Archive for category: Miscellaneous

During his address at the NVCA Leadership Gala & Summit as the incoming Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors, Venky Ganesan of Menlo Ventures discussed his priorities for the year ahead.  In addition to creating a more inclusive venture capital industry, Venky said his main priority for his term as Chair is to shine a spotlight on entrepreneurial ecosystems beyond the mature, well-established giants of San Francisco, New York and Boston.

One such ecosystem that deserves more attention is the state of Utah.  Known for its national parks, the Great Salt Lake and some of the best powder skiing on the planet, the Beehive State is the perfect example of an entrepreneurial ecosystem quietly on the rise.  In fact, in 2015 Utah ranked 11th in venture dollars deployed, and its 55 deals last year marked the most since 2000. Read more

The NVCA CFO Task Force comprised of around 100 CFOs from NVCA member firms has long played a critical role in driving our work with auditors and the various regulatory bodies that shape auditing and accounting policies and practices related to the VC industry and its portfolio companies.

A recent focus of this important NVCA peer group has been closely following the implementation of new Fair Value accounting rules since 2008.  Specifically, they have concentrated on how auditors of venture funds treat the values assigned to investments classified as “Level 3 assets,” a category that includes nearly all venture funds assets.     Read more

As part of our series featuring leaders in innovation during Global Entrepreneurship Week, we spoke with Eric Hauck, the Director of Impact Hub in Barcelona, Spain. Impact Hub is a global network of social innovation incubators with 7,000 members in more than 60 cities worldwide. In Barcelona, the Impact Hub is based in the Plaza Real amid the city’s historic gothic quarter, which is the cultural heart of one of the world’s most visited destinations.   Read more

As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, our team at NVCA connected with leaders in innovation ecosystems around the world.  In the first of our series of interviews, we spoke with Nkululeko Mthembu, the founder of the Durban Innovation Hub in Durban, South Africa. Durban, a city of over three million people and home to the country’s largest port, has a diverse economy driven by trade, industry and the presence of multinational corporations. Read more

The cycle of innovation in the U.S. ecosystem is driven, in part, by the dynamic flow of capital among limited partners, traditional, corporate and growth equity venture capital investors, entrepreneurs, and, in the event of a public offering or acquisition, retail investors and companies. Limited partners (LPs), whose ranks include foundations, endowments and pension funds, invest in venture capital funds to put capital to work growing innovative young companies.

As part of their capital commitment, LPs require audited financial statements that report the fair value of venture capital firms’ portfolio company investments.  Assessing fair value presents a considerable challenge to both auditors and the Chief Financial Officers and Administrative Partners at venture capital firms, who are responsible for the preparation of quarterly and annual financial statements of the funds. More often than not, portfolio companies do not yet have proven business models or technology, making it difficult to precisely state their current fair value using traditional financial metrics. Read more