A patento-scientometric approach to venture capital investment prioritization

Abstract

This paper proposes an approach to analyzing and prioritizing venture capital investments with the use of scientometric and patentometric indicators. The article highlights the importance of such investments in the development of technology-based companies and their positive impacts on the economic development of regions and countries. It also notes that the managers of venture capital funds struggle to objectify the evaluation of investment proposals. This paper analyzes the selection process of 10 companies, five of which received investments by the largest venture capital fund in Brazil and the other five of which were rejected by this same fund. We formulated scientometric and patentometric indicators related to each company and conducted a comparative analysis of each by considering the indicators grouped by the nonfinancial criteria (technology, market, and divestiture team) from analysis of the investment proposals. The proposed approach clarifies aspects of the criteria evaluated and contributes to the construction of a method for prioritizing venture capital investments.