When a company is seeking venture capital funding, it will still have little or no revenue/cash flow, but will generally have an established business model and a clear path to a designated market segment. Venture capital firms are looking to invest with a time horizon in the five- to seven-year range, at which point they can hopefully cash out to a private equity firm or through an initial public offering of stock.
Depending on the needs of the company, a Series A round of financing may be enough to propel the company to the point at which it can stand on its own operating cash flow. If a VC firm is participating in a later round of financing - a Series C financing, for example - its potential equity stake in the company will already be diluted, and it will need strong conviction that the company will earn a solid return before committing any funds to the startup.
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