The Deal Structuring Stage of the Venture Capitalist Decision-Making Process: Exploring Confidence and Control* by G. Tyge Payne, Justin L. Davis, Curt B. Moore, and R. Greg Bell This exploratory study examines the deal structuring stage of the venture capitalist decision-making process. Here, the primary issues of concern are investor confidence and potential control of a venture in relation to the level of financing the investor provides and the structure with which the funding is delivered. Confidence comes in support of the entrepreneur, the venture itself, or a combination of the two, prior to capital transfer, but after the initial “invest or not invest” decision has already occurred. Findings support a multicriteria perspective of the pre-investment decision- making process and a distinct difference between entrepreneur confidence and venture confidence in the deal structuring stage. Introduction Venture capitalist (VC)-backed ven- tures have proven to be more success- ful (i.e., higher growth, longer survival) than non-VC-backed ventures (Gupta and Sapienza 1992; Sandberg 1986). However, even though VC-backed firms tend to be more successful than those financed in other ways, these firms *This study was partially supported with funds received from the Center for Research on Organizational and Managerial Excellence, the University of Texas at Arlington. We would like to thank Patrick M. Kreiser for his insightful comments and suggestions during the develop- ment of this manuscript. G. Tyge Payne is assistant professor of Strategic Management at Texas Tech University. Justin L. Davis is assistant professor of Strategic Management at Ohio University. Curt B. Moore is assistant professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy in the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University. R. Greg Bell is assistant professor of International Business at the University of Dallas. Dr. Bell teaches courses in International Business Strategy and Corporate Sustainability. Address correspondence to: G. Tyge Payne, Area of Management, Box 42101, Rawls College of Business, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-2101. Tel: +806 742 3176. E-mail: tyge.payne@ttu.edu. Journal of Small Business Management 2009 47(2), pp. 154–179 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 154