Private equity PROFESSIONALS

Contrary to conventional wisdom, venture capital firms aren't run by wealthy financiers who magnanimously fund start-ups, but by professionals who study, analyse and assess capital mobilisation proposals submitted by entrepreneurs

If you believe you have the ability to spot a good busi-ness opportunity and aspire to fund the dreams of entrepreneurs who can create jobs and tax revenue streams for public investment, a new career option which merits consideration is private equity, aka venture capital funding.

In the popular imagination, a venture capitalist is a wealthy financier who magnanimously funds start-up companies. However, the contemporary reality is that venture funds are pools of capital, usually limited liability partnership firms which invest in start-ups and growing businesses in expectation of high rates of return within five to seven years. Far from being passive financiers, venture capitalists enable the growth of investee companies through involvement with management, strategic marketing and planning. They are entrepreneurs first and financiers next.

Typically, venture capital (VC) firms raise money from wealthy individuals, corporates, financial institutions, and non-profits to build a corpus which is deployed into startups, especially new technology firms and businesses.