HHL Public Lectures | Finance: Investment Criteria of Venture Capitalists

Though being dwarfed by the US market, the German venture capital sector has invested over 4 bill. in 2021 and is one of the largest markets in continental Europe. Main hubs for VC funds and startup companies in Germany are Berlin and Munich. Venture capital is playing an important role in financing growth and innovation.

This session is part of a broader lecture series surrounding the topic of private equity (PE). Together with his guest Ciaran O’Leary (BlueYard Capital) Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler (HHL, Chair of Financial Management) will discuss benefits and challenges for startup companies when looking for funding from a venture capital fund.

Ciaran O´Leary is an HHL alumnus and managing partner at BlueYard Capital, a Berlin based venture capital fund specialized on seed and startup financing. BlueYard has backed many successful startup companies to grow and helped them to reach their goals. Usually only 2 – 5% of entrepreneurs applying for venture capital funds finally sign a contract. Ciaran will share some of his thoughts on how funds select their investments and how they allocate their funds.

The following topics will be hightlighted and discussed in this session:

• A short overview over the startup landscape in Germany with a special focus on the Berlin area
• The role of venture capital in funding innovation in Germany
• A discussion on criteria used by professional early stage investors when deciding about financing a startup venture
• Some guiding comments for potential and actual founders where and how to look for bootstrap financing

The talk will be held in English.