Education

An important part of achieving our mission to promote awareness and understanding of the VC & PE industry is facilitating the education of club members. Read more about our philosophy below and what you can expect as a member.

This isn’t your typical club. We’re not just membership dues and bi-weekly meetings about housekeeping items. The VC & PE Club exists for the benefit of its members and is dependent on their contributions for its success. We’ve assembled a superb core of officers to guide the group, but that’s where their responsibility ends. It is the duty of our members to actively participate and exhibit a desire to develop themselves. If you are looking for a lecture, don’t skip your classes. Our meetings will involve plenty of discussion so that we can hear each other’s thoughts and learn through interaction. As officers, we will be available to direct meetings, stimulate discussion, answer questions, and direct people to appropriate resources for further information, such as professors or industry professionals.

While we clearly believe that reading and discussion are important, a few industry education workshops will take place as well. Topics may include valuation modeling, SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces analyses, and more.

In addition to industry education, we also aim to provide opportunities for members to improve their general business skills. Resume critiques, mock interviews, public speaking practice, and distinguished speakers on relevant topics are all possibilities.

What is venture capital?

Venture capital is a type of private equity capital typically provided by professional, outside investors to new, growth businesses. Generally made as cash in exchange for shares in the investee company, venture capital investments are usually high risk, but offer the potential for above-average returns. A venture capitalist (VC) is a person who makes such investments. A venture capital fund is a pooled investment vehicle (often a limited partnership) that primarily invests the financial capital of third-party investors in enterprises that are too risky for the standard capital markets or bank loans. Venture capital can also include managerial and technical expertise. Most venture capital comes from a group of wealthy investors, investment banks and other financial institutions that pool such investments or partnerships. This form of raising capital is popular among new companies, or ventures, with limited operating history, who cannot raise funds through a debt issue. The downside for entrepreneurs is that venture capitalists usually get a say in company decisions, in addition to a portion of the equity.

"Venture capital." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 18 Jul 2007, 21:23 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 19 Jul 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Venture_capital&oldid=145524367>.

What is private equity?

Private equity is a broad term which commonly refers to any type of equity investment in an asset in which the equity is not freely tradeable on a public stock market. More accurately, private equity refers to the manner in which the funds have been raised, namely on the private markets, as opposed to the public markets. Private equity firms were commonly misunderstood to invest in assets which were not in the public market. However this is not necessarily the case—larger private equity firms such as KKR and Blackstone invest in companies listed on public exchanges and take them private. Passive institutional investors may invest in private equity funds, which are in turn used by private equity firms for investment in target companies. Categories of private equity investment include leveraged buyout, venture capital, growth capital, angel investing, mezzanine capital and others. Private equity funds typically control management of the companies in which they invest, and often bring in new management teams that focus on making the company more valuable.

As they are not listed on an exchange, a private equity firm owning such securities must find a buyer in the absence of a traditional marketplace such as a stock exchange. The "exit" or "selling out" is often achieved by way of an initial public offering (IPO), i.e. floating the company on a stock exchange, trade sale or secondary/tertiary buy-outs (i.e. sale to another private equity house).

"Private equity." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 19 Jul 2007, 14:35 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 19 Jul 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Private_equity&oldid=145682734>.