Business Commons^™

Persistence And Survival In Entrepreneurship: The Case Of The Wave Energy Conversion Corporation Of America, Giles Jackson, Randy Boxx

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Many entrepreneurial firms risk falling into a cash flow “Valley of Death”—the stage of a young firm’s life when seed funding is running dry but the firm has yet to secure sufficient additional funding to carry it through to product commercialization.This is particularly true in the nascent cleantech sector, where investments are often complex and capital intensive. Drawing on an in-depth interview with seasoned entrepreneur Brian Cunningham, CEO of the Wave Energy Conversion Corporation of America, this article explores the role of persistence in entrepreneurship, distinguishing between “calculated” and “blind” persistence.

Corporate Parents, Initial Legitimacy, And Resource Acquisition In Small And Medium Firms: An Empirical Examination, Gregory Murphy, Neil M. Tocher

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) commonly struggle to acquire needed financial, human, and technological resources. The above being stated, recent scholarly research argues that SMEs that are able to successfully navigate the legitimacy threshold are better able to gather the resources they need to survive and grow. This article provides an empirical test of that claim by examining whether the presence of a corporate parent positively influences SME resource acquisition. Results of the study show that SMEs with corporate parents, when compared to like-sized independent SMEs, have higher credit scores, have more complete management teams, use more computers, and are …

Developing High-Growth Businesses In Rural Areas: A Study Of Four U.S. States, William B. Lamb, Hugh Sherman

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Those who would establish high-growth businesses (HGBs) in rural settings face significant challenges. We report findings from more than 80 in-depth interviews regarding the obstacles that rural HGBs face and identify approaches for overcoming these obstacles. First, interviews confirm the need for improved access to a full range of financing options to support HGBs across different development stages. Second, HGBs need in-depth, sophisticated technical assistance, which is generally unavailable in rural areas. Finally, cooperation among financial and technical service providers is vital to program success. Based on these findings, a model is proposed for successful development of HGBs in rural …

Raising Venture Capital For The Serious Entrepreneur, Michele K. Masterfano

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Berkery, Dermot. Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. ISBN 9780071496025

Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur is a fascinating journey through the world of venture finance. It provides an interesting, even absorbing view into the arcane world of how venture capitalists determine what companies they will finance, how they decide on the level of investment,and what they expect in return. It further provides important tips for entrepreneurs as they begin their planning for equity financing and the negotiations with VCs for that financing.