Venture Capital 20 years on: reflections on the evolution of a field. Issue 1 (2nd January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Harrison, Richard T.; Mason, Colin M.
• Is Part Of: Venture capital. Volume 21:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 34
• Publication Date: 2019-01-02
• Subjects: Entrepreneurial finance -- angel groups and syndicates -- coinvestment schemes -- equity crowdfunding -- initial coin offerings; Venture capital -- Periodicals; Entrepreneurship -- Periodicals; 332.041
• DOI: 10.1080/13691066.2019.1562627
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1369-1066

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper reviews the circumstances surrounding the launch of Venture Capital: An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance in 1999. It highlights a number of significant changes in the structure of the entrepreneurial finance market over the past 20 years, notably the decline of "classic" venture capital, the effective closure of the small-cap IPO market, the scale-up problem and the emergence of a second equity gap, the geographical dispersion of venture capital and the institutionalisation of the business angel market. A number of new players in the market – coinvestment schemes, equity crowdfunding platforms and blockchain technology-based Initial Coin Offerings – are discussed and the challenges and opportunities they pose for investors, entrepreneurs, policy makers, regulators and academic researchers are assessed. Against this background, a number of key features of the evolution of the content and focus of the Journal are discussed. The paper finishes with a summary of the papers included in this Special Issue.