Private investors' investment criteria: Insights from qualitative data

This paper provides an analysis of the acceptance and rejection criteria of private investors using formal qualitative analysis. The findings indicate that private investors view the overall business opportunity and the principals of the company as key criteria in the decision-making process. Active and occasional investors differ somewhat in the emphases that they place on particular criteria. Perhaps the single most important finding, however, is that the reasons that prompt investors to reject opportunities are not simply the converse of reasons that prompt them to invest.