Investimento de capital em startups: critérios de decisão de investimento de investidores anjos e sementes

Abstract

Startups are born from an innovative and scalable proposal in conditions of uncertainty, which due to the need for initial investment and the difficulties to be financing by financial institutions, can turn to venture capitalists, who finance businesses with high potential in exchange for equity participation. The objective of this work was to identify the capital investment decision criteria of angel and seed investors when investing in startups, achieved through a descriptive quantitative research, based on the responses obtained by a questionnaire on the importance of the 33 investment decision criteria .It was observed that the most relevant attributes for brazilian investors refer to aspects of the entrepreneur/team, such as “trustworthiness/honesty” and enthusiasm/commitment”, followed by the criteria “Growth potential of the market”; “revenue potential”; and “potential exit routes”. It is noted that “product's overall competitive protection” has greater relevance for investors as the number of companies financed increases; “track record of individual team members”; “ability to maintain low overhead”; and “ability to maintain low overhead” are more important as capitalists age; and “ability to maintain low overhead” is more valued as the investor acquires more experience. It was also found that the criteria “barrier to entry of competitors”; “competition of market segment”; and “track record of individual team members” are more notable for angel investors than for angel/seed investors. These findings will help in the matching between entrepreneurs and investors and in the improvement of the decision making process.