In this chapter, we explore crowdfunding as a valuable means of providing early funding and support for aspiring entrepreneurial ventures. Crowdfunding has emerged as an innovative source of early funding and support for entrepreneurial ventures, particularly in the early 2000s, coinciding with the rise of online crowdfunding platforms. This new avenue to financing allows entrepreneurial ventures to reach a larger pool of potential small investors, fostering financial growth and providing valuable resources for entrepreneurs’ business development. By examining the concept of crowdfunding, we aim to highlight the potential benefits for early-stage entrepreneurs. We will also explore the underlying aspects of crowdfunding in greater detail, comparing it to traditional fundraising methods. As will be evident, this method of funding is part of the broader strategy of obtaining funding (i.e., the ‘art’) that complements the more technical aspects (i.e., the ‘science’) of growing ventures.

This chapter introduces you to the concept and practicalities of intellectual property (IP): what it is and why it can be of importance to your new business venture. IP will be at the heart of most businesses and it is a key element in achieving competitive advantage, enabling cash flow, and justifying value. Sometimes it takes considerable financial investment to generate and develop IP; some types of IP can cost a great deal of money to protect; some types of IP protection are very low-cost. All in all, IP is a very important element in the finances of a new and growing business and management needs to understand the key issues surrounding the decisions that will need to be made.

In this chapter we will delve into the technical aspects of financial planning for a startup. A financial plan is the starting point of any financial strategy. Its first purpose is to realize whether the venture will have an external financing need and, if so, how much financing it will need and when. Next it will serve as the basis for the valuation of the venture. Third, and probably most importantly, the plan will give the entrepreneur and potential investors the means to critically assess and optimize the business model.

In this chapter, you will be walked through the concepts of venture capital and private equity funds, helping you to understand how they operate, who invests in these funds, and, most importantly, how they make money and why this is important for entrepreneurs.

Venture capital and private equity funds have emerged over the past decades as ideal vehicles for channelling private and public money into the financing of innovation. Since the creation of the American Research and Development Corporation (ADRC) in Boston in 1946 by French immigrant George Doriot, considered to be the first venture capital firm, the industry has evolved to provide risk capital to innovative entrepreneurs in a model that has barely changed and is adapted to the particularities of the underlying asset: startup companies.

This chapter considers the challenges and benefits of developing a proper corporate governance structure and policy while expanding as a venture. Although the public debate over corporate governance seems to focus on public companies, an effective governance structure is equally important for startups and private companies. In fact, given the stronger link between the financing and investment decision in startups as compared to public companies, the question of how to structure agreements between investors and entrepreneurs that ensure that their own benefits and responsibilities are met is particularly relevant.

This chapter considers the challenging yet exciting world of valuing companies. Valuation has always been a key topic in finance, but it is even more relevant in the case of high-growth ventures because of its impact on raising capital. Equity is the main source of financing for startups, which typically have high potential and few tangible assets. In order to come to an assessment, founders and investors need to determine the value of the business or ‘exchange rate’ of money for shares.

Investors in startups need to realize what is going on in the companies in which they have invested. To do so, they engage in monitoring activities to find out whether a portfolio company is developing well or whether it needs support or even corrective action. However, monitoring is only possible if the startup provides investors with the relevant information. Monitoring requires regular reports from the entrepreneurs because they are the ones who see how the startup is doing – at least they should. Generally, business reporting takes place on a monthly basis. However, venture capitalists frequently require weekly reporting and will work with the entrepreneurs to establish daily targets that lead to the achievements of the weekly targets. Additional investor reports on specific issues may complement the regular reporting, as well as meetings and calls to discuss important issues. A business report is the lens through which investors perceive and recognize the progress entrepreneurs achieve. Monitoring by investors will succeed or fail based on the quality of the reporting. This quality, in turn, depends directly on the principles and standards entrepreneurs apply when measuring the economic activities and events affecting their startup.

Business angels are private individuals – predominantly cashed-out entrepreneurs – who invest their own money in new and early-stage businesses and, having invested, then draw on their own business experience to support these ventures in a variety of ways. They are often referred to as informal investors or informal venture capitalists. Whereas the attention of scholars and the media is largely focused on institutional venture capital, business angels actually finance substantially more businesses.

In this chapter we explore how and why venture capitalists (VCs) conduct due diligence. We begin by demystifying due diligence and dissecting its objectives. From screening to final legal scrutiny, we explore the due diligence stages, offering insights from academia, experts, and the tools used by VCs. In doing so we blend academic rigour with the street-smart wisdom of industry experts – both VCs and founders. This delivers insights from both sides of the table on how to navigate the intricate dance of due diligence. Continuing in the spirit of offering real-world insights and tools, we include due diligence scorecards shared by VCs, plus noteworthy tales of successes and failures. The chapter closes with a spotlight on key trends shaping the future of due diligence and a practical checklist of the topics to include, and things to look out for, when doing due diligence.

In this chapter argues that the ethics of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) must be understood as inseparable from the modes of responsibilization that have preceded it, which refers to developments in business ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and corporate sustainability. Focusing primarily on ESG as a heading for corporate responsibility policies and practices within the context of EU regulation, the chapter considers ESG as a supplement to prior conceptions rather than a stand–alone concept. After outlining the foundational, societal and environmental accomplishments of the three preceding constructs, the chapter argues that the defining, supplementary feature of ESG is that it is informational and that it has emerged as a concept that binds together the information needs of investors and other stakeholders, corporate disclosures, and government regulation. Thus, the ethics of ESG must be understood in terms of its ability to put greater and more obligatory demands on corporate responsibility through standardized reporting, standardized methods, and standardized data and performance measures.

This chapter explores fundamental analytical techniques in data science, distinguishing between data analysis (backward-looking) and data analytics (forward-looking prediction).

Six key analysis categories are covered:

Descriptive Analysis examines current data through statistical measures (mean, median, mode) and visualizations to understand "what is happening."

Diagnostic Analytics investigates "why something happened" using correlation analysis, emphasizing the distinction between correlation and causation.

Predictive Analytics forecasts future outcomes using historical data and regression analysis.

Prescriptive Analytics determines optimal courses of action by analyzing potential decisions.

Exploratory Analysis discovers unknown relationships through visualization when questions aren’t predetermined.

Mechanistic Analysis examines exact variable changes and their effects.

The chapter emphasizes statistical literacy as essential for data scientists, covering key concepts like variable types, frequency distributions, measures of centrality and dispersion, and regression modeling. Hands-on examples demonstrate applications across business, healthcare, and social sciences.