Deal Sourcing in Venture Capital. Overview of Common and Emerging Approaches

Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 1,3, Pforzheim University, language: English, abstract: There are different approaches to deal sourcing ¿ some are tried and tested over decades, others are based on the latest technologies and trends. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide an orderly overview of the common as well as emerging approaches of deal sourcing, to critically appreciate the approaches as well as to compare them with each other. In order to do justice to the rapidly changing and very practice-oriented world of venture capital, both science and practice will be considered in the following. On the one hand, reference is made to academic studies, monographs, and papers, while in addition individual voices from the industry, VC firms or otherwise involved institutions are included.

Chapter 2 starts with several general definitions and delimitations on the topic to ensure unambiguous use of terms. The following two subsections first deal with the position of deal sourcing in the investment process, and then present the connection and importance of deal flow. Subsequently, the third chapter starts with an overview of the following chapter structure, ensued by a discussion of several traditional and modern approaches to deal sourcing, before comparing them at the end of this chapter. Finally, the work ends with a conclusion, in order to summarize the main results and give a brief outlook for the future.