Ex. 2.Use the words from the previous exercise to fill in the gaps below

1 Company ----------- are often much too optimistic, and make unrealistically high--------------------______________________________

2 If a start-up's---------------- doesn't appear to be------------------, e.g. because of the threat of new entrants, investors won't be interested.

3. It took three years for our-----------------to reach our------------- -----------------, but in the fourth year we finally made a profit.

4. Big companies sometimes lose some of their best------------------ to start-ups, and this can happen to start-ups too once they have become established.

5. An investor's---------------------can be sabotaged by events such as a suddenly falling stock market.

Ex.3 Role play: Investing in start-ups

Imagine that you are investment managers for a large financial institution such as a pension fund or an insurance company that has decided to invest up to 2% of its assets in start-up companies.

It will not be difficult to find companies in which to invest, because you regularly receive propositions from venture capital firms. But first, you want to establish a strategy. Which industries or industry sectors do you think you should invest in? Which industries have the most potential? Which industries or technologies probably present the fewest risks? If you are going to invest in companies in your own country, in which industries does it have expertise or a competitive advantage?

Choose three of the sectors listed below. Prepare a short presentation of your strategy in small groups. Then change groups and explain your strategy to your colleagues, and then present your decisions to the class.

A microprocessor

• computer and video game technology

• DNA sequencing and genetic medicine

• fuel-efficient aeroplane (BrE) or airplane (AmE) technology

• genetically modified food

• high-speed rail transport

• hybrid (petrol and electric battery) automobile technology

• microprocessors using nanotechnology

• mobile telephone technology

• nuclear energy

• nuclear medical imaging

• solar energy technology

• wind energy technology

• other?