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Venture Capitalists and COVID-19

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  • Gompers, Paul
  • Gornall, Will
  • Kaplan, Steven N.
  • Strebulaev, Ilya A.

Abstract

We survey over 1,000 venture capitalists (VCs) on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their decisions and investments. Despite the historical importance of in-person meetings, VCs do not report difficulty finding quality entrepreneurs or major changes in time allocation. They do report difficulty in evaluating deals, more investor-friendly terms, and a decreased investment rate, with about one-sixth of VCs reporting pressure from limited partners to conserve capital. Although aggregate returns are largely unchanged, there is high dispersion both within and across funds. A follow-up survey shows faster-than-expected recovery in deal volume, terms, and returns.

Suggested Citation

  • Gompers, Paul & Gornall, Will & Kaplan, Steven N. & Strebulaev, Ilya A., 2021. "Venture Capitalists and COVID-19," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(7), pages 2474-2499, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jfinqa:v:56:y:2021:i:7:p:2474-2499_7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Natee Amornsiripanitch & Paul A Gompers & Yuhai Xuan, 2019. "More than Money: Venture Capitalists on Boards," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 35(3), pages 513-543.
    2. Sabrina T. Howell & Josh Lerner & Ramana Nanda & Richard R. Townsend, 2020. "How Resilient is Venture-Backed Innovation? Evidence from Four Decades of U.S. Patenting," NBER Working Papers 27150, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    6. Gompers, Paul A. & Gornall, Will & Kaplan, Steven N. & Strebulaev, Ilya A., 2020. "How do venture capitalists make decisions?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(1), pages 169-190.
    7. Gompers, Paul & Kaplan, Steven N. & Mukharlyamov, Vladimir, 2016. "What do private equity firms say they do?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(3), pages 449-476.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bellucci, Andrea & Borisov, Alexander & Gucciardi, Gianluca & Zazzaro, Alberto, 2023. "The reallocation effects of COVID-19: Evidence from venture capital investments around the world," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    2. Andrea Bellucci & Alexander Borisov & Gianluca Gucciardi & Alberto Zazzaro, 2024. "The Staying Power of Face-to-face in the Global Venture Capital Market," CSEF Working Papers 721, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    3. Gompers, Paul A. & Kaplan, Steven N. & Mukharlyamov, Vladimir, 2022. "Private equity and Covid-19," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    4. Alekseeva, Liudmila & Fontana, Silvia Dalla & Genc, Caroline & Ranjbar, Hedieh Rashidi, 2022. "From in-person to online: the new shape of the VC industry," SocArXiv 3pc4z, Center for Open Science.
    5. Matteo Aquilina & Giulio Cornelli & Marina Sanchez del Villar, 2024. "Regulation, information asymmetries and the funding of new ventures," BIS Working Papers 1162, Bank for International Settlements.
    6. TAKAHASHI Hidenori & YAMAKAWA Yasuhiro, 2022. "The Effect of Uncertainty on Entrepreneurial Activity," Discussion papers 22064, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    7. Andrea Bellucci & Gianluca Gucciardi, 2023. "A Turning Point for Banking: Unravelling the Changing Landscape of Banking Activity in Europe since the COVID-19 pandemic," Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers 183, Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences.
    8. Pontus Braunerhjelm, 2022. "Rethinking stabilization policies; Including supply-side measures and entrepreneurial processes," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 963-983, February.
    9. Sorgner, Alina, 2023. "COVID-19 and Entrepreneurship," IZA Discussion Papers 16201, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Zhao, Jing & Cao, June & Huang, Jingchang, 2023. "CEO/board medical background and stock returns during the COVID-19 pandemic," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    11. Shai Bernstein & Richard R. Townsend & Ting Xu, 2020. "Flight to Safety: How Economic Downturns Affect Talent Flows to Startups," NBER Working Papers 27907, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage

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