Theoretical Background

Abstract

AbstractThe first chapter of this book aims to explain the fundamentals of private equity and venture capital. The second section provides a general definition of private equity and venture capital, pointing out the difference between European and American approaches to providing start-ups financial support. The third section explores the principal characteristics of their business models and how the constitution stage of the funds occurs typically. The fourth section explains how private equity differs from venture capital at first and how the two forms of investments vary significantly from the other alternative source of financing. The chapter concludes with an overview of the leading typologies of the private equity operators in the European and American markets.