Free calculator · Fund Economics
Fund IRR & the J-Curve
Calculates a venture fund’s IRR from its capital call and distribution schedule and traces the cumulative cash J-curve from trough to final distribution. Inputs are committed capital, the investment period, the gross return multiple, and the harvest period.
By Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA · Teaching Professor of Finance, Santa Clara University · Reviewed August 2026
From the author: Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA teaches finance at Santa Clara University and works with corporate teams on practical AI.
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Fund IRR & the J-Curve
Fund IRR
20.1%
the rate that sets NPV of all cash flows to zero
Cumulative net cash to LPs · the J-curve
down through the calls, then up as distributions land
MOIC / gross multiple
2.50×
total distributed ÷ called
J-curve trough
$-100M
deepest at year 5
The multiple says how much value was created; the IRR says how fast. Shorten the harvest period at the same multiple and IRR rises; stretch it and IRR falls, which is why a 2.5× fund that returns quickly can beat a 3× fund that takes fifteen years.
Learn the concept
This calculator comes from the free Entrepreneurial Finance course, where the concept is taught with readings, worked examples, and practice questions.
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Built by Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA, Teaching Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University.