It was a place where England sent all of it's prisoners. The thing is the crimes varied from the extreme of murder and assault to the first offense of stealing an apple of loaf of bread but everyone was given the same punishment and treated in like. They were sent to work camps as indentured servants and had the chance to be pretty much slaves in exchange for their eventual freedom. There were men, women, and children, they were treated very badly in the beginning as there were virtually no laws. Later things changed. Australia was initial settled by "criminals" who were later freed and started better lives for themselves
Venture capitalists are looking to get their investment back, even if it’s not in the form of traditional loan repayment. You need to be able to prove a high company valuation in the early stages of your business, which can be a real challenge when you haven’t gotten off the ground yet.