BAM315 Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship

Please Note: You are permitted to upload your Coursework in the final submission area as any times as you like before the deadline. You will receive a similarity/originality score which represents what the Turnitin system identifies as work similar to another source.

 

The originality score can take over 24 hours to generate, especially at busy times e.g. submission deadline.

If you upload the wrong version of your Coursework, you are able to upload the correct version of your Coursework via the same submission area. You simply need to click on the 'submit paper' button again and submit your new version before the deadline.

In doing so, this will delete the previous version which you submitted and your new updated version will replace it.

 

Therefore your Turnitin similarity score should not be affected. If there is a change in your Turnitin similarity score, it will be due to any changes you may have made to your Coursework.

Please note, when the due date is reached, the version you have submitted last, will be considered as your finalsubmission and it will be the version that is marked.

Once the due date has passed, it will not be possible for you to upload a different version of your assessment. Therefore, you must ensure you have submitted the correct version of your assessment which you wish to be marked, by the due date.

Your overall total word count should not exceed 2,500 words (Weighted at 50% of final mark forthe module)

Please refer to Appendix B of the Programme Regulations for detailed Assessment Criteria.

 

It is crucial that you fully credit the work of others in your written work. If somebody else’s work,appears without full acknowledgement, there is the possibility that you could end up receiving credit for that work.

 

This is dishonest and undermines the integrity of your work, and is what we define as plagiarism.

 

All assignment submissions are electronically tested for plagiarism.Plagiarised copies are invariably rooted out and severe penalties apply.

It is important therefore that you meet the certain basic standards expected of you during the assessment process. If we receive a report claiming that you have committed an offence, your results for the year will automatically be withheld whilst your case is investigated.

 

Students who are found to be guilty of breaking the rules may receive a penalty, ranging from a warning, through to cancellation of a module, an entire year’s work or, in very serious cases, termination of registration.

 

You are also reminded that investigations for suspected assessment offences can take up to nine months to resolve, and your progression on this programme may be disrupted due to poor academic practices.

You should seek out and remind yourself of the standards you should meet whenever you are submitting an assessment. You can do this by:

Consulting the appropriate sections in the General Regulations, Programme Regulations, Student Guide and Programme Handbook.

reading the material posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

Penalties for exceeding the word count:

The content within the main body of text comprises the overall word count, including in-text citations, references, quotes, heading and sub-headings. The cover page, reference list and any appendices do not count towards the overall word count. Full submission instructions are included in the VLE with coursework submission forms. There are penalties for exceeding the specified word count.

The maximum word limit for this coursework assignment is 2,500 words (excluding the list of references).

You may use less than 2,500 words but in so doing you may be penalising yourself as it is likely to be challenging to respond to the coursework brief.

? You MUST state an accurate word count (excluding the list of references) at the end of your work. If you do not state an accurate word count your mark will be reduced by 5 marks.

? The content within the main body of text comprises the overall word count, including in-text citations, references, quotes, heading and sub-headings. The cover page, reference list and any appendices do not count towards the overall word count.

? For coursework and project items, students should not exceed the maximum word limits by more than 10%.

a) If the word count is between 10% to 20% above the maximum word limit, 5 marks will be deducted.

b) If the word count exceeds the maximum word limit by more than 20%, students will receive zero marks for their work.

You must answer all questions, and any related sub-questions.

1. The pandemic era has affected the PE industry in many ways. Present, analyse and explain the trends in the PE industry during 2020-2021. You can find data in the different sources that are available in the internet (Bloomberg, Pitchbook, Crunchbase, the economic press, etc.)

 

Your recommendations should be rooted in relevant theoretical underpinnings and material covered in Topics 1 – 5. It is crucial to use relevant academic theory and framework to support your argument as both have also been explicitly discussed throughout.

 

Topics 1 – 5.You are required to:

Present the emerging trends in terms of amounts invested, number of funds/companies, average size of investment, etc. (10 marks)

Explain the extent to which these trends are continuing or if there is a significant change compared to the last 3-5 years. (20 marks)

Analyse the differences within the years 2020 and 2021.(20 marks)

2. Select two of the following companies (BionTech, WeWork, AirBnB, Uber, Oyo, Lyft, Octopus energy, Gousto, Infoblip, Gocardless, Gymshark) and get information on their history and performance; there is a lot of information available in the public domain. Based on this information, answer the following questions:

What was the disruption that made them so attractive for VC funding? Disruption can be purely technological or a combination of technology and market.(10 marks)

 

What were the challenges they faced? Do not forget challenges may be internal, external and execution – check which are the most important ones for each company you select.(10 marks)

How were the challenges met by their investors? This information will be found in the press once you have identified the challenges (e.g. If the challenge is overoptimistic sales team, was it changed? If so, when?)(10 marks)

 

Is there anything you would suggest could have been made differently in order to avoid problems? Here, you will need to use your knowledge and imagination. You may find some criticism in the press but it may not be enough, this is why this question gets higher marks.(20 marks)

Perform a critical analysis on all bullet points shown above and construct valuable recommendations for improvements. These recommendations should be rooted in relevant theoretical underpinnings and relevant material covered in Topics 1 – 5. It is crucial to use relevant academic theory and framework to support your argument as both have also been explicitly discussed throughout Topics 1– 5.
Total 100 marks