms’ ESG characteristics impact their financial performance and valuations, relatively little...

Striking Gold in the Valley of Death: Identifying Key Drivers of Venture Capital Investment in Sustainable Innovation

If we are to avert Climate Change, the world must reduce its net carbon footprint to zero in the coming decades. This will require an unprecedented shift in the technologies relied on in almost every part of the economy. Venture Capital can play a pivotal role in hastening the adoption of new technologies, but for investors to pursue a...

Business model innovation of electric utilities: the role of corporate venture capital

This exploratory study was performed to improve the understanding of the emerging phenomena of Business Model Innovation (BMI) and Corporate Venture Capital (CVC), in the context of European electric utilities. More specifically, the potential contribution of CVC activities to BMI of European electric utilities was assessed. A thorough...

Data-Driven Innovation Scouting: Designing a collaborative platform for corporate venture capital

<br/>This thesis studies the strategic motivations for large firms to engage in partnerships with young ventures, and aims to design a service model for an intermediary that puts the needs of the large firm at the core. This project was commissioned by, and executed in collaboration with Venture IQ, an innovation scouting company founded in...

Design of a business creation fund for Health Innovations.

Health Innovations, a venture capital firm in healthcare, is currently searching for a growth strategy to realize its corporate objectives. The search for this growth strategy was structured using the three growth directions of Ansoff (1957): product development, market development and diversification. In three steps the best direction was...

Instituitions and Venture Capital: A cross country analysis on OECD countries

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of any economy. However, access to finance remains a key contraint to SME development and thus economic development. The Venture Capital industry has proved to be a good alternative source of financing in some countries to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. Having originated in the USA ...

Venture Capitalists’ Human Capital: Investigating the relation between human capital and venture capital strategy

Because of the risks involved in financing in new high-tech, high-growth ventures, one of the few funding sources available is venture capital. Venture Capital firms are businesses that are owned and managed by venture capitalists (VCs). Within these firms the VCs manage Venture Capital funds, one VC or Venture Capital firm can manage multiple...

An Explorative Study on the Relation between Patents and Venture Capital in the Semiconductor Industry