Английский язык. Практический курс для решения бизнес-задач

Пусенкова Нина

24. Small Business Administration (SBA) – Администрация по делам малого бизнеса (США)

25. Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) – инвестиционная компания для малого бизнеса (США)

26. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) – Совет управляющих ФРС (США)

27. merchant bank – торговый банк (Великобритания, сходен с инвестиционным банком по функциям)

28. boom n – бум, быстрый экономический подъем, период экономического процветания

boom v – быстро расти, процветать (об экономике)

29. strike price – цена исполнения

30. National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) –

Автоматизированные котировки Национальной ассоциации дилеров по ценным бумагам (НАСДАК)

31. slump n – краткосрочное падение экономической активности или цены конкретной ценной бумаги

slump v – снижаться, падать (об экономической активности или цене ценной бумаги)

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What are the main differences between venture capital and the traditional financing? 2. Who are the partners of venture capitalists? 3. What are the characteristic features of fixed-lifetime funds? 4. What are the usual forms of a VC investment? 5. Is venture capital suitable for many entrepreneurs? 6. What is the usual proportion between successes and failures in the VC industry? 7. How can venture capitalists mitigate the risk of failure? 8. How was the VC industry launched? 9. How did the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 promote the VC industry? 10. Why has venture capitalism developed more actively in the US than elsewhere in the world? 11. What was the contribution of the dotcom boom to the development of the VC industry? 12. What were the effects of NASDAQ crash and technological slump? 13. How is the VC industry developing worldwide?

Exercise 2*. In general, businesses set up through venture financing develop by stages described below. Match the names of these stages given under the leading «Venture Financing Terms» with their definitions given below and describe evolution of a fledgling company through these stages.

Stages of Development of a Business

1. source of funding for the early stages of a startup venture where the product, process, or service is in its conceptual or developmental phase

2. from founding the business to the beginning of operations and the generation of revenue

3. initial growth phase, funded by the initial capitalization. Management and operations are in place, and markets initially identified are being penetrated using available resources

4. the business seeks to expand its product line, expand its facilities, identify and penetrate new markets, and continue the growth phase

5. the business is established in its target markets

6. financing provided, usually by private investors or venture capital firms, prior to a company going public, or initiating its next stage of financing

7. an offering of debt, equity or limited partnership interests to a small number of investors (generally 35 or fewer) on a ‘private’ basis. Exempt from the registration requirements of the securities laws

8. either the percentage reduction of ownership in a company resulting from the sale of additional shares of stock, or the difference between the price paid by investors in either a private-placement or public financing

9. the process of investigation by venture capital firms and other investors of a company, its business, and financial plans, prior to proceeding with an investment

10. a study that evaluates a proposed venture’s potential for success

11. an equity ownership position that is provided to a funding source as compensation, or additional compensation, for providing management consulting, financing or miscellaneous services

12. the value assigned to the entrepreneur’s contribution or investment of time and effort in the venture

Venture Financing Terms:

Private Placement. Feasibility Study. Seed Capital. Mezzanine Financing.

Sweat Equity. Startup. First Stage. Dilution. Second Stage. Equity Stake.

Third Stage. Due Diligence.

Exercise 3*. Which of the following statements are not correct and why?

1. A venture capital fund is a pooled investment vehicle that primarily invests the financial capital of third-party investors in enterprises that are too risky for the standard capital markets or bank loans. 2. Venture financing is mainly provided to mature enterprises that have sufficient collateral, good track record, or stable earnings. 3. Venture capitalists typically expect a 5-15% annual return on their investment at the time they are bought out. 4. Investors in venture capital funds are typically large institutions with huge amounts of available capital. 5. Venture capitalists are not very selective in deciding what to invest in; a fund invests in about one in twenty opportunities presented to it. 6. Most venture funding goes into oil and gas sector or service companies. 7. The success rate of investments is high; anywhere from 50% to 70% of the funded enterprises return the invested capital. 8. The first venture-backed startup is generally considered to be Fairchild Semiconductor, funded in 1959 by Venrock Associates. 9. Venture capital is a phenomenon most closely associated with Japan and car making companies. 10. The NASDAQ crash and technology slump that started in March 2000 shook VC funds deeply. 11. The renaissance of an Internet-driven business has helped to revive the VC environment.

Exercise 4*. Fill in the blanks using terms given below.

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is an area of Northern California between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose. Until the middle of the 20th century, this….. region was better known for its apricots and walnuts than for its….. A combination of regional…… and historical accidents conspired to produce one of the greatest……. in the world.

Many people have……. the success of the Valley primarily to the influence of nearby………, particularly Stanford University. In the 1920’s, administrators at Stanford sought to improve the prestige of their institution by….. highly respected…… members from East Coast universities. One important…… was Fred Terman, an electrical engineer from MIT. Like many of his colleagues, he performed……. research in electronics. Unlike many others, though, he encouraged his students to sell….. of these new technologies in the…….. By providing……. and……, Terman enabled two of his first recruits, David Hewlett and William Packard, to…… the audio-oscillator in the late 1930s.

In 1954, Stanford University offered to….. part of Stanford Research Park to……. companies. This began the…….. of industries in Palo Alto. Stanford Research Park, through the……. of a few influential professors and university administrators, became the……. of the budding Silicon Valley. By the 1980s, the entire park had been rented out to…… firms.

The 1950s also witnessed the birth of the…….. industry. Dr. William Shockley, a Cal Tech trained engineer……. electronics by developing the transistor to magnify electronic images and replace vacuum tubes. He and some talented young……. from the East Coast……. Shockley Industries in Palo Alto. Unfortunately, his stubbornness and lack of tact soon alienated many of his colleagues and caused them to…… from his firm and form their own company, Fairchild Semiconductor. It became the first firm to……. exclusively in silicon and rapidly…….. into one of the leaders in the California electronics industry.