“…Other studies have examined the selection criteria that VCs use in choosing which start-ups companies to invest in MacMillan et al (1985), Hall and Hofer (1993), Jeng and Wells (2000), and Shepherd and Zacharakis (2002), the optimal portfolio size (in terms of companies funded) held by venture capital firms (Cumming, 2006;Bernile et al, 2007), and the syndication of VC investments (Wilson, 1968;Lerner, 1994a;Lockett and Wright, 2001;Sorenson and Stuart, 2001;Wright and Lockett, 2003;Manigart et al, 2006;Hochberg et al, 2007), among a network of venture capital firms, but these studies have not linked these investment decisions to the underlying confidence that VCs held in the entrepreneurial environment. Again, we reasoned that VC confidence may have an important impact on the total capital investment in their portfolio firms and, thus, the availability of financing for high-growth ventures.…”