Venture capital trends to look out for in 2022
Last year, we saw a record-breaking number of new start-ups and all-time high VC funding. US VC-backed companies raised $329.9 billion in 2021, nearly double the previous record of $166.6 billion raised in 2020, signaling the trend of increasing deal sizes.
Top private equity funds
PE firms in the US invested more than $1.2 trillion in 2021, a 64% increase from the previous record set in 2019. The unused capital from 2020, historically low-interest rates, and some fantastic opportunities to pick up stressed companies have led to a massive boom for the PE industry.
All I ever wanted was to stress less
It all started when I ran the M&A and equity investments of a firm with 80+ transactions under its belt and so many evaluated investment opportunities. I felt all the pains personally and wanted to, not only solve my own problems, but also those of other professional investors working on their deal flow: insane amounts of data, too many things to do and, to put it nicely, less than perfect tools to manage deal flow.
How to organize deal sourcing for an investment firm?
While some would argue that it is a never-ending cycle that the best PE/VC firms have the strongest deal flow, there are a few ways to raise your firm’s deal flow. The impact of strong deal flow becomes particularly pertinent when you consider that the top 20 percent of deals make over 80 percent of all VC profits.
PE trends to look out for in 2022
The pandemic presented unprecedented challenges, and like many other industries, the private equity industry was not immune. However, despite the market uncertainty, PE firms have navigated the new 'normal' by adjusting their operating models and proving agility and resilience.
Let’s face it: You want to see many cases to gain insight and to not miss any opportunities. You also want to zap (zap, informal, to destroy or to obliterate) almost all of them instantly since the further the target companies get in your deal flow process the more resources you consume. In general, the earlier you kill a case better for you AND the target company.
A sneak peek into Limited Partners, emerging funds, and spinout
Basics of deal flow
Plenty has been written on venture capital (VC), private equity (PE) and mergers & acquisitions (M&A) as subsets of the financial industry. Despite the extensive coverage the concept of deal flow (sometimes written as dealflow or even deal-flow) remains vaguely formalized - partly due to lack of coverage, and partly due to the fluidity of the concept itself. Then, what exactly is a “deal flow”? Why is it important to investors; GPs, family offices and business angels alike?
Do you know your numbers?
As a finance pro, you are used to working with numbers and always tell the CEOs to have their numbers right. You understand that what can be quantified and measured can also be managed and improved. When did you last take a 360-view on your own numbers? You certainly know the latest IRR and deal multiples but how about metrics on your lifeblood – deal flow and its metrics?
Does reputation matter?
I’ve seen all kinds of ‘pearl divers’ in my 25+ years journey in ICT sales and management. Different kinds of people, cultures, styles and skills. Now take a moment to think about your own profile, what could it be like in the eyes of a startup representative?
GDPR for VC and PE firms
5 forces shaping the impact of the regulation on the industry
How better data can improve your deal flow
When Angels and Venture Capitalists look to invest in early-stage companies, they are taking a huge risk in the hopes of getting the golden ticket. Seed and early-stage startups are still figuring out their business model, focusing on product development, implementing a sales strategy, and figuring out how to acquire customers.
Most boring part of your work? $100 on data entry
We all know data entry sucks even when there’s so much to gain by meticulous data collection from multiple sources followed by thoughtful analysis. But let’s face it – it’s boring as hell and usually gets done only for those cases that you want to take a deeper look into.
Modern networking and how it can power your deal flow
The ways in which we have grown accustomed to networking may never change. However, with digitization peeking around every corner, it is about time that we adapt.
The more confidential information you have, the greater the advantage in the race of investments
Longing for new investment opportunity data without data entry? Investment professionals can capture vital non-public data easily and systematically in a structured format directly into your database, using Zapflow web forms.
What is Zapflow
Deal flow management
Fundraising
Portfolio management
KYC/AML
