The main characteristics of venture capital are the following:

Venture capital generally provides funding to businesses that are in their early stages of development. The main receptors of these funds are small and medium businesses because they are on the rise and have great reach of development compared to already established businesses.

Venture capital is articulated through the acquisition of shares in the capital of the company in the investment, usually through the purchase of shares. It is a way to channel savings by allowing for the lack of self-financing small and medium business.

Venture capital involves little cost for the small business. They would only need to pay for the cost of the transactions if they are any. The benefits are greater than the costs.

Some venture capitalists invest on companies that work on promising areas are more innovative areas of industry or science. Companies like Eurocorp function as venture capitalists but only provide funding to new technologies in areas like biogenetics, biotechnology, hotel management, tourism and leisure. Venture capital recently focuses on green or environmentally friendly technology and industry. Examples of this would be fisheries, water treatment and ecotourism.

One difference between venture capital and other type of capital coming from more conservative financial institutions is the risks they are willing to take to perceive higher profits.

Risky investments are appealing to venture capitalist because they offer them substantial benefits when the business becomes successful in their lines of work. Venture capitalist will recover their investment when they sell their shares at a much higher price than the one they bought them for.

It should be distinguished from the term that we are dealing with other terms, basically, of risk capital (venture capital), participatory loans, or just loan and take money from investment trust.

The main different between venture capital and commercial loans is that the first one will not guarantee financing.

Finally, venture capital differs from other types of investment in the level of support they give to start up businesses. As opposed to commercial loans and investment trusts, venture capitalists give assistance to the new entrepreneur in the administration of the resource and the operations.