Instructor Resource
Neck, Neck, & Murray, Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset
SAGE Publications, 2018
1
Experiential Exercises
Chapter 13: Financing for Startups
Exercise: To VC or not to VC? That is the question
Description
It’s important for students to understand that some companies are ripe for venture capital
financing while others are not. Many students assume that all businesses can get equity
investment because this is what they read about. Yet, the majority of businesses start with
The purpose of this exercise is to help student critically think through the different types of
businesses that should or should not get venture capital financing.
Venture-Backed Company
Lifestyle Venture
Area in which the company
does business
National or global
Local or regional
Growth rate
Very fast (you plan to grow
from a brand new company
into a nationwide corporation
in only a few years)
Slow (you plan to open only
one new location of your
business each year, for
example)
Nature of business
Generally game changing
businesses based on new
technologies
Businesses that sell or deliver
traditional or conventional
products or services
Makes money for
Investors, founders, and
owners
Founders and owners
leaving the business or
assuming different roles, based
on need and qualifications
when the founder/owner
retires
Now, create a deck of 5 (or more) cards, each with a different type of venture (these can be
actual ventures or made up ventures). The description on each card should use some of the
Instructor Resource
Neck, Neck, & Murray, Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset
SAGE Publications, 2018
2
characteristics above. Do NOT show the chart above until after the students complete the
exercise. For example, one card could state: