​A former chairman and CEO at Pequot Capital, Arthur “Art” J. Samberg is the owner of Hawkes Financial Group. Through this family office, Art J. Samberg now invests venture capital in startups. 

Venture capital has contributed immensely to the growth of startups in the United States and around the globe. The first and most obvious way this has happened is through capital to meet operational needs. Good ideas need a lot of capital to get them started in the market. Venture capital provides entrepreneurs and innovators with the financial staying power they need to conduct market research, secure patents, launch products, hire teams, and grow companies. 

These funds are by no means trivial. The National Venture Capital Association estimates that $22 billion in venture capital is invested in US companies every year and over 20 percent of the US GDP is contributed by companies that were helped by venture capital. 

Apart from funding, venture capital builds a bridge between entrepreneurs and investors, allowing the former to gain from the knowledge and experience of the latter. Whenever entrepreneurs need help with fundraising, hiring executives, or dealing with regulators, investors can provide the knowledge, networks, or resources to effectively navigate past these hurdles.

​Leveraging over 30 years of experience in finance and investment, Arthur (“Art”) J. Samberg runs his family office through his ownership of Hawkes Financial LLC. Much of Art J. Samberg’s focus in this role is placed on investing in private start-ups, particularly in the technology sector. 

Chief among the red flags investors should look for when considering committing resources to a start-up is a lack of passion on the part of the company’s leadership. Oftentimes, people who form new businesses aren’t fully committed to their projects on account of other professional commitments. Be wary of any companies that have CEOs who are slow to return calls or unable to define clear pathways to success for their ventures, as this could indicate a lack of commitment.

You should also research prior investment, as many start-ups will have received some form of funding before they reach you. Pay particular attention to any that have received investment that wasn’t followed up with later backing from the same investors, as this is often an indicator that the company has no forward momentum and others have already withdrawn, having identified issues that aren’t immediately apparent to you.