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Investment

Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time. In contrast putting money into something with an expectation of gain without thorough analysis, without security of principal, and without security of return is gambling. Putting money into something with an expectation of gain with thorough analysis, without security of principal, and without security of return is speculation. As such, those shareholders who fail to thoroughly analyze their stock purchases, such as owners of mutual funds, could well be called gamblers. Indeed, given the efficient market hypothesis, which implies that a thorough analysis of stock data is irrational, most rational shareholders are, by definition, not investors, but speculators.

Investment is related to saving or...

Report: 2013 Had the Most Internet IPOs Since 2000

By sheer numbers, 2013 was the biggest year for Internet IPOs since the height of the dot-com era in 2000, though the amount raised was far less, according to one researcher. Birinyi Associates reports that 26 Internet and social media companies went public in 2013, raising a total of $5.39 billion. If you invested in all 26, you would have enjoyed a 77.84% return on your investment. That compares to about a 40% ROI for Nasdaq.

Lytro Snags $40 Million to Expand Beyond Cameras

Lytro, the creator of the world's first light field camera for consumers, has received a $40 million round of funding to apply its technology to new categories. The funding comes after the company laid off some employees over the summer. CEO Jason Rosenthal declined to say how many of its $400 cameras it has sold, but claims the figure is 20% more than what it had planned.

Why the Father of the Consumer Internet Invests in Ecommerce

You might remember Steve Case. He was CEO of America Online and became a billionaire by selling subscription Internet access. Now, Case, 55, has come out of semiretirement to create Revolution, a Washington, D.C., venture capital fund that he says will become the largest startup investor east of the Mississippi River. Case is no buzzword-dropping futurist.

How Much Is Yahoo Worth Without Alibaba? Not Much

Much has been made of Yahoo’s increasing sprawl, as it swallows startup after startup. Sure enough, in a Tuesday call with investors, Chief Executive Marissa Mayer said Yahoo had made eight new acquisitions in the last quarter alone.

5 Lessons for Hyped IPOs

The big Internet IPOs of the last few years have had bumpy rides. Last week, Facebook shares went above their IPO price for only the first time since the company went public over a year ago. Zynga and Groupon have lost billions of dollars in valuation since going public. On the other hand, LinkedIn is now worth about six times its $4.3 billion launch valuation. And now a new crop of highly anticipated IPOs are coming up.

Google's Sergey Brin Backed Lab-Grown Beef Burger

A lab-grown beef burger might not be your first choice off the menu if you're dining out for Restaurant Week. But to Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google, the dish is worth €250,000 (about $331,425) and more than makes up for its strangeness in environmental and animal friendliness. Brin says he invested in the cultured burger because of his belief in animal rights. He feels that our idyllic, pastoral images of farm life are not akin to the experiences of animals.

5 Reasons You Should Still Invest in Bitcoin

If you had invested $1,000 in Bitcoin just two months ago and sold it yesterday, you would have made about $9,000 in profit. Once reserved to the darkest corners of the Internet, Bitcoin is a digital crypto-currency that’s quickly gaining favor internationally, due in part to attention on Cyprus’s banking emergency, its inclusion in the American financial regulatory framework, and increasing press coverage.

Funding for Good: Where Socially Conscious Startups Get Their Money

Name: Collaborative Fund Big Idea: To provide angel or seed funding to companies that are not only creative, but also are aiming to move the world forward in meaningful ways. Why It's Working: Although the company is small, Collaborative Fund has made a huge impact by funding companies working towards change. Skillshare. TaskRabbit. Kickstarter. Codeacademy.

Are Kickstarter Investors Idiots or Geniuses?

Kickstarter, the crowd-sourced project funding platform, is now officially a thing. It’s being actively parodied by comedians all over the web with videos that mock the slick, yet warm and heartfelt-approach of its best pitches. Those jokesters can make fun all they want. Many Kickstarter projects are laughing all the way to the bank. Every day I read a story about a new Kickstarter project zooming to $1 million.

VC Funding Fell 22% in Q1, Upswing Could Be On the Way

Venture capitalists plowed $5.9 billion into startups in the first quarter of 2012, a 22% drop from the previous quarter and the lowest level of VC funding since Q2 2010, according to a researcher tracking the market. However, that shortfall is not necessarily a worrying sign since Facebook's recent $1 billion acquisition of Instagram may fuel a flurry of new activity, according to the researcher, CB Insights.

9 Tips for Raising Startup Funds on AngelList

AngelList is an online community that matches startups with investors to streamline the fundraising process. I've personally raised $1 million from AngelList for my startup, and have helped dozens of other startups raise $3 million more. I've referred more than 20 startups to AngelList, vouched for a dozen other investors and am ranked as one of the top connectors on the site. Try a similar strategy by adhering to the following steps.

9 Twitter Accounts Every Startup Investor Should Follow

When I wanted to learn about becoming an angel investor, I targeted the best VCs out there. By following these investors on Twitter, I came to understand the investments they made and the technology that interested them. Their startup investment advice has helped advance my venture capital education, and continues to keep me up-to-speed on a daily basis. The nine VCs below are essential follows for anyone looking to better understand the industry.

7 Common Questions About Startup Employee Stock Options

Perhaps you’ve heard about the Google millionaires: 1,000 of the company’s early employees (including the company masseuse) who earned their wealth through company stock options. A terrific story, but unfortunately, not all stock options have as happy an ending. Pets.com and Webvan, for example, went bankrupt after high-profile Initial Public Offerings, leaving stock grants worthless. Stock options can be a nice benefit, but the value behind the offer can vary significantly.

The History & Evolution of Crowdfunding

Microfinance is a term for lending money to low-income individuals. These individuals typically don’t have access to the same banking opportunities available to middle- and upper-income households. Microfinance is often seen as a tool to help people climb out of poverty. Loan recipients can apply the money to building or sustaining a family-owned business. The loan amounts issued, however, are typically small -- much smaller than those provided by banks.

Are We In A Tech Bubble? Here's The History [INFOGRAPHIC]

We've spent the past year wondering whether we're currently in a tech bubble akin to the last decade's dotcom boom. Mashable has offered facts and opinions on both sides of the question. We've heard that the current boom is much different from the heyday of the late 1990s and that we have cause for confidence. But we've also heard (from the likes of legendary investor Warren Buffet, no less) that the newest crop of tech darlings are highly overvalued at worst and unpredictable at best.

Venture Capital: 5 Tips for Nailing the Full Partnership Pitch

So you made it to the “full partnership pitch.” You have already had one (or likely multiple) meetings with a subset of a firm’s investment team, including a principal and perhaps a general partner. You’ve impressed your point person (or people) sufficiently so that you have been invited to present to the broader partnership. What do you do now? Here are five things to keep in mind. 1. Focus on Style, Not Just Substance This may sound counterintuitive.

How Much Money Should Your Startup Raise?

Many startups struggle with how much money they should raise. There are a lot of factors that you need to think of, and those factors vary depending on what you’re trying to launch. If you are a biotech startup, you may need a lot more capital than, say, a mobile app startup. There are two schools of thought when it comes to raising money for a seed stage startup: Raise as little as possible to avoid early dilution, or raise as much as you can as soon as possible.

Facebook Preparing for $100 Billion IPO in Early 2012 [REPORT]

Facebook is preparing itself for an IPO that could easily top $100 billion, according to a new report. At $100 billion, Facebook's impending IPO would be one of the largest in history, quadrupling Google's $23 billion IPO in 2004. CNBC says the social networking giant is likely to go public during the first quarter of 2012, less than nine months from now.

8 Important Term Sheet Items to Evaluate Before Investing in a Startup

After you've done your due diligence and finally start investing in startups, you'll have to review the term sheet. If you're lucky, you will be working from a standard term sheet like the one that Y Combinator publishes on its website. Not only does this help keep the legal costs down, but you could instead be looking at an 8 to 10 page document so complex that only your lawyer would understand it.

10 Things You Need to Check Before Investing in a Startup

You may already know where to find interesting startups, but what do you do once you're actually ready to invest? It's important to conduct your own due diligence on a startup before you write a check. You shouldn’t only rely on a great pitch, or assume others are doing the due diligence for you. Let’s go over some items that you should investigate. 1. Understand the Industry While you are looking for startups to invest in, make sure you invest in what you know.

How Activist Investors Use Social Media to Influence Companies

Over the past several years, social media’s impact on global activism has been undeniable. Across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, small bands of like-minded reformers have transformed whisper campaigns into all-out populist movements aimed at altering the political, economic, and societal dynamics at work in some of the world’s most troubled regions. All the while, however, it hasn’t only been tyrannical leaders and despotic regimes in the crosshairs.

6 Important Tips for First-Time Startup Investors

An angel investor used to be defined as someone with a high net worth. They typically have more than $1 million and privately invest money in startup businesses that are seeking capital. The SEC restricts investing in private deals to mostly accredited investors. I say mostly because there are some opportunities for non-accredited investors to participate on a limited basis. The definition of an accredited investor in the U.S.

This Week's Top Funding & Investment Stories

Welcome to the Mashable Connect edition of “Top Funding Stories,” a weekly series where we summarize the big startup funding and investment stories of the week. Here's what we found interesting this week: Clearspring Nabs $20 Million from IVP & Others Clearspring, the creator of the AddThis sharing widget, has raised $20 million from Institutional Venture Partners and several of its existing investors.

This Week's Top Funding and Investment Stories

Welcome to the first edition of “Top Funding Stories,” a weekly series where we summarize the big startup funding and investment stories of the week. Starting next week, you can check out this series every Friday. Here's what crossed our radars this week: Visa Invests in Square Visa has made a strategic investment in mobile payment startup Square. Visa's investment provides a stamp of approval for Square, which provides business owners a credit card reader for their mobile phones.

Scribd Closes $13M Round of Funding

Scribd, the popular service for embedding and sharing documents around the web, has just inked a deal with investors for a $13 million Series C. The round was led by MLC Investments and SVB Capital, with Redpoint Ventures, Charles River Ventures and Kinsey Hills Group participating. This is the first money the four-year-old startup has taken in more than two years; its Series B was a $9 million round in December 2008.
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