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COLLECTION Identifier: Mss:784 1963-2006 P917

Stanley E. Pratt papers

Overview

Papers, documents, and materials by and about Stanley E. Pratt, his companies, Venture Economics and Abbott Capital Management, and the field of venture capital.

Dates

  • Creation: 1963-2006

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Restricted material has been identified and separated. Note that box and folder lists of restricted material have been redacted.

Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.

Extent

13 linear feet (31 boxes)

This collection consists of papers, documents, and materials by and about Stanley Pratt, his companies, Venture Economics and Abbott Capital Management, and the field of venture capital. This includes papers related to the operations of both companies, and speeches, presentations, and papers by Pratt. The collection also includes Pratt’s testimonies before various government institutions and his work on committees related to small business and venture capital, as well as materials from the numerous conferences Pratt attended and presented at. It also includes a large amount of collected research and articles on subjects such as venture capital, small business investing, and private equity.

Biographical Note:

Stanley E. Pratt is a noted consultant and expert on private equity and the venture capital industry. Pratt has served as an advisor to numerous corporations and government agencies, testified before Congressional and Senate committees, and has been a frequent speaker at venture capital and business conferences. Born in 1931, Pratt received his B.A. in English Literature from Brown University in 1953 and then served two years as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He began his career as an investment banking representative at W.E. Hutton before moving on to Diversified Corporate Services, Inc. and then Creative Resources, Inc. From 1977 to 1986 Pratt served as the Chairman and President of Venture Economics, Inc., an industry research firm analyzing the venture capital business since 1961, where he was publisher and editor of the Venture Capital Journal, of the Venture Economics Guide to European Venture Capital Sources, and of Pratt's Guide to Venture Capital Sources, an introduction to obtaining venture capital for businesses. Pratt is also the author of How to Raise Venture Capital (1982) and numerous articles about the field of venture capital. He then became a Managing and Founding Director of Abbott Capital Management, an investment advisory firm specializing in alternative investment programs, serving in this role from 1986 until his retirement in 2001. Pratt has more recently served on the board of advisors for Sageworks, Inc., a provider of financial analysis software.

Series Outline

The collection is arranged in the following series:

  1. Series I. Papers and Correspondence, 1982-2005
  2. Series II. Testimony Transcripts and Committee Records, 1980-1997
  3. ___Subseries A. Testimonies records, 1980-1992
  4. ___Subseries B. Committees records, 1988-1997
  5. Series III. Conference and Meeting Records, 1980-2000
  6. ___Subseries A. National Venture Capital Association, 1988-1997
  7. ___Subseries B. Institute for Fiduciary Education, 1989-1994
  8. ___Subseries C. General conferences and meetings, 1980-2000
  9. Series IV. Venture capital research and subject files, 1963-2006
  10. ___Subseries A. Asia, 1986-2000
  11. ___Subseries B. Subject Files, 1986-1999
  12. ___Subseries C. Articles/Papers/Presentations/Research, 1963-2006
  13. Series V. Venture Economics and Abbott Capital Management Records, 1980-2004
  14. ___Subseries A. Venture Economics records
  15. ___Subseries B. Abbott Capital Management records

Physical Location

MANU

Provenance:

Gift of Stanley E. Pratt, 2012.

Processing Information

Processed: November 2012

By: Alexis Dinniman

Author
Baker Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
bak00230

Repository Details

Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository

Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.

Contact:
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