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.

Interactive Tool

Committed capital

Investment period (calls)

Gross return (× committed)

Harvest period (distributions)

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.

Open Entrepreneurial Finance

Built by Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA, Teaching Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University.