The Deal Structuring Stage of the Venture Capitalist Decision-Making Process: Exploring Confidence, Control, Financing Levels, and Financing Structures

This exploratory study examines the deal structuring stage of the venture capitalist decision-making process. Here, the primary issues of concern are investor confidence and potential control of a venture in relation to the level of financing the investor provides and the structure with which the funding is delivered. Confidence comes in support of the entrepreneur, the venture itself, or a combination of the two, prior to capital transfer, but after the initial “invest or not invest” decision has already occurred. Findings support a multicriteria perspective of the pre-investment decisionmaking process and a distinct difference between entrepreneur confidence and venture confidence in the deal structuring stage.