New Venture Financing - Investor Analysis and Philosophy

This article provides an analysis of investor philosophy and approach in new venture financing. It includes interviews with Marissa Mayer and Ronal Conway, discussing their investment focus, stages, due diligence, critical success and failure, and lessons learned. The article also includes a bibliography of relevant research.

Running head: NEW VENTURE FINANCING
New Venture Financing
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Authors Note:

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Table of Contents
1. General Information about the investor and principal partners and firms:............................2
2. Indicating the areas and investment space focused by the investor:......................................2
3. Identifying the stages focused by the investor:......................................................................3
4. Identifying the due diligence approach and philosophy of the investor:...............................3
5.1 Identifying the critical success and failure of the investor:..................................................4
5.2 Indicating the lessons learnt from both new venture initiation and new venture financing:5
Bibliography:..............................................................................................................................6

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1. General Information about the investor and principal partners and firms:
Interview 1: Marissa Mayer
Marissa Mayer is one the leading investor currently having investment in major
organisation, which has yielded her higher returns. Marissa Mayer was a chief executive of
yahoo before being the product developer of Google for almost 13 years. She has been in the
investment sector by producing seed money for business and being an angel investor. She has
been known as a swift decision maker, which can be seen in her investments. She has
invested in Square when the company was valued at $45 Million and its current valued at $5
billion in market capitalisation. She was the main reason behind the success of yahoo and
kept the company up to date with the trend.
Interview 2: Ronal Conway
Ronal Conway is considered to be one the active angel investor who has been
investing in organisations over 15 years. He has invested in companies like Google, Good
Technology, Opsware, Ask Jeeves, Paypal, and Brightmail. Ronal Conway was one of the
Advisory Boards of Twitter, Digg, Brightmail, Ask Jeeves, Rupture, Associated Content,
Facebook, RockYou, ScanScout, Zappos, Trulia, StumbleUpon, Plaxo, Photobucket, and
Anchor Intelligence. He has been considered as seed investor, which increases his odds to
generate higher returns from the investment. Moreover, Ronal Conway founded Angel
investors LP funds, where he also became the managing partner.
2. Indicating the areas and investment space focused by the investor:
Interview 1: Marissa Mayer

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Marissa Mayer is considered to be an angel or individual type investor, which has
helped her to promote new ideas and businesses. In addition, she is one of the seed investors,
where the investment allows the idea and business to materialise in actual world.
Interview 2: Ronal Conway
Ronal Conway is one of the investors who can be considered as Angel/individual, and
investment partner. He relevantly provides seed money for businesses and manage them to
become partners, which has yielded him higher returns from investment.
3. Identifying the stages focused by the investor:
Interview 1: Marissa Mayer
The interview of Marissa Mayer has indicated that she has been an angel/individual
and seed investors for major organisations. The analysis has also shown that she has invested
in Series B, Series A, and Series E type of investments, which helped her improving the level
of returns from investment. She has invested in Minted, GetAround, Wealthfront, Lever, and
Persiscope, which has yielded her higher rate of return from investment.
Interview 2: Ronal Conway
The interview evaluation has relevantly indicated that Ronal Conway has been seed
and angel investor. He has been focusing on Series B and Series A investments, which has
yielded him higher returns. He has an exposure in Joby Aviation, Overlay, Delectable,
CastTV, Simple Hired, and Become, Inc. The overall exposure and attribute of investment
has relevantly helped him to maximize the level of return from their exposure.
4. Identifying the due diligence approach and philosophy of the investor:
Interview 1: Marissa Mayer

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Marissa Mayer’s due diligence approach is to make investments in organisation
during the seed stage and yield rate of returns. The philosophy of Marissa Mayer is detected
from the decisions made by her on relevant investment in certain organisations. She has been
an angel investor for high-level organisations, which has yielded her higher revenues. She
invested in Brit Media as seed investor and now worth $70 million and financed in Minted in
Series B now worth $422 million, while capitalized in Kamcord as seed investor, which is
worth $115 million. Marissa always admired in retaining and finding persons, who can be
innovative and presentable in delivering ideas.
Interview 2: Ronal Conway
The main philosophy of Ronal Conway is to increase his investment scope on
organisation and become investment partner in the long run. The major philosophy of Ronal
Conway investment is based on becoming the seed investors and later the managing partner
of the organisation. He has successfully invested in companies like Joby Aviation, Overlay,
Delectable, CastTV and Simple Hired, where the investment has grown adequately. This
investment section of Ronald Conway ranges from wide variety of sectors, as he has invested
from aviation industry, Television industry, and technology based organisation.
5.1 Identifying the critical success and failure of the investor:
Interview 1: Marissa Mayer
The major achievement of Marissa Mayer was in Square, where she invested in the
company when it was valued at $45 million and became $5 billion worth organisation. Her
price possessions are the investments conducted in Minted, GetAround, Wealthfront, Lever,
Periscope data, Kamord, Brit Media and uBeam. The major critical success factor is her
innovative psychology in investment, as she thrives in believing in business, which can

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provide support to the environment. She has always showed strength, experimented and
taking on challenges for improving her investment scope.
Interview 2: Ronal Conway
Ronal Conway is one of the major players in investing business, where he has
invested in companies like Joby Aviation, Overlay, Delectable, CastTV, Become, Inc and
Simple Hired. He was also the managing partner of Angel investors LP, which funded
Google, PayPal, Good technical and other huge investments. The major success factor for the
individual was the diverse lookout of investment scope, as he thrives to detect investment
opportunities in diver businesses.
5.2 Indicating the lessons learnt from both new venture initiation and new venture
financing:
The major lessons learnt for the overall new venture initiation and new venture
financing perspective is the investment psychology that individual needs to have for
becoming venture capitalist. The individuals that have ben interviewed indicated the level of
investment psychology that allowed them to detect growth in certain ideas, which became
successfully in future. The major commonalities that have been detected in the person
interviewed is the mind-set and their having specific technique or routine for investment. In
addition, the current booming areas for investment in in technology, this has allowed the
venture capitalist to boost their overall returns from investment. The major difference
between the venture capitalist is the investment type and stage in which the interviewers take
their initiative in the organisation.

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Bibliography:
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effects of market concentration, customer type and venture capital financing on start-
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Hoenig, D., & Henkel, J. (2015). Quality signals? The role of patents, alliances, and team
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Scarborough, N. M. (2016). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management.
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Zheng, L. J., Bai, T., & Cross, A. (2018, July). New Venture Growth and Legitimation:
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