Maximilian Schmidt

ARE PUBLIC FINANCING SCHEMES BENEFICIAL FOR UNIVERSITY SPIN-OFFS AND THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OF INNOVATIONS?

We investigate the effectiveness of public financing programmes for university spin-offs (USOs) in their seed stage. These ventures often identify groundbreaking innovations which are not commercialised due to financing problems. USOs show characteristics which expose them even more to the typical financing gap ventures face and for which public programmes aim to provide relief. We test on a sample of 127 German USOs whether these ventures’ characteristics increase the selection for public programmes and whether these positively affect the ventures’ development. The results indicate that only certain characteristics of USOs are decisive for receiving public support. However, the supported spin-offs have an increased likelihood of facing financial difficulties after the phase of support and do not have a higher investment readiness for finding an external investor.

Why do Some Venture Capitalists Cash Out While Others Retain their Stakes? -- How Fund Dynamics Influence Venture Capital Exit Decisions

Although venture capital (VC) exits have been studied for over 20 years, major drivers are still in question. We examine the determinants of exit timing in initial public offerings (IPOs). The results from a proprietary dataset of 292 U.S. VC-backed IPOs from 1991 to 2008 imply that VC firm characteristics and fund dynamics have a significant influence on the exit extent and may not always be in line with limited partners’ interests. In particular, first-time funds keep their shares longer after an IPO, whereas funds satisfied with current fund performance cash out soon after the end of the lockup period.