A venture capital lifecycle is the fund’s clock: managers raise capital, invest it over several years, support portfolio companies, and aim to return proceeds to investors within a limited horizon. For a CEO, that clock makes exit planning part of running the company—not a task to postpone. section 3.2
The practical timeline is:
- Invest in new companies over roughly 2–3 years. section 3.2
- Deploy all or nearly all fund capital within about 5 years. section 3.2
- Return capital to investors within about 10 years, typically through an exit such as a sale or IPO. section 3.2
NovaSoft’s turnaround clock
A venture-backed turnaround has two problems at once: the company must be fixed and grown before the fund’s time horizon expires. Successive financing rounds with new investors can reset the clock for those new investors, while older investors may write off an investment that has run too long. section 3.2
