First Page
255
Abstract
This Article addresses the potentially negative implications of proposed antitrust legislation on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in general, with a particular focus on the venture capitalists (VCs) that fund it. First, it offers a review of how antitrust merger law currently works and how proposed legislative changes to antitrust may threaten the innovative Venture Capital (VC)-backed ecosystem that has made the United States the center of global innovation across many different industries. Accompanying this review are some empirical observations. Second, recognizing that the understanding of innovative entrepreneurial activity calls for a deep appreciation of those who back it, the Article also provides an overview of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and VCs’ motivations within this niche environment. In so doing, the Article identifies the drivers of entrepreneurial innovation and explains why changes to merger law may threaten these models of facilitating innovative, growth-orientated entrepreneurs. Finally, the Article concludes that changes to merger law may negatively affect the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem and hinder innovation in the United States.
Recommended Citation
Gary Dushnitsky and D. Daniel Sokol,
Mergers, Antitrust, and the Interplay of Entrepreneurial Activity and the Investments That Fund It,
24 Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law
255
(2022)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/jetlaw/vol24/iss2/2