A utilização de fundos de Private Equity e Venture Capital por startups de Uberlândia-MG: um panorama

Abstract

According to international studies, Brazil is one of the most enterprising countries in the world, with 38% of its people between 18 and 64 years old engaged in their own respective enterprises. Despite that, entrepreneurship, in the country, encounters a hostile land, because of credit difficulties, high tax burden, low management qualification, among other things. Several authors, such as Quandt (1998), Cassiolato and Lastres (1998), Freeman (1994), Hisrich and Peters (2004), and Schumpeter (1997) already proved that technological innovation is an essential factor for the economical development of a region and of a country; still, Brazilian economy is poorly evaluated in terms of innovation, with the enterprising environment, the difficulty to start the business, and the low patent production being some of the items mentioned as cause for the low level of innovation in Brazilian economy. The funds of private equity and venture capital are allotted to buying share in companies with a high growth potential, in a short time, injecting money needed for the funding of enterprising activities and supporting their management. Considering startups are companies strongly associated to innovation, with innovating business models, being scalable and considering they work in an environment of extreme uncertainty – which compromises the acquisition of bank loan – this project aimed to analyze if the mechanisms of private equity and venture capital are funding alternatives for the startups of the city of Uberlândia-MG. The results shows that companies are familiar with the mechanisms of private equity and venture capital and are willing to accept funding their activities this way.