Satellite Organisers

• David Dekker ([email protected]), Research Fellow at Heriot-Watt University. 
• Victor Rosenberg ([email protected]), Ph.D. candidate at Heriot-Watt University. 
• Dimitris Christopoulos ([email protected]), Professor at Heriot-Watt University. 

Background

Venture capitalists seek cooperation in syndicates to finance the needs of early-stage companies. The advantages of syndication are that ancillary resources become available to the companies, which improves their growth and survival rate. 

In projects that serve public goals, such as the energy transition, direct and/or indirect government funding is often involved. Cooperation with governmental actors requires specific capabilities, which may affect start-ups’ success.

Investing in early-stage companies carries high risks, and outcomes are often not as expected. Engaging in a syndicate requires an incredible amount of trust on the side of individual investors. It offers a natural environment to study the longevity of syndication relations and the effects on repeated syndications as a function of trust. In other words, how resilient are syndication networks?

In this respect, environmental variables also play a significant role—for example, the financial or knowledge environment. As for example, interest rates change, inflation soars, government spending expands, or fiscal policies change, a reevaluation of VC investment opportunities occurs. A major question is how this affects early-stage companies in their development. Second, a basis for early-stage companies to start often lies in patented technology. However, as the technological improvement rate of technology domains differs, the value of such a patent, and hence the valuation of early-stage companies, may be affected. The effect of these business environmental factors on syndication has only recently been explored. 

To expedite the energy-transition, a crucial role is set out for finance, and especially early-stage finance. As the technologies on which the Paris Climate Agreement relies have mostly not been invented yet, these new solutions will need support from investors willing to take high risks. In this satellite event we will discuss developments in VC financing of early-stage companies considering the energy transition. 

Call for papers

We welcome submissions exploring syndication’s effects from academic research and industry white papers. Academic submissions should utilize empirical network analysis (or network science) methodology (qualitative and/or quantitative) on syndicates and be full paper or extended abstract submissions. White papers from the industry could be used as presentations or papers.

Full paper submissions: 

• This should be a single file with the main text, all tables and figures, and references. 
• References may be submitted in any style or format as long as they are consistent throughout the submission. 
• Include all author details. 
• Submissions should be no more than 9000 words, including references. 

Extended abstract submissions: 

• Extended abstracts should not exceed 3000 words, including references. 
• Include all author details. 

Industry White papers: 

• Paper and abstract limitations as above 
• Presentations should contain no more than 20 slides. 

Only PDF submissions will be considered.

Important dates: 

Submission deadline:25^th May 2024

Communicate submission decision: 30^th May 2024