Search Results (9)

Saudi Vision 2030, a strategic framework aimed at diversifying the economy and enhancing societal inclusivity, aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting gender equality and sustainable economic growth. Sustainability is central to fostering women’s entrepreneurship, as it drives social equity, economic diversification, and innovation, elements which are crucial to sustainable development. While the existing literature has primarily focused on women’s entrepreneurship in the Western world, limited attention has been given to its development in the Global South, particularly in Saudi Arabia. As a nation undergoing transformative social, cultural, and economic shifts, women entrepreneurs play a critical role in aligning entrepreneurial efforts with global sustainability goals. This research investigates the factors influencing Saudi women to become entrepreneurs, specifically examining the factors that inspire or hinder them from creating their own ventures. Drawing upon cognitive and social capital theories, which have proven their soundness in the existing literature, this research utilizes a dataset of 1715 women entrepreneurs analyzed through binomial logistic regression. The findings indicate that social desirability, relational capital, experience as angel investors, age, income, and education significantly increase the likelihood of women’s entrepreneurship. By contextualizing women’s entrepreneurship within Saudi Arabia’s evolving societal and economic landscape, this research highlights their potential as drivers of inclusive growth and sustainable economic empowerment. Furthermore, the research outlines strategies to enhance women’s entrepreneurial participation, contributing both to the entrepreneurship literature and the realization of Saudi Vision 2030. Full article

We challenge the widely accepted premise that the valuation of an early-stage firm is simply the capital invested (USD) divided by the equity received (%). Instead, we argue that this calculation determines the break-even point for the investor; for example, investing USD 1.0 in exchange for a 10% equity sets a firm-level free cash flow target of USD 10.0, resulting in a 0% return for the investor. The design of our study is that of a descriptive analysis of the phenomenon, based on three assumptions: that angel investing is a two-issue negotiation, that negotiation positions are communicated sequentially from capital to equity, and that the capital is fixed to a strategic trajectory. We note that when pausing the negotiation once a strategic trajectory (and thus capital) has been defined, utilizing the break-even point as the main reference point provides a structure that can serve as a guiding barometer for negotiators, as they evaluate their options across the full range of equity greater than 0% and less than 100%. We draw attention to the diminishing benefit of the marginal equity percentage point [diminishing at a rate of (−1/x²)] for the investor to break even on their investment. This relationship tracks to the equation [value = 1/equity], which presents the full option set for any offer, once the capital is determined. Our study provides the practitioner with the subtle benefit of situational awareness and the scholar with a logical foundation for future research. Full article

The opacity of the impact investment decision-making process is one of the main constraints hampering further growth in the impact investing ecosystem. This paper takes a differentiated view on why (investment motivation) and how (investment decision criteria) the major private impact investor types allocate funding to investees. We incorporate insights from 34 interviews with the five major impact investor types: social business angels, foundations, social banks, impact investment funds, and crowdvesting platforms. We find that motivation and decision-making significantly differ between the impact investor types, especially concerning strict vs. ambiguous impact definitions, active vs. passive investment approaches, and return requirements reaching from capital preservation to market-driven returns. By providing a differentiated overview of the investor type-specific motivations and most important investment criteria, our study offers social entrepreneurs a roadmap to identify the most appropriate impact investors for their business model. Full article

Financing has been identified as a major stumbling block to the effective launch and long-term success of SMEs, particularly in emerging economies. However, little is known about the impact of capital startups on SMEs’ performance in South Africa. Thus, the aim of this article is to compare differences in business success for three different levels of Capital startups and to determine the impact of capital startups on SMEs’ performance. The analysis was premised on a two-tail hypothesis test that the average weights of the three groups are different. The Cronbach Alpha test and the test–re-test reliability approach on the survey instrument indicated values of 0.70 and 0.875, respectively. A one-way between-groups analysis of variance was conducted startup. There was a statistically significant difference at the p < 0.05 level in scores for the three groups (F (2, 477) = 12.967 p = 0.0000). Post hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean scores for Group 1 (M = 19.93, SD = 6.343) were significantly different from Group 2 (M = 20.94, SD = 2.309) and Group 3 (M = 21.73, SD = 2.880). Despite reaching statistical significance, the actual difference in mean scores between the groups was quite small. The one-way ANOVA approach indicates that finance (startup capital) remains a significant impediment to the effective launch of service-providing SMEs. It is recommended that SMEs who want to raise startup capital must create a solid business plan or build a prototype to sell the idea. This will assist them in discussions with venture capitalists, angel investors, banks, or other financial institutions. Full article

Equity funding is a widespread financing form that often accompanies the life cycle of innovative ventures from initial stages until maturity. From the perspective of investors, the event defining the success of an equity financing operation is the exit, which represents the moment when they leave the venture with the purpose of selling their shares. The potential high return of equity funding has motivated an empirical literature aimed at developing predictive models in support of investors’ decisions. However, no study so far has investigated how equity funding dynamics impact on a venture’s chance of successful exit. In this article, we develop a multinomial logistic regression model based on the Crunchbase 2013 Snapshot that relates the events of exit and closure to the amount of equity funds raised at different rounds, while controlling for geographical location, economic sector, age, network ties and several proxies of effectiveness. Our study contributes to the existing literature by providing a quantitative assessment of the impact of equity funding dynamics on a venture’s chance of successful exit and risk of closure that is not limited to the startup stage, but also covers advanced stages of development. In this way, we provide a comprehensive view of the different scenarios that may be envisioned in a venture’s life cycle, which is of core importance to achieve an effective support of investors’ decisions. Full article

The pitch is an important part of the entrepreneur–investor relationship. To come to an agreement, entrepreneurs and investors need to trust each other. However, how does trust arise between them, and how does trust evolve during the few minutes of a pitch? With the aim to develop propositions, we build on previous studies in entrepreneurship and venture funding. Therefore, we rely on the main concepts of trust useful to analyze the interpersonal relationship during a pitch: behavioral trust and transformative trust. We discuss the place of formal documents diffused prior to the pitch and the importance of the oral presentation. We conclude by suggesting testable proposition on the evolution of trust during the pitch. Full article

Driverless cars, such as those currently operated by Uber and others as well as those being researched and developed by major and niche automobile manufacturers, are expected to dramatically reduce the number of highway fatalities in the coming years. While no one will fault any technology that safely and effectively protects and saves lives, many individuals with an array of medical conditions rely on organ donors to provide the liver, kidney, or other organs required to facilitate a life-saving organ transplant. Consequently, one collateral effect of the introduction of driverless car technology will be a reduction in the market supply of healthy organs for transplantation. In this paper, a venture capital lawyer, a medical researcher, and a bioengineer will establish the expected size of this reduction in supply, the associated harm resulting from this reduction, and discuss two promising technological solutions—bioprosthetics and 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs. In the case of both technologies, the authors will discuss the challenges and opportunities presented for institutional investors (private equity, venture capital, angel funds) and medical researchers in tackling the potential reduction in organ donations. Full article

The purpose of this paper is to develop an applied fuzzy model of information technology to obtain quantitative estimates of environmental start-up projects in air transport. The developed model will become a useful tool for venture funds, business angels, or crowdfunding platforms for the development of innovative air transport businesses. Obtaining a quantitative estimate of the environmental start-up projects will increase the sustainability of the decision making on the security of financing of such projects by investors. This article develops a fuzzy evaluation model of project start-ups in air transport as an application of our neuro-fuzzy model in a specific air transport environment. The applied model provides output ranking of start-up project teams in air transport based on a four-layer neuro-fuzzy network. The presented model declares the possibilities of the application to solve these economic problems and offers the space for subsequent research focused on its usability in several areas of start-up development, in sectors and processes differentiated. The benefits are also visible for several types of policies, with an emphasis on decision-making processes in regulatory mechanisms to support the state funding in Slovakia, the EU etc. Full article

One major aspect that attracts Indian online retail customer is buying products at ease & convenience at competitive prices. The India e-commerce growth story has so far been remarkable. The starts ups are being immensely funded by angel investor and venture capitalists and the valuation game is keeping them lucrative. Although the growth of many e-commerce in the past five to six years have been impressive, sale of counterfeit products and the online counterfeit market is a chronic problem for many industries, brands and also to the government. In this paper the authors have analyzed the factors that influence online counterfeit market to flourish, the present policies, framework and strategies available to deal with this threat. This paper also attempts to understand using a survey, if youngsters in the age group of 20 to 30 years, who shop online are aware of the online counterfeit market and the existing solution to deal with it. An attempt has been made to propose strategies to deal with the online counterfeit market. The authors have given a terminology for online counterfeit market and also have created a Governance Risk Compliance model at al level to deal with online counterfeiting. Full article