Venture Capitalists and COVID-19

Paul A. Gompers; Will Gornall; Steven N. Kaplan; Ilya A. Strebulaev

doi:10.1017/s0022109021000545

Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis Vol. 56 No. 7 2021

Venture Capitalists and COVID-19

Paul A. Gompers^1,2,3,4; Will Gornall⁵; Steven N. Kaplan^1,6,3; Ilya A. Strebulaev^1,7

¹ National Bureau of Economic Research · ² Harvard University · ³ European Corporate Governance Institute · ⁴ Entrepreneurial Ecosystems · ⁵ University of British Columbia · ⁶ University of Chicago · ⁷ Stanford University

open access

Abstract

We survey over 1,000 venture capitalists (VCs) on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their decisions and investments. Despite the historical importance of in-person meetings, VCs do not report difficulty finding quality entrepreneurs or major changes in time allocation. They do report difficulty in evaluating deals, more investor-friendly terms, and a decreased investment rate, with about one-sixth of VCs reporting pressure from limited partners to conserve capital. Although aggregate returns are largely unchanged, there is high dispersion both within and across funds. A follow-up survey shows faster-than-expected recovery in deal volume, terms, and returns.

DOI: 10.1017/s0022109021000545
Volume: 56
Issue: 7
Pages: 2474-2499
Language: en
Sources: bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

Venture Capitalists and COVID-19

Abstract

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