Translation

1. Translate from English into Russian

Advantages of Raising Money Through Venture Capitalist

1. Money - if you need money for your business to expand, this is the most obvious benefit of having a venture capital fund involved.

2. Venture capital firm contacts to strategic suppliers, customers etc. can be invaluable. VC managers often come from a variety of backgrounds and this is an area where they may help.

3. Venture capital firm contacts in financials services that may allow the company to attract debt finance at attractive rates

4. A venture capitalist brings the experience of the firm to the table. Often VCs have a background in the industry or consulting and this can be very valuable to open-minded management.

5. A venture capitalist continuously searches for new deals and actively participates in managing the Company.

6. Venture capital firms normally employ technical assistance grants and hire experts that bring expertise to the Company by providing recommendations and contacts.

7. Companies that have well-known and reputable shareholders are treated differently. Having a big name on the major owners list can open doors to new opportunities.

8. Networking. Venture capital firms and institutional investors are hubs for networking across the world. Many venture capital firms have hundreds of limited partners that can create value for the company across the globe.

9. Organizational value. Venture capital firms can bring a sense of organization and structure to the business. They have experience in what is attractive for investors and what needs to be done to make a company trade at a higher multiple on the exchange.

10. People. A great venture capital manager could do a lot to make the business successful.

B Translate from Russian into English

Венчурные инвестиции – это вложение денежных средств, представляющих собой акционерный капитал, в перспективные быстроразвивающиеся предприятия. Такие инвестиции являются одной из форм внедрения технологических новшеств.

Функциональной задачей венчурного капитала является способствование развитию конкретного бизнеса путем вливания определенного количества финансовых активов, взамен которых выдаются акции или часть уставного капитала.

Венчурный капитал предоставляется в основном компаниям с явным потенциалом их развития, а не тем компаниям, которые уже заняли свое место на рынке и приносят высокую прибыль. Венчурное финансирование направлено на поддержание новых (необычных, а иногда и экзотических) компаний, что повышает вероятность получения сверхвысокой прибыли, но с другой стороны повышает риск.

Listening

Listening 1: Background experience

Listen to Chris Smart of Acacia Capital Partners, a venture capital firm, talking about investments his company makes. Answer the questions.

1. What fields do Acacia Capital Partners invest in?

2. Which industries does he mention that the partnership doesn’t invest in?

3. What happened when Chris Smart previously ran a non-specialized multi-disciplinary fund, and why?

Listening 2: Investing for ten years

1. Where does Chris Smart say venture capitalists get most of their money from? Fill in the gaps.

… so they equally have to raise that money from a 1. ___________ ____________ , and that in the most general terms is the insurance, it’s the insurance industry, so 2. ________ _________ and 3. _________________ _____________________ provide 4. ___________ funding to venture capitalists. It is actually a very small percentage, so they will put one to three per cent of their 5. _____________ ____________ , and no more, into vnture capital.

2. Chris Smart says ‘they’ve got five years to reap’ – what does he mean by this?

3. What is (in theory) the ten-year investment cycle?

4. What does Chris Smart say ‘actually happens’?

5. What should happen at the end of the cycle?

Listening 3: Managing new companies

1. How does Chris Smart describe the sector he works in?

2. What does he say about the managers in this sector?

3. What can the venture capital industry provide apart from capital?

4. What should a start-up do if they do not have the right managerial skills in the company?

Listening 4: Successes and failures

1. What term does Chris Smart use that means knowing that some investments will fail?

2. How does he describe the average technology venture capital portfolio?

3. Which very successful businesses does he mention?

4. What are the names of the venture capital companies that helped them, and made ‘phenomenal returns’?

Discussion after listening:

• From what Chris Smart says in the four extracts, what kind of skills do you think you would need to be successful in venture capitalism?

• Would you be good at it?