When it comes to financing the start-up companies that Europe so badly needs, are business angels and venture capitalists complements or substitutes ?

A study presented on Monday at the EIB by Paul Schure, Associate Professor at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, presents evidence that angels and venture capitalists are alternative financing models for start-ups. “The two financing models are in fact separate tracks in the start-up ecosystem and only very rarely is angel funding a stepping stone towards obtaining venture capital”, he says.

Some start-up companies also seem to be made for VC financing and others for angel financing. As a consequence, according to Prof. Schure, policy-makers and regulators should not only look at ways of promoting venture-capitalists but also at encouraging business angels.

The lecture was organized in collaboration with the University of Luxembourg.

 Click here to see the presentation.