Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation


Book Description

This useful guide walks venture capitalists through the principles of finance and the financial models that underlie venture capital decisions. It presents a new unified treatment of investment decision making and mark-to-market valuation. The discussions of risk-return and cost-of-capital calculations have been updated with the latest information. The most current industry data is included to demonstrate large changes in venture capital investments since 1999. The coverage of the real-options methodology has also been streamlined and includes new connections to venture capital valuation. In addition, venture capitalists will find revised information on the reality-check valuation model to allow for greater flexibility in growth assumptions.




Innovation and Finance


Book Description

Innovation and finance are in a symbiotic and twin-track relationship: a well-functioning financial system spurs innovation by identifying and funding stimulating entrepreneurial activities which trigger economic growth. Innovations also open up profitable opportunities for the financial system. These mutual dynamics cause and need innovative adaptations in the financial system in order to better deal with the changing requirements of a knowledge-based economy. The volume comprises different contributions which focus on the central imperative of this evident connection between financial markets and innovation which, despite its importance, is only barely considered in academia, as well in practice so far. The book is about the mutual interdependence of innovation processes and finance. This interdependent relationship is characterized by a high degree of complexity which stems, on the one hand, from the truly uncertain character of innovation and, on the other hand, from the different time scales in both domains. Whereas innovation processes are long-term and experimental, financial markets are interested in shortening time horizons in order to optimize financial investments. Economies which do not manage to align the two realms of their economic system are in danger of ending up in either financial bubbles or economic stagnation. The chapters of this book deal with different aspects of this complex interrelationship between innovation and finance, highlighting, for example the role of stock markets, venture capital and international financial transactions, as well as the historical co-development of the financial and industrial domains. Thus far, the communities in economics dealing with both issues are almost completely disconnected. The book brings together economic research dealing with the interface between innovation and finance and highlights the importance of the Neo-Schumpeterian perspective. This topic is of particular interest in the current economic crisis affecting the Eurozone and its currency. Most of the policy instruments discussed and implemented so far are focused on short-run targets. This discussion of the relationship between innovation and finance suggests a long-run perspective to create new potentials for economic growth and a sustainable way out of the economic crisis.




Smart Money


Book Description

Seven years after the financial crisis of 2008, financiers remain villains in the public mind. Most Americans believe that their irresponsible actions and complex financial products wrecked the economy and destroyed people's savings, and that bankers never adequately paid for their crimes. But as Economist journalist Andrew Palmer argues in Smart Money, this much maligned industry is not only capable of doing great good for society, but offers the most powerful means we have for solving some of our most intractable social problems. From Babylon to the present, the history of finance has always been one of powerful innovation. Now a new generation of financial entrepreneurs is working to revive this tradition of useful innovation, and Palmer shows why we need their ideas today more than ever. Traveling to the centers of finance across the world, Palmer introduces us to peer-to-peer lenders who are financing entrepreneurs the big banks won't bet on, creating opportunities where none existed. He explores the world of social-impact bonds, which fund programs for the impoverished and homeless, simultaneously easing the burden on national governments and producing better results. And he explores the idea of human-capital contracts, whereby investors fund the educations of cash-strapped young people in return for a percentage of their future earnings. In this far-ranging tour of the extraordinarily creative financial ideas of today and of the future, Smart Money offers an inspiring look at the new era of financial innovation that promises to benefit us all.




Explaining Monetary and Financial Innovation


Book Description

This book discusses theories of monetary and financial innovation and applies them to key monetary and financial innovations in history – starting with the use of silver bars in Mesopotamia and ending with the emergence of the Eurodollar market in London. The key monetary innovations are coinage (Asia minor, China, India), the payment of interest on loans, the bill of exchange and deposit banking (Venice, Antwerp, Amsterdam, London). The main financial innovation is the emergence of bond markets (also starting in Venice). Episodes of innovation are contrasted with relatively stagnant environments (the Persian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire). The comparisons suggest that small, open and competing jurisdictions have been more innovative than large empires – as has been suggested by David Hume in 1742.




Technological Innovation in Retail Finance


Book Description

In this edited volume the editors highlight the relative importance of European actors in the globalization of technological change by documenting developments in France, Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Developments in Europe sit side by side with those in Mexico and the USA.




Financial Innovation in Retail and Corporate Banking


Book Description

Discusses through a blend of theory and empirical research, the processes of innovation and the diffusion of new financial instruments. This book explores theoretical issues such as the relationship among financial innovation and market structure and the legal protection of financial innovation.




Financing Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Markets


Book Description

Financing Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Markets offers an original perspective on the links between macro data on innovation, data on micro-entrepreneurial processes and venture capital supply. The authors synthesize two disparate fields of research and thinking—innovation and entrepreneurship and economics—to illuminate how domestic companies compete and the business environment in which entrepreneurial firms operate. Its broad scope and firm linkages between processes at different levels leapfrogs research topics. For those investigating entrepreneurship and innovation in the early stages of economic development, this book demonstrates how micro and macro foundations of productivity, and hence economic growth and development, are inextricably intertwined. - Combines macro and micro perspectives on innovation processes - Reveals how economic growth and development are inextricably intertwined - Uses case studies to portray the entrepreneurial firm and its role in accelerating the speed of innovation and dissemination of new technologies - Identifies common flaws undermining public venture programs, including poor design, a lack of understanding for the entrepreneurial process and implementation problems




Mission-Oriented Finance for Innovation


Book Description

The role of the state in modern capitalism has gone beyond fixing market failures. Those regions and countries that have succeeded in achieving “smart” innovation-led growth have benefited from long-term visionary “mission-oriented” policies—from putting a man on the moon to tackling societal challenges such as climate change and the wellbeing of an ageing population. This book collects the experience of different types of mission-oriented public institutions around the world, together with thought-provoking chapters from leading economists. As the global debate on deficits and debt levels continues to roar, the book offers a challenge to the conventional narrative—asking what kinds of visionary fiscal policies we need to help promote "smart” innovation-led, inclusive, and sustainable growth.




Open Innovation in the Financial Services


Book Description

Open innovation means gathering new ideas from sources beyond organizational boundaries. It occurs when solutions to address clients’ needs are developed in collaboration and the resulting products and services are distributed through a flexible network of partners. Daniel Fasnacht’s book, the first of its kind, discusses open business models in the context of the financial services industry. He elaborates the drivers for strategic change such as increasingly sophisticated clients or demanding shareholders among other trends, including the recent global financial crisis, and explains why the transition from a closed model of operation to open innovation is vital. Various case studies illustrate how to integrate the client into the firm's innovation process and emphasize the importance of smart client segmentation and a holistic advisory model to serve clients around the globe. Leaders must develop a set of new management practices to be able to invest in multiple strategic directions. They are responsible for giving clients a remarkable experience and for creating social relationship capital based upon an open innovation culture. Open Innovation in the Financial Services provides a much-needed framework for helping to understand industry dynamics in banking and to make the most of organizational energy by using open innovation to sustain profitable growth. The book comes at the right time and offers a new mindset for business – not only for expansion strategies in general, but especially during turbulent times.




Financial Innovation


Book Description

Prominent economists consider the role of financial innovation in economic crises.