8. Interview with a Venture Capitalist

1. Before listening Match the terms used in the interview with the definitions.

1) break-through innovation 2) culture shock 3) exit strategy 4) founders 5) growth potential 6) IPO 7) milestones 8) road map 9) serial entrepreneurs 10) stake 11) stand-alone 12) start-up 13) venture capitalist (VC)

a) amount of investment b) founders of several start-ups c) important discovery / new product d) important events in a company’s development e) independent, not part of something else f) negative feelings of surprise when people move to a different environment g) new company, often with higher risk and higher potential return on investment h) opportunity or ability to get bigger i) outside investor who provides money for financing start-ups j) people who establish a start-up k) plan for moving from the present situation towards one or more key objectives l) process of issuing shares for the first time (when a privately-owned company becomes listed on the stock market) m) way to end involvement in something

2. Before listening You are going to listen to an interview with Karl, a venture capitalist. How do you think he answers the questions below?

1. What kind of start-up is a venture capital firm looking for?

2. Are the founders of a start-up left any stake in the company by the venture capitalists? Why?

3. What role does a venture capitalist have in the management of a start-up?

4. Suddenly a start-up is bought by a larger company. How do people react? Are they happy?

3. ҉ When listening Now listen to the interview and compare your ideas with the real answers.

4. ҉ When listening Are these statements true (T) or false (F)? Try to remember what Karl said, then listen again to check.

	True	False
1. Venture capitalists are usually interested in long-term investment.
2. When a VC sells a start-up to a larger company, it is called a ‘trade sale’.
3. Venture capitalists are typically interested in firms in the IT and biotech sectors.
4. In the pharmaceutical sector most start-ups want to become stand-alone companies.
5. It’s easier to take a technology start-up to an IPO in Europe than in America.

5. ҉ When listening Listen again and make notes on what Karl says about the following topics (maximum ten words each). When you finish, discuss the general issues with some colleagues.

• the kind of start-up company that a VC is looking for

• why large companies are interested in buying successful start-ups

• why it’s difficult in Europe to do a technology IPO

6. After listening Translate the following phrases from the interview into Russian:

1. to hold back the economy

2. an exit strategy

3. to go public

4. institutional investors

5. pilot customers

6. to fund the company

7. to take a large stake in the company

8. a majority on the Board

9. the key people

10. a working prototype

11. the capital will be released

12. a trade sale

13. to become a stand-alone company

14. a stock market listing

15. a good revenue stream

16. R&D-oriented managers