Venture capital investment: the role of predator-prey dynamics with learning by doing

This paper suggests that endogenous dynamics of the 'predator-prey' type can provide a contributing explanation for both high-venture capital concentration by industry and 'boom and bust' industry-level investment dynamics. We propose a model based on the idea that venture capitalists favor industries where they have significant experience and industries with a large pool of good investment opportunities. However, investment 'uses up' opportunities and therefore tends to deplete the pool of unexploited opportunities. The resulting industry-level interactive dynamics naturally give rise to venture capital investment cycles similar to observed patterns.