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TABLE OF CONTENTS

		Page
Summary			2
Fees and Expenses			15
Selected Financial and Other Data			17
Selected Quarterly Financial Data			18
Risk Factors			19
Forward-Looking Statements and Projections			39
Use of Proceeds			40
Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions			41
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			43
Business			55
Portfolio Companies			63
Management			66
Portfolio Management			74
Investment Advisory Agreement			77
Administration Agreement			83
License Agreement			83
Related Party Transactions and Certain Relationships			84
Control Persons and Principal Stockholders			86
Regulation as a Business Development Company			88
Determination of Net Asset Value			93
Dividend Reinvestment Plan			95
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations			96
Description of Our Securities			104
Description of Our Capital Stock			105
Description of Our Preferred Stock			111
Description of Our Subscription Rights			112
Description of Our Debt Securities			114
Description of Our Warrants			128
Plan of Distribution			129
Custodian, Transfer and Distribution Paying Agent and Registrar			131
Brokerage Allocation and Other Practices			131
Legal Matters			131
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm			131
Available Information			132
Privacy Notice			132
Index to Financial Statements			F-1

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using the “shelf” registration process. Under the shelf registration process, which constitutes a delayed offering in reliance on Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, we may offer, from time to time, in one or more offerings, up to $400,000,000 of our common stock, preferred stock, subscription rights to purchase shares of our common stock, debt securities, and warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities on such terms to be determined at the time of the offering. Our securities may be offered at prices and on terms described in one or more supplements to this prospectus. This prospectus provides you with a general description of our securities. Each time we use this prospectus to offer our securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of such offering. In particular, such prospectus supplement will include updated risk factors, financial data, portfolio holdings and their respective valuations, and other disclosure that will be tailored to address the pertinent market and other conditions that are prevalent at the time of such offering. Such disclosure will include, for example, the per share dollar amount of dilution, if any, that investors in such offering will incur. A prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between information in this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement, you should rely only on the information contained in the accompanying prospectus supplement. Please carefully read this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement together with any exhibits and the additional information described under the headings “Summary,” “Risk Factors” and “Available Information” before you make an investment decision.

You should rely on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized any dealer, salesman or other person to provide you with different information or to make representations as to matters not stated in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus, and any accompanying prospectus supplement, does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any security other than the registered securities to which they relate, nor do they constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement. We will amend or supplement this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement in the event of any material change to the information contained herein or therein during any applicable distribution period.

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SUMMARY

This summary, including the Risk Factors summary beginning on page 19, highlights some of the information in this prospectus. This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that you may want to consider. You should read carefully the more detailed information set forth under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 19 and the other information included in this prospectus.

Except where the context suggests otherwise, the terms “we,” “us,” “our” and “GSV Capital” refer to GSV Capital Corp. In addition, the terms “GSV Asset Management” or “investment adviser” refer to GSV Asset Management, LLC, and “GSV Capital Service Company” or the “administrator” refer to GSV Capital Service Company, LLC.

In May 2011 we completed our initial public offering of 3,335,000 shares of our common stock at an offering price of $15.00 per share.

We completed a follow-on offering of 2,185,000 shares of our common stock in September 2011 at an offering price of $14.15 per share, a following-on offering of 6,900,000 shares of our common stock in February 2012 at an offering price of $15.00 per share and a follow-on offering of 6,900,000 shares of our common stock in May 2012 at an offering price of $16.25 per share. In the aggregate, we have raised approximately $277.7 million in equity capitalization.

Since the closing of our third follow-on offering on May 16, 2012 through September 19, 2013, our stock price has fluctuated from a high of $18.50 (on May 16, 2012) to a low of $6.84 (on November 14, 2012). Our stock price has not again closed at or above $16.25. On September 19, 2013, the last reported sales price on the NASDAQ Capital Market for our common stock was $13.28 per share.

As of September 19, 2013, we have invested substantially all of the combined net proceeds from our public offerings. To the extent that we have uninvested cash, we may make temporary investments in U.S. government securities, money market funds, or high-quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Such temporary investments will likely produce a return that is significantly less than the 2.00% base management fee on such assets that we will pay to our investment adviser.

GSV Capital

We are an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company under the 1940 Act. Our investment objective is to maximize our portfolio’s total return, principally by seeking capital gains on our equity and equity-related investments. We invest principally in the equity securities of what we believe are rapidly growing venture capital-backed emerging companies. We acquire our investments through direct investments with prospective portfolio companies, secondary market places for private companies and negotiations with selling stockholders. We may also invest on an opportunistic basis in select publicly-traded equity securities or certain non-U.S. companies that otherwise meet our investment criteria. Our investment activities are managed by GSV Asset Management, and GSV Capital Service Company provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate.

Our investment philosophy is premised on a disciplined approach of identifying potentially high-growth emerging companies across several key industry themes which may include, among others, social mobile, cloud computing and big data, internet commerce, sustainability and education technology. Our investment adviser’s investment decisions are based on a disciplined analysis of available information regarding each potential portfolio company’s business operations, focusing on the company’s growth potential, the quality of recurring revenues and cash flow and cost structures, as well as an understanding of key market fundamentals. Venture capital funds or other financial or strategic sponsors have invested in the vast majority of the companies that our investment adviser evaluates.

We seek to deploy capital primarily in the form of non-controlling equity and equity-related investments, including common stock, warrants, preferred stock and similar forms of senior equity, which may or may not be convertible into a portfolio company’s common equity, and convertible debt securities with a significant equity component.

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Current Portfolio

We have limited information about the financial performance and profitability of our portfolio companies. While according to public filings with the SEC, certain of our portfolio companies have earned net income in recent periods, we believe that many of our portfolio companies are currently experiencing operating losses. There can be no assurance when or if such companies will operate at a profit. In addition, our current portfolio company investments are also concentrated in a limited number of companies. As of September 19, 2013, over half of our portfolio company investments were comprised of investments in ten companies.

As of June 30, 2013, we have completed investments in the companies identified below. Amounts include transaction fees and costs. Fair value was determined in good faith by our Board of Directors. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Recent Developments” for more information about these investments.

Portfolio Company		Cost				Fair Value(1)				% of Net Asset Value
Twitter
Common		$	31,755,821			$	36,351,602				14.62	%
Preferred			1,235,290				1,287,238				0.52	%
Palantir
Common			20,051,479				21,994,434				8.85	%
Preferred			1,008,968				1,012,664				0.41	%
Dropbox
Common			8,641,153				8,740,000				3.52	%
Preferred			5,015,333				6,353,589				2.56	%
Violin Memory
Preferred D			10,018,370				9,999,996				4.02	%
Preferred B			4,800,798				4,360,000				1.75	%
Chegg
Common			10,014,248				9,571,313				3.85	%
Preferred			4,008,654				4,478,523				1.80	%
Solexel			11,016,624				10,999,998				4.42	%
2U
Common			8,757,668				9,247,603				3.72	%
Preferred			1,273,125				1,344,272				0.54	%
Avenues			10,026,005				10,395,159				4.18	%
Coursera			9,999,999				9,999,999				4.02	%
Kno
Preferred C-1			7,510,334				7,500,000				3.02	%
Preferred C			2,262,006				2,249,999				0.91	%
Common			214,681				172,914				0.07	%
Facebook			10,472,294				8,708,000				3.50	%
Control4			7,011,025				7,518,198				3.02	%
SugarCRM
Common			5,192,673				5,180,459				2.08	%
Preferred			1,500,522				1,652,476				0.66	%
ZocDoc
Preferred			3,563,178				3,100,000				1.25	%
Common			1,734,878				1,733,923				0.70	%
Bloom			3,855,601				4,008,093				1.61%

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Portfolio Company		Cost				Fair Value(1)				% of Net Asset Value
Gilt			6,594,433				3,841,793				1.55	%
Spotify			3,598,472				3,682,927				1.48	%
StormWind			2,019,687				3,667,495				1.48	%
Grockit
Preferred D			2,005,945				2,018,906				0.82	%
Preferred E			1,503,670				1,427,558				0.57	%
Fullbridge			3,260,465				3,289,115				1.32	%
CUX
Preferred C			2,006,077				2,483,986				1.00	%
Preferred D			778,607				775,861				0.31	%
Warrants			—				—				0	%
Global Ed			2,999,998				3,187,140				1.28	%
Parchment			3,000,000				3,040,167				1.22	%
Whittle Schools			3,000,000				3,000,000				1.21	%
Dataminr			2,063,356				2,972,849				1.20	%
Totus			5,023,748				2,586,345				1.04	%
Dailybreak			2,430,950				2,422,788				0.97	%
SharesPost
Preferred			2,258,328				2,232,283				0.90	%
Warrants			23,128				138,768				0.06	%
Silver Spring			5,145,271				2,366,472				0.95	%
TrueCar			2,014,863				2,305,338				0.93	%
Maven
Preferred C			1,999,998				1,828,817				0.74	%
Preferred B			217,206				232,971				0.09	%
S-3
Preferred			989,058				1,123,622				0.45	%
Warrants			31,354				—				0	%
NestGSV			1,021,778				1,093,866				0.44	%
rSmart (preferred)			1,266,940				933,381				0.38	%
DreamBox			758,017				828,257				0.33	%
AlwaysOn
Preferred A-1			624,783				600,000				0.08	%
Preferred A			1,027,391				203,011				0.24	%
AliphCom, Inc. d/b/a Jawbone			793,152				750,000				0.30	%
SinoLending			501,998				604,859				0.24	%
NestGSV Silicon Valley			500,000				514,084				0.21	%
Ozy Media			500,000				513,725				0.21	%
Starfish (preferred + warrants)			2,177,461				500,000				0.20	%
Echo
Preferred			1,436,404				379,150				0.15	%
Warrants			75,988				—				0	%
NewZoom			260,476				262,500				0.11	%
Neuron Fuel			262,530				250,000				0.10	%
oDesk Corporation			183,269				180,000				0.07	%
Total		$	245,295,528			$	244,198,486				98.23	%

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From June 30, 2013 through September 19, 2013, we closed on investments of $4,674,997, plus transaction costs in six portfolio investments. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Recent Developments” for more information about these investments.

Our investment advisers track a broad list of potential investment opportunities based on fit with our key investment themes and financial characteristics. Within our broad list, we identify a subset of the opportunities that we believe provide the most attractive prospects for future investment. We generally have approximately 30 investments actively under evaluation at any given time. We devote most of our research efforts to understanding, analyzing and valuing these top 30 companies. Our investment adviser actively seeks opportunities to invest in these potential portfolio companies at pre-determined target prices. At any time, we may be in negotiations or in a pre-closing escrow period with several of the companies in our pipeline.

Risk Factors

The value of our assets, as well as the market price of our shares, will fluctuate. Our investments may be risky, and you may lose all or part of your investment in us. Investing in GSV Capital involves other risks, including the following:

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See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 19 and the other information included in this prospectus for additional discussion of factors you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in our securities.

About GSV Asset Management

Our investment activities are managed by GSV Asset Management, an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, or the “Advisers Act.” GSV Asset Management is led by Michael T. Moe, our president, chief executive officer and chairman of our Board of Directors. Mr. Moe is assisted by Stephen D. Bard, our chief financial officer, chief compliance officer, treasurer and corporate secretary and David V. Crowder, our Executive Vice President, whom we refer to collectively as GSV Asset Management’s senior investment professionals. Mr. Moe co-founded and previously served as chairman and chief executive officer of ThinkEquity Partners, an asset management and investment banking firm focusing on venture capital, entrepreneurial and emerging private companies. Prior to founding ThinkEquity, Mr. Moe served as Head of Global Growth Research at Merrill Lynch and before that served as Head of Growth Research and Strategy at Montgomery Securities.

We believe we benefit from the ability of our investment adviser’s senior investment professionals and Board of advisers (the “Advisory Board”) to identify attractive investment opportunities, conduct diligence on and value prospective investments, negotiate terms, and manage and monitor a portfolio of those investments. See “Portfolio Management — Advisory Board to GSV Asset Management.” Our investment adviser’s senior investment professionals and Advisory Board members have broad investment backgrounds, with prior experience at investment banks, commercial banks, unregistered investment funds and other financial services companies, and have collectively developed a broad network of contacts that provides us with an important source of investment opportunities.

We pay GSV Asset Management a fee for its services under an investment advisory agreement (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) consisting of two components — a base management fee and an incentive fee. The base management fee is calculated at an annual rate of 2.00% of our gross assets, which is our total assets as reflected on our balance sheet (with no deduction for liabilities). The incentive fee is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date), commencing on December 31, 2011, and will equal the lesser of (i) 20% of our realized capital gains during such calendar year, if any, calculated on an investment-by-investment basis, subject to a non-compounded preferred return, or “hurdle,” and a “catch-up” feature, and (ii) 20% of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the

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end of each calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid incentive fees. See “Investment Advisory Agreement.” The terms for calculating the management fee create an incentive for our investment adviser to utilize leverage in the future because our management fee is based on our gross assets, including issuances of preferred stock and borrowings for investment purposes, rather than our net assets. We will be required, however, to obtain the approval of our Board of Directors before we incur any future indebtedness.

Investment Opportunity

We believe that the technology industry is experiencing a convergence of numerous disruptive trends, producing new high-growth markets. The growth of both social networking and connected mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, has opened up new channels for communication and real-time collaboration. The number of devices and people that regularly connect to the Internet has increased dramatically in recent years, generating significant demand for always accessible, personalized and localized content and real-time online interactivity. These factors are creating opportunities for new market participants and significant growth for established companies with leading positions capitalizing on these trends.

At the same time, we believe that the initial public offering, or “IPO,” markets have experienced substantial structural changes which have made it significantly more challenging for private companies to go public. Volatile equity markets, a lack of investment research coverage for private and smaller companies and investor demand for a longer history of revenue and earnings growth have resulted in companies staying private significantly longer than in the past. In addition, increased public company compliance obligations such as those imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 have made it more costly and less attractive to become a public company. As a result, there are significantly fewer IPOs today than there were during the 1990’s, with prospective public companies taking longer to come to market. For example, from 1991 – 2000, there were 4,361 IPOs in the United States, of which 1,701 were venture-capital backed. From 2001 – 2011, there were 1,286 IPOs, of which 600 were venture-capital backed. In 2012, there were 128 IPOs, of which 49 were venture backed.

Investment Strategy

We seek to add to our portfolio of potentially high-growth emerging private companies via a repeatable and disciplined investment approach, as well as to provide investors with access to such companies through our publicly traded common stock.

Our investment objective is to maximize our portfolio’s total return, principally by seeking capital gains on our equity and equity-related investments. We have adopted the following business strategies to achieve our investment objective:

We leverage a combination of our relationships throughout Silicon Valley and our independent research to identify leaders in our targeted sub-sectors that we believe are differentiated and best positioned for sustained growth. Our evaluation process is based on what we refer to as “the four Ps”:

We consider these to be the core elements for identifying rapidly growing emerging companies.

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Direct equity investments.  We seek direct investments in private companies. There is a large market among emerging private companies for equity capital investments. Many of these companies, particularly within the technology sector, lack the necessary cash flows to sustain substantial amounts of debt, and therefore have viewed equity capital as a more attractive long-term financing tool. We seek to be a source of such equity capital as a means of investing in these companies and look for opportunities to invest alongside other venture capital and private equity investors with whom we have established relationships.

Private secondary marketplaces and direct share purchases.  We also utilize private secondary marketplaces as a means to acquire equity and equity-related interests in privately-held companies that meet our investment criteria and that we believe are attractive candidates for investment. We believe that such markets offer new channels for access to equity investments in private companies and provide a potential source of liquidity should we decide to exit an investment. In addition, we also purchase shares directly from stockholders, including current or former employees. As certain companies grow and experience significant increased value while remaining private, employees and other stockholders may seek liquidity by selling shares directly to a third party or to a third party via a secondary marketplace. Sales of shares in private companies are typically restricted by contractual transfer restrictions and may be further restricted by provisions in company charter documents, investor rights of first refusal and co-sale and company employment and trading policies, which may impose strict limits on transfer. We believe that our investment professionals’ reputation within the industry and history of investing affords us a favorable position when seeking approval for a purchase of shares subject to such limitations.

Competitive Advantages

We believe that we will benefit from the following competitive advantages in executing our investment strategy:

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Operating and Regulatory Structure

GSV Capital was formed as a Maryland corporation that is an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company. We completed our initial public offering in May 2011 and have elected to be treated as a business development company under the 1940 Act. As a business development company, we are required to meet regulatory tests, including the requirement to invest at least 70% of our gross assets in “qualifying assets.” Qualifying assets generally include, among other things, securities of “eligible portfolio companies.” “Eligible portfolio companies” generally include U.S. companies that are not investment companies and that do not have securities listed on a national exchange. If at any time less than 70% of our gross assets are comprised of qualifying assets, including as a result of an increase in the value of any non-qualifying assets or decrease in the value of any qualifying assets, we would generally not be permitted to acquire any additional non-qualifying assets until such time as 70% of our then current gross assets were comprised of qualifying assets. We would not be required, however, to dispose of any non-qualifying assets in such circumstances. See “Regulation as a Business Development Company.” We were taxed as a regular corporation (a “C corporation”) under subchapter C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), for our 2012 taxable year. We may elect to be treated as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under subchapter M of the Code, if management determines that it is in the best interests of the Company to do so and the Company is able to satisfy the requirements under subchapter M of the Code., which we will be unable to do for the 2013 taxable year unless the SEC certifies us as being principally engaged in the furnishing of capital to certain types of developmental corporations. See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”

Our investment activities are managed by GSV Asset Management and supervised by our Board of Directors. GSV Asset Management is an investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act. Under our investment advisory agreement, which we refer to as the Investment Advisory Agreement, we have agreed to pay GSV Asset Management an annual base management fee based on our gross assets as well as an incentive fee based on our performance. See “Investment Advisory Agreement.” We have also entered into an administration agreement, which we refer to as the Administration Agreement, under which we have agreed to reimburse GSV Capital Service Company for our allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred.

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Recent Developments

Convertible Senior Notes

On September 17, 2013, we completed a private placement of 5-year unsecured 5.25% Senior Convertible Notes due 2018 (the “Convertible Senior Notes”). A total of $69.0 million in aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Senior Notes were issued at the closing. The Convertible Senior Notes are convertible into shares of our common stock based on an initial conversion rate of 61.5091 shares of our common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $16.26 per share of common stock. The conversion price for the Convertible Senior Notes will be reduced or adjusted for, among other things, annual cash dividends paid to common shares. The Convertible Senior Notes bear interest at an annual rate of 5.25%, payable semiannually in arrears on March 15 and September 15 of each year, beginning March 15, 2014. The Convertible Senior Notes mature on September 15, 2018, unless previously converted in accordance with their terms. The Convertible Senior Notes are our general unsecured obligations, rank equally in right of payment with our future senior unsecured debt, and rank senior in right of payment to any potential subordinated debt, should any be issued in the future

Our Corporate Information

Our principal office is located at 2925 Woodside Road, Woodside, CA 94062, and our telephone number is (650) 235-4769.

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OFFERINGS

We may offer, from time to time, up to $400,000,000 of our common stock, preferred stock, subscription rights to purchase shares of our common stock, debt securities, and warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities on terms to be determined at the time of the offering and set forth in one or more supplements to this prospectus. The offering price per share of our common stock, less any underwriting commissions or discounts, generally will not be less than the net asset value per share of our common stock at the time of an offering. However, we may in the future seek to issue shares of our common stock pursuant to this prospectus at a price per share that is less than our net asset value per share (i) with the prior approval of the majority of our common stockholders or (ii) under such other circumstances as the SEC may permit. In addition, even if we seek and obtain shareholder approval to sell our common stock at a price below our net asset value per share, we cannot do so unless our Board of Directors determines that it would be in our and our stockholders' best interests to do so.

Our securities may be offered directly to one or more purchasers, or through agents designated from time to time by us, or to or through underwriters or dealers. The prospectus supplement relating to an offering will identify any agents or underwriters involved in the sale of our securities, and will disclose any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement between us and our agents or underwriters or among our underwriters or the basis upon which such amount may be calculated. See “Plan of Distribution.” We may not sell our securities through agents, underwriters or dealers without delivery of this prospectus and a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of our securities.

Set forth below is additional information regarding offerings of our securities:

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FEES AND EXPENSES

The following table is intended to assist you in understanding the costs and expenses that you will bear directly or indirectly on an as-converted basis. We caution you that some of the percentages indicated in the table below are estimates and may vary. The following table should not be considered a representation of our future expenses. Actual expenses may be greater or less than shown. Except where the context suggests otherwise, whenever this prospectus contains a reference to fees or expenses paid by “us” or “GSV Capital,” or that “we” will pay fees or expenses, you will indirectly bear such fees or expenses as an investor in GSV Capital Corp. However, you will not be required to deliver any money or otherwise bear personal liability or responsibility for such fees or expenses.

Stockholder transaction expenses:
Sales load (as a percentage of offering price)			(1)
Offering expenses (as a percentage of offering price)			(2)
Dividend reinvestment plan expenses			None
Total stockholder transaction expenses (as a percentage of offering price)			0.00	(2)
Annual expenses (as a percentage of net assets attributable to common stock):(5)(8)
Base management fee			2.38	%(3)
Incentive fees payable under our investment advisory agreement (20%)			0.00	%(4)
Interest payments on borrowed funds			1.00	%(5)
Other expenses			1.34	%(6)
Acquired fund fees and expenses			0.00	%(7)
Total annual expenses			4.72	%

Example

The following example demonstrates the projected dollar amount of total cumulative expenses that would be incurred over various periods with respect to a hypothetical investment in our common stock. In calculating the following expense amounts, we have assumed that our annual operating expenses would remain at the levels set forth in the table above. See Note 7 below for additional information regarding certain assumptions regarding our level of leverage subsequent to this offering.

		1 Year				3 Years				5 Years				10 Years
You would pay the following expenses on a $1,000 investment, assuming a 5% annual return		$	57			$	171			$	282			$	555

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The example and the expenses in the tables above should not be considered a representation of our future expenses, and actual expenses may be greater or less than those shown. While the example assumes, as required by the SEC, a 5.0% annual return, our performance will vary and may result in a return greater or less than 5.0%. As the incentive fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement is payable only on realized capital gains, this illustration assumes that the entire 5.0% annual return is in the form of realized capital gains (computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation) in each of the indicated time periods, and that we will be required to pay an incentive fee on the full amount of the annual return. If we achieve a greater realization of realized capital gains than the assumed 5.0% annual return, our expenses and returns to our investors would be higher. Also, while the example assumes reinvestment of all dividends at net asset value, participants in our dividend reinvestment plan will receive a number of shares of our common stock, determined by dividing the total dollar amount of the dividend payable to a participant by the market price per share of our common stock at the close of trading on the dividend payment date, which may be at, above or below net asset value. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” for additional information regarding our dividend reinvestment plan.

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SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OTHER DATA

The selected financial and other data below should be read in conjunction with our “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the financial statements and notes thereto. The selected financial data at December 31, 2012, and for the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011 have been derived from financial statements that have been audited by Grant Thornton LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm. Quarterly financial information is derived from unaudited financial data, but in the opinion of management, reflects all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) which are necessary to present fairly the results for such interim periods. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” below for more information.

		Six months ended June 30, 2013 (unaudited)				At and For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2012				At and For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2011(1)
Income Statement Data:
Total investment income		$	20,258			$	248,077			$	162,328
Total operating expenses			4,974,894				8,530,958				2,196,192
Net investment loss			(4,954,636	)			(8,282,881	)			(2,033,864	)
Net realized loss on investments			(9,674,524	)			(1,380,519	)			—
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments			10,653,608				(10,170,850	)			(1,579,800	)
Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations			(3,975,552	)			(19,834,250	)			(3,613,664	)
Balance Sheet Data:
Total assets			249,158,994				253,130,728				91,798,242
Total liabilities			551,745				547,927				20,294,994
Total net assets			248,607,249				252,582,801				71,503,248
Per Common Share Data:
Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations per average share(2).			(0.21	)			(1.23	)			(1.07	)
Net asset value per share			12.87				13.07				12.95

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SELECTED QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA

The following table sets forth certain quarterly financial information for each quarter in the fiscal years ended December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2012, and for the six months ended June 30, 2013. This information was derived from our unaudited financial statements. Results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year or for any future quarter.

At and For the Three Months Ended (in thousands, except per share data)		June 30, 2013				March 31, 2013				December 30, 2012				September 30, 2012				June 30, 2012				March 31, 2012				December 31, 2011				September 30, 2011				June 30, 2011				March 31, 2011(1)
Total investment income		$	16			$	5			$	6			$	14			$	110			$	$118			$	109			$	53			$	—			$	—
Total operating expenses			2,403				2,572				2,780				2,348				2,190				1,212				787				733				565				111
Net investment loss			(2,387	)			(2,568	)			(2,774	)			(2,335	)			(2,080	)			(1,094	)			(678	)			(680	)			(565	)			(111	)
Net realized loss on investments			(6,328	)			(3,347	)			—				—				(1,380	)			—				—				—				—				—
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments			12,230				(1,577	)			(4,502	)			(4,665	)			(2,015	)			1,011				(1,026	)			(494	)			(60	)			—
Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations			3,516				(7,491	)			(7,276	)			(7,000	)			(5,475	)			(83	)			(1,704	)			(1,174	)			(625	)			(111	)
Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations per average share(2)			0.18				(0.38	)			(0.38	)			(0.36	)			(0.34	)			(0.01	)			(0.31	)			(0.34	)			(0.27	)			(1,108.08	)
Net asset value per share			12.87				12.69				13.07				13.45				13.81				13.47				12.95				13.26				13.57				(1,093.08	)

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a number of significant risks. In addition to the other information contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, you should consider carefully the following information before making an investment in our securities. Although the risks described below represent our material risks, they are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us might also impair our operations and performance. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, our net asset value and the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating To Our Investments

Our investments in the rapidly growing venture capital-backed emerging companies that we are targeting may be extremely risky and we could lose all or part of our investments.

Investment in the rapidly growing venture capital-backed emerging companies that we are targeting involves a number of significant risks, including:

A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by its lenders could lead to defaults and, potentially, termination of its loans and foreclosure on its assets, which could trigger cross-defaults under other agreements and jeopardize our equity investment in such portfolio company. We may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery of our equity investment or to negotiate new terms with a financially distressed portfolio company.

Because our investments are generally not in publicly traded securities, there will be uncertainty regarding the value of our investments, which could adversely affect the determination of our net asset value.

Our portfolio investments will generally not be in publicly traded securities. As a result, although we expect that some of our equity investments may trade on private secondary marketplaces, the fair value of our direct investments in portfolio companies will often not be readily determinable. Under the 1940 Act, for our investments for which there are no readily available market quotations, including securities that while listed

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on a private securities exchange, have not actively traded, we will value such securities at fair value quarterly as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors based upon the recommendation of the Board of Director’s Valuation Committee in accordance with our written valuation policy. In connection with that determination, members of our investment adviser’s portfolio management team will prepare portfolio company valuations using, where available, the most recent portfolio company financial statements and forecasts. The Valuation Committee intends to utilize the services of an independent valuation firm, which will prepare valuations for each of our portfolio investments that are not publicly traded or for which we do not have readily available market quotations, including securities that while listed on a private securities exchange, have not actively traded. However, the Board of Directors will retain ultimate authority as to the appropriate valuation of each such investment. The types of factors that the Valuation Committee will take into account in providing its fair value recommendation to the Board of Directors with respect to such non-traded investments will include, as relevant and, to the extent available, the portfolio company’s earnings, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparison to valuations of publicly traded companies, comparisons to recent sales of comparable companies, the discounted value of the cash flows of the portfolio company and other relevant factors. This information may not be available because it is difficult to obtain financial and other information with respect to private companies, and even where we are able to obtain such information, there can be no assurance that it is complete or accurate. Because such valuations are inherently uncertain and may be based on estimates, our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would be assessed if a readily available market for these securities existed. Due to this uncertainty, our fair value determinations with respect to any non-traded investments we hold may cause our net asset value on a given date to materially understate or overstate the value that we may ultimately realize on one or more of our investments. As a result, investors purchasing our common stock based on an overstated net asset value would pay a higher price than the value of our investments might warrant. Conversely, investors selling shares during a period in which the net asset value understates the value of our investments will receive a lower price for their shares than the value of our investments might warrant.

We may not realize gains from our equity investments and, because certain of our portfolio companies may incur substantial debt to finance their operations, we may experience a complete loss on our equity investment in the event of a bankruptcy or liquidation of any of our portfolio companies.

We invest principally in the equity and equity-related securities of rapidly growing venture capital-backed emerging companies. However, the equity interests we acquire may not appreciate in value and, in fact, may decline in value. For example, for the three months ended June 30, 2013, we recognized a loss on investments in Top Hat 430, Inc. Serious Energy, Inc. and AltEgo, LLC in an aggregate amount of $6,327,632. In addition, we recognized a loss on the sales of our investments in Zynga, Inc. and Groupon, Inc.

In addition, the private company securities we acquire are often subject to drag-along rights, which could permit other stockholders, under certain circumstances, to force us to liquidate our position in a subject company at a specified price, which could be, in our opinion, inadequate or undesirable or even below our cost basis. In this event, we could realize a loss or fail to realize gain in an amount that we deem appropriate on our investment. Further, capital market volatility and the overall market environment may preclude our portfolio companies from realizing liquidity events and impede our exit from these investments. Accordingly, we may not be able to realize gains from our equity interests, and any gains that we do realize on the disposition of any equity interests may not be sufficient to offset any other losses we experience. We will generally have little, if any, control over the timing of any gains we may realize from our equity investments unless and until the portfolio companies in which we invest become publicly traded. In addition, the companies in which we invest may have substantial debt loads. In such cases, we would typically be last in line behind any creditors in a bankruptcy or liquidation, and would likely experience a complete loss on our investment.

Many of our portfolio companies are currently experiencing operating losses, which may be substantial, and there can be no assurance when or if such companies will operate at a profit.

We have limited information about the financial performance and profitability of some of our portfolio companies. While according to public filings with the SEC, certain of our portfolio companies have earned net income in recent periods, we believe that many of our portfolio companies are currently experiencing operating losses. There can be no assurance when or if such companies will operate at a profit.

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The lack of liquidity in, and potentially extended holding period of, our many investments may adversely affect our business, and will delay any distributions of gains, if any.

Our investments will generally not be in publicly traded securities. Although we expect that some of our equity investments will trade on private secondary marketplaces, certain of the securities we hold will be subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or will otherwise be less liquid than publicly traded securities. In addition, while some portfolio companies may trade on private secondary marketplaces, we can provide no assurance that such a trading market will continue or remain active, or that we will be able to sell our position in any portfolio company at the time we desire to do so and at the price we anticipate. The illiquidity of our investments, including those that are traded on private secondary marketplaces, may make it difficult for us to sell such investments if the need arises. Also, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our portfolio quickly, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we have previously recorded our investments. We will have no limitation on the portion of our portfolio that may be invested in illiquid securities, and a substantial portion or all of our portfolio may be invested in such illiquid securities from time to time.

In addition, because we will generally invest in equity and equity-related securities, with respect to the majority of our portfolio companies, we do not expect regular realization events, if any, to occur in the near term. We expect that many of our holdings of equity securities may require several years to appreciate in value, and we can offer no assurance that such appreciation will occur. Even if such appreciation does occur, it is likely that initial purchasers of our shares could wait for an extended period of time before any appreciation or sale of our investments, and any attendant distributions of gains, may be realized.

Our portfolio may be concentrated in a limited number of portfolio companies or market sectors, which will subject us to a risk of significant loss if the business or market position of these companies deteriorates or market sectors experiences a market downturn.

A consequence of our limited number of investments is that the aggregate returns we realize may be significantly adversely affected if a small number of investments perform poorly or if we need to write down the value of any one investment. For example, as of December 31, 2012, over half of our portfolio company investments were comprised of investments in ten portfolio companies. Beyond the asset diversification requirements necessary to qualify as a RIC, we have general guidelines for diversification, however our investments could be concentrated in relatively few issuers. In addition, our investments may be concentrated in a limited number of market sectors, including in technology-related sectors. As a result, a downturn in any market sector in which a significant number of our portfolio companies operate, or the deterioration of the market position of any portfolio company in which we have a material position, could materially adversely affect us.

Technology-related sectors in which we invest are subject to many risks, including volatility, intense competition, decreasing life cycles, product obsolescence, changing consumer preferences and periodic downturns.

Given the experience of our investment adviser’s senior investment professionals and its Advisory Board members within the technology space, we expect that a number of the companies with respect to which we invest will operate in technology-related sectors. The revenues, income (or losses) and valuations of technology-related companies can and often do fluctuate suddenly and dramatically. In addition, because of rapid technological change, the average selling prices of products and some services provided by technology-related sectors have historically decreased over their productive lives. As a result, the average selling prices of products and services offered by our portfolio companies that operated in technology-related sectors may decrease over time, which could adversely affect their operating results and, correspondingly, the value of any equity securities that we may hold. This could, in turn, materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be limited in our ability to make follow-on investments, and our failure to make follow-on investments in our portfolio companies could impair the value of our portfolio.

Following an initial investment in a portfolio company, we may make additional investments in that portfolio company as “follow-on” investments, in order to: (1) increase or maintain in whole or in part our

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equity ownership percentage; (2) exercise warrants, options or convertible securities that were acquired in the original or subsequent financing; or (3) attempt to preserve or enhance the value of our investment.

We may elect not to make follow-on investments, or may otherwise lack sufficient funds to make those investments or lack access to desired follow-on investment opportunities. We have the discretion to make any follow-on investments, subject to the availability of capital resources and of the investment opportunity. The failure to make follow-on investments may, in some circumstances, jeopardize the continued viability of a portfolio company and our initial investment, or may result in a missed opportunity for us to increase our participation in a successful operation. Even if we have sufficient capital to make a desired follow-on investment, we may elect not to make a follow-on investment because we may not want to increase our concentration of risk, because we prefer other opportunities, or because we are inhibited by compliance with business development company requirements or the desire to qualify to maintain our status as a RIC or lack access to the desired follow-on investment opportunity.

In addition, we may be unable to complete follow-on investments in our portfolio companies that have conducted an initial public offering as a result of regulatory or financial restrictions.

Because we will generally not hold controlling equity interests in our portfolio companies, we will likely not be in a position to exercise control over our portfolio companies or to prevent decisions by substantial shareholders or management of our portfolio companies that could decrease the value of our investments.

Generally, we will not take controlling equity positions in our portfolio companies. As a result, we will be subject to the risk that a portfolio company may make business decisions with which we disagree, and the stockholders and management of a portfolio company may take risks or otherwise act in ways that are adverse to our interests. In addition, other shareholders, such as venture capital and private equity sponsors, that have substantial investments in our portfolio companies may have interests that differ from that of the portfolio company or its minority shareholders, which may lead them to take actions that could materially and adversely affect the value of our investment in the portfolio company. Due to the lack of liquidity for the equity and equity-related investments that we will typically hold in our portfolio companies, we may not be able to dispose of our investments in the event we disagree with the actions of a portfolio company or its substantial shareholders, and may therefore suffer a decrease in the value of our investments.

Investments in foreign companies may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.

While we invest primarily in U.S. companies, we may invest on an opportunistic basis in certain non-U.S. companies, including those located in emerging markets, that otherwise meet our investment criteria, although in no event will the aggregate value of our non-U.S. investments exceed 30% of the aggregate value of our total investment portfolio. Investing in foreign companies, and particularly those in emerging markets, may expose us to additional risks not typically associated with investing in U.S. issues. These risks include changes in exchange control regulations, political and social instability, expropriation, imposition of foreign taxes, less liquid markets and less available information than is generally the case in the United States, higher transaction costs, less government supervision of exchanges, brokers and issuers, less developed bankruptcy laws, difficulty in enforcing contractual obligations, lack of uniform accounting and auditing standards and greater price volatility. Further, we may have difficulty enforcing our rights as equity holders in foreign jurisdictions. In addition, to the extent we invest in non-U.S. companies, we may face greater exposure to foreign economic developments.

Although we expect that most of our investments will be U.S. dollar-denominated, any investments denominated in a foreign currency will be subject to the risk that the value of a particular currency will change in relation to one or more other currencies. Among the factors that may affect currency values are trade balances, the level of short-term interest rates, differences in relative values of similar assets in different currencies, long-term opportunities for investment and capital appreciation, and political developments.

We may expose ourselves to risks if we engage in hedging transactions.

If we engage in hedging transactions, we may expose ourselves to risks associated with such transactions. We may utilize instruments such as forward contracts, currency options and interest rate swaps, caps, collars and floors to seek to hedge against fluctuations in the relative values of our portfolio positions from changes

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in currency exchange rates and market interest rates. Hedging against a decline in the values of our portfolio positions does not eliminate the possibility of fluctuations in the values of such positions or prevent losses if the values of such positions decline. However, such hedging can establish other positions designed to gain from those same developments, thereby offsetting the decline in the value of such portfolio positions. Such hedging transactions may also limit the opportunity for gain if the values of the underlying portfolio positions should increase. It may not be possible to hedge against an exchange rate or interest rate fluctuation that is so generally anticipated that we are not able to enter into a hedging transaction at an acceptable price. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, we may not seek to establish a perfect correlation between such hedging instruments and the portfolio holdings being hedged. Any such imperfect correlation may prevent us from achieving the intended hedge and expose us to risk of loss. In addition, it may not be possible to hedge fully or perfectly against currency fluctuations affecting the value of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies because the value of those securities is likely to fluctuate as a result of factors not related to currency fluctuations.

Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure

We are a relatively new company with little operating history, and our investment adviser has only a limited history of investing experience.

We were initially formed in September 2010 and completed our initial public offering in May 2011. As a result, we have relatively limited financial information on which you can evaluate an investment in our company or our prior performance. In addition, our investment adviser, GSV Asset Management, was formed in November 2009, and has only a limited history of investing experience managing a pool of assets substantially smaller in size than the net proceeds that were received in the initial public offering. We are subject to all of the business risks and uncertainties associated with any new business, including the risk that we will not achieve our investment objective and that the value of your investment could decline substantially or fall to zero.

Any failure on our part to maintain our status as a business development company would reduce our operating flexibility.

We intend to continue to qualify as a business development company under the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act imposes numerous constraints on the operations of business development companies. For example, business development companies are required to invest at least 70% of their gross assets in specified types of securities, primarily in private companies or thinly-traded U.S. public companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high quality debt investments that mature in one year or less. Furthermore, any failure to comply with the requirements imposed on business development companies by the 1940 Act could cause the SEC to bring an enforcement action against us and/or expose us to claims of private litigants. In addition, upon approval of a majority of our stockholders, we may elect to withdraw our status as a business development company. If we decide to withdraw our election, or if we otherwise fail to qualify, or maintain our qualification, as a business development company, we may be subject to the substantially greater regulation under the 1940 Act as a closed-end investment company. Compliance with such regulations would significantly decrease our operating flexibility, and could significantly increase our costs of doing business. If we do not remain a business development company, we might be regulated as a closed-end investment company under the 1940 Act, which would subject us to substantially more regulatory restrictions under the 1940 Act and correspondingly decrease our operating flexibility.

We are dependent upon GSV Asset Management’s senior investment professionals for our future success, particularly Michael T. Moe, Mark W. Flynn, David V. Crowder, Stephen D. Bard, Luben Pampoulov and Matthew Hanson. If we lose any of our investment adviser’s senior investment professionals, our ability to implement our business strategy could be significantly harmed.

We depend on the diligence, skill and network of business contacts of the GSV Asset Management’s senior investment professionals. These senior investment professionals, together with other investment professionals employed by GSV Asset Management, evaluate, negotiate, structure, close, monitor and service our investments. Our future success will depend to a significant extent on the continued service and coordination of our investment adviser’s senior investment professionals, particularly Michael T. Moe, Mark W. Flynn, David V. Crowder, Stephen D. Bard, Luben Pampoulov and Matthew Hanson. None of

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Messrs. Moe, Flynn, Crowder, Bard, Pampoulov, or Hanson is subject to an employment contract, and none receive any compensation from us. None of Messrs. Moe, Flynn, Crowder, Bard, Pampoulov or Hanson devote all of their business time to our operations, and each have other demands on their time as a result of their other activities. The departure of any of these individuals could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objective.

None of the GSV Asset Management’s senior investment professionals or Advisory Board members, including Michael T. Moe, Mark W. Flynn, Stephen D. Bard, David V. Crowder, Luben Pampoulov and Matthew Hanson, are subject to employment agreements, and there can be no assurance that our investment adviser will be successful in retaining its senior investment professionals.

None of the members of GSV Asset Management’s senior investment professionals or its Advisory Board members, including Michael T. Moe, Mark W. Flynn, Stephen D. Bard, David V. Crowder, Luben Pampoulov and Matthew Hanson, are subject to employment agreements. As a result, although Messrs. Moe, Flynn, Bard, Crowder, Pampoulov and Hanson comprise the principals of GSV Asset Management, they are free to terminate their employment with GSV Asset Management at any time. In addition, none of our investment adviser’s senior investment professionals or the Advisory Board members, including Messrs. Moe, Flynn, Bard, Crowder, Pampoulov and Hanson, are subject to any non-compete agreements that would restrict their ability to provide investment advisory services to an entity with an investment objective similar to our own in the event they were to terminate their employment with GSV Asset Management, or if GSV Asset Management were to no longer serve as our investment adviser. There can be no assurance that our investment adviser will be successful in retaining its senior investment professionals or the Advisory Board members, including Messrs. Moe, Flynn, Bard, Crowder, Pampoulov and Hanson. The departure of any of Messrs. Moe, Flynn, Bard, Crowder, Pampoulov or Hanson could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objective.

Our growth will require that GSV Asset Management retain and attract new investment and administrative personnel in a competitive market. Its ability to attract and retain personnel with the requisite credentials, experience and skills will depend on several factors including, but not limited to, its ability to offer competitive wages, benefits and professional growth opportunities. Many of the entities with which GSV Asset Management will compete for experienced personnel, including investment funds (such as private equity funds and mezzanine funds) and traditional financial services companies, will have greater resources than it.

Our financial condition and results of operations will depend on our ability to achieve our investment objective.

We are a relatively new company. As such, we are subject to the business risks and uncertainties associated with any new business enterprise. Our ability to achieve our investment objective will depend on our investment adviser’s ability to identify, analyze and invest in companies that meet our investment criteria. Accomplishing this result on a cost-effective basis is largely a function of our investment adviser’s structuring of the investment process and its ability to provide competent, attentive and efficient services to us. We seek a specified number of investments in rapidly growing venture capital-backed emerging companies, which may be extremely risky. There can be no assurance that GSV Asset Management will be successful in identifying and investing in companies that meet our investment criteria, or that we will achieve our investment objective.

In addition to monitoring the performance of our existing investments, GSV Asset Management is required to offer, and may be called upon, to provide, managerial assistance to some of our portfolio companies. GSV Asset Management also currently manages GSV X Fund, LP (“GSV X Fund”), a global long/short absolute return fund, in which we have no economic interest, and may manage one or more additional vehicles with alternative investment strategies in the future. These demands on their time may distract them or slow the rate of investment. Even if we are able to grow and build upon our investment operations, any failure to manage our growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The results of our operations will depend on many factors, including the availability of opportunities for investment, readily accessible short and long-term funding alternatives in the financial markets and economic conditions. Furthermore, if we cannot successfully

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operate our business or implement our investment policies and strategies as described herein, it could negatively impact our ability to pay dividends.

We will likely experience fluctuations in our quarterly results and we may be unable to replicate past investment opportunities or make the types of investments we have made to date in future periods.

We will likely experience fluctuations in our quarterly operating results due to a number of factors, including the rate at which we make new investments, the level of our expenses, changes in the valuation of our portfolio investments, variations in and the timing of the recognition of realized and unrealized gains or losses, the degree to which we encounter competition in our markets and general economic conditions. These fluctuations may in certain cases be exaggerated as a result of our focus on realizing capital gains rather than current income from our investments. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to locate or acquire investments that are of a similar nature to those currently in our portfolio. As a result of these factors, results for any period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.

Our business model depends upon the development and maintenance of strong referral relationships with private equity, venture capital funds and investment banking firms.

We are substantially dependent on our informal relationships, which we use to help identify and gain access to investment opportunities. If we fail to maintain our relationships with key firms, or if we fail to establish strong referral relationships with other firms or other sources of investment opportunities, we will not be able to grow our portfolio of equity investments and achieve our investment objective. In addition, persons with whom we have informal relationships are not obligated to inform us of investment opportunities, and therefore such relationships may not lead to the origination of equity or other investments. Any loss or diminishment of such relationships could effectively reduce our ability to identify attractive portfolio companies that meet our investment criteria, either for direct equity investments or for investments through private secondary market transactions or other secondary transactions.

There are significant potential risks relating to investing in securities traded on private secondary marketplaces.

We have utilized and expect to continue to utilize private secondary marketplaces, such as SharesPost, Inc. and SecondMarket, to acquire investments in our portfolio. When we purchase secondary shares we may have little or no direct access to financial or other information from these portfolio companies. As a result, we are dependent upon the relationships and contacts of our investment adviser’s senior investment professionals, its Advisory Board members and our Board of Directors to obtain the information for our investment adviser to perform research and due diligence, and to monitor our investments after they are made. There can be no assurance that our investment adviser will be able to acquire adequate information on which to make its investment decision with respect to any private secondary marketplace purchases, or that the information it is able to obtain is accurate or complete. Any failure to obtain full and complete information regarding the portfolio companies with respect to which we invest through private secondary marketplaces could cause us to lose part or all of our investment in such companies, which would have a material and adverse effect on our net asset value and results of operations.

In addition, while we believe the ability to trade on private secondary marketplaces provides valuable opportunities for liquidity, there can be no assurance that the portfolio companies with respect to which we invest through private secondary marketplaces will have or maintain active trading markets, and the prices of those securities may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which may cause an inability for us to realize full value on our investment. In addition, wide swings in market prices, which are typical of irregularly traded securities, could cause significant and unexpected declines in the value of our portfolio investments. Further, prices in private secondary marketplaces, where limited information is available, may not accurately reflect the true value of a portfolio company, and may overstate a portfolio company’s actual value, which may cause us to realize future capital losses on our investment in that portfolio company. If any of the foregoing were to occur, it would likely have a material and adverse effect on our net asset value and results of operations.

Investments in private companies, including through private secondary marketplaces, also entail additional legal and regulatory risks which expose participants to the risk of liability due to the imbalance of

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information among participants and participant qualification and other transactional requirements applicable to private securities transactions, the non-compliance with which could result in rescission rights and monetary and other sanctions. The application of these laws within the context of private secondary marketplaces and related market practices are still evolving, and, despite our efforts to comply with applicable laws, we could be exposed to liability. The regulation of private secondary marketplaces is also evolving. Additional state or federal regulation of these markets could result in limits on the operation of or activity on those markets. Conversely, deregulation of these markets could make it easier for investors to invest directly in private companies and affect the attractiveness of our company as an access vehicle for investment in private shares. Private companies may also increasingly seek to limit secondary trading in their stock, such as through contractual transfer restrictions, and provisions in company charter documents, investor rights of first refusal and co-sale and/or employment and trading policies further restricting trading. To the extent that these or other developments result in reduced trading activity and/or availability of private company shares, our ability to find investment opportunities and to liquidate our investments could be adversely affected.

Due to transfer restrictions and the illiquid nature of our investments, we may not be able to purchase or sell our investments when we wish to do so.

Most of our investments are or will be in equity or equity-related securities of privately-held companies. The securities we acquire in private companies are typically subject to contractual transfer limitations, which may include prohibitions on transfer without the company’s consent, may require that shares owned by us are held in escrow and may include provisions in company charter documents, investor rights of first refusal and co-sale and/or employment or trading policies further restricting trading. In order to complete a purchase of shares we may need to, among other things, give the issuer, its assignees or its stockholders a particular period of time, often 30 days or more, in which to exercise a veto right, or a right of first refusal over, the sale of such securities. We may be unable to complete a purchase transaction if the subject company or its stockholders chooses to exercise a veto right or right of first refusal. When we complete an investment, we generally become bound to the contractual transfer limitations imposed on the subject company’s stockholders as well as other contractual obligations, such as co-sale or tag-along rights. These obligations generally expire only upon an IPO by the subject company. As a result, prior to an IPO, our ability to liquidate may be constrained. Transfer restrictions could limit our ability to liquidate our positions in these securities if we are unable to find buyers acceptable to our portfolio companies, or where applicable, their stockholders. Such buyers may not be willing to purchase our investments at adequate prices or in volumes sufficient to liquidate our position, and even where they are willing, other stockholders could exercise their co-sale or tag-along rights to participate in the sale, thereby reducing the number of shares sellable by us. Furthermore, prospective buyers may be deterred from entering into purchase transactions with us due to the delay and uncertainty that these transfer and other limitations create.

Although we believe that secondary marketplaces may offer an opportunity to liquidate our private company investments, there can be no assurance that a trading market will develop for the securities that we wish to liquidate or that the subject companies will permit their shares to be sold through such marketplaces. Even if some of our portfolio companies complete IPOs, we are typically subject to lock-up provisions that prohibit us from selling our investments into the public market for specified periods of time after IPOs. As a result, the market price of securities that we hold may decline substantially before we are able to sell these securities following an IPO.

Due to the illiquid nature of most of our investments, we may not be able to sell these securities at times when we deem it advantageous to do so, or at all. Because our net asset value is only determined on a quarterly basis and due to the difficulty in assessing this value, our net asset value may not fully reflect the illiquidity of our portfolio, which may change on daily basis, depending on many factors, including the status of the private secondary markets and our particular portfolio at any given time.

There are significant potential risks associated with investing in venture capital companies with complex capital structures.

We invest primarily in rapidly growing venture capital-backed emerging companies, either through private secondary transactions or other secondary transactions or direct investments in companies. Such private companies frequently have much more complex capital structures than traditional publicly-traded

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companies, and may have multiple classes of equity securities with differing rights, including with respect to voting and distributions. In addition, it is often difficult to obtain financial and other information with respect to private companies, and even where we are able to obtain such information, there can be no assurance that it is complete or accurate. In certain cases, such private companies may also have senior or pari passu preferred stock or senior debt outstanding, which may heighten the risk of investing in the underlying equity of such private companies, particularly in circumstances when we have limited information with respect to such capital structures. Although we believe that our investment adviser’s senior investment professionals, our Advisory Board members and our Board of Directors have extensive experience evaluating and investing in private companies with such complex capital structures, there can be no assurance that we will be able to adequately evaluate the relative risks and benefits of investing in a particular class of a portfolio company’s equity securities. Any failure on our part to properly evaluate the relative rights and value of a class of securities in which we invest could cause us to lose part or all of our investment, which in turn could have a material and adverse effect on our net asset value and results of operations.

A disruption in the capital markets or the credit markets could negatively affect our business.

As a business development company, we need the ability to raise additional capital for investment purposes. Without sufficient access to the capital markets, we may be forced to curtail our business operations or we may not be able to pursue new business opportunities. Disruptive conditions in the financial industry and any new legislation in response to those conditions could restrict our business operations and could adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

To the extent we do utilize leverage and the fair value of our assets declines substantially, we may fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios imposed upon us by the 1940 Act. Any such failure would affect our ability to issue senior securities, including borrowings, and pay dividends, which could materially impair our business operations. Our liquidity could be impaired further by an inability to access the capital markets. For example, we cannot be certain that we will be able to raise additional equity capital to provide funding for normal operations, including new investments. Reflecting concern about the stability of the financial markets, many institutional investors have reduced or ceased providing funding to certain borrowers. This market turmoil has led to increased market volatility and widespread reduction of business activity generally.

We operate in a highly competitive market for direct equity investment opportunities.

A large number of entities compete with us to make the types of direct equity investments that we target as part of our business strategy. We compete for such investments with a large number of private equity and venture capital funds, other equity and non-equity based investment funds, investment banks and other sources of financing, including traditional financial services companies such as commercial banks and specialty finance companies. Many of our competitors are substantially larger than us and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. For example, some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a business development company. There can be no assurance that the competitive pressures we face will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, as a result of this competition, we may not be able to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities from time to time, and we can offer no assurance that we will be able to identify and make direct equity investments that are consistent with our investment objective.

The incentive fee may induce GSV Asset Management to make speculative investments.

The incentive fee payable by us to GSV Asset Management may create an incentive for GSV Asset Management to make investments on our behalf that are risky or more speculative than would be the case in the absence of such compensation arrangement. The way in which the incentive fee payable to GSV Asset Management is determined, which is calculated as a percentage of the return on invested capital, may encourage GSV Asset Management to use leverage to increase the return on our investments. In addition, the fact that our base management fee is payable based upon our gross assets, which is our total assets as reflected on our balance sheet (with no deduction for liabilities), may encourage GSV Asset Management to

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use leverage to make additional investments. On September 17, 2013, we completed a private placement of 5-year unsecured 5.25% Convertible Senior Notes. A total of $69.0 million in aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Senior Notes were issued at the closing. We will be required, however, to obtain the approval of our Board of Directors before we incur any additional indebtedness. Under certain circumstances, the use of leverage may increase the likelihood of default, which would disfavor holders of our common stock. Such a practice could result in our investing in more speculative securities than would otherwise be the case, which could result in higher investment losses, particularly during cyclical economic downturns.

In addition, our investment adviser has control over the timing of the acquisition and dispositions of our investments, and therefore over when we realize gains and losses on our investments. As a result, our investment adviser may face a conflict of interest in determining when it is appropriate to dispose of a specific investment to the extent doing so may serve to maximize its incentive fee at a point where disposing of such investment may not necessarily be in the best interests of our stockholders. Our Board of Directors monitors such conflicts of interest in connection with its review of the performance of our investment adviser under our Investment Advisory Agreement, as well as during its quarterly review of our financial performance and results of operations.

Borrowings, such as the Convertible Senior Notes, can magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and may increase the risk of investing in us.

Borrowings, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and, therefore, increase the risks associated with investing in our securities. In addition to the Convertible Senior Notes, we may borrow from and issue senior debt securities to banks, insurance companies and other lenders. Lenders of such senior securities would have fixed dollar claims on our assets that are superior to the claims of our common stockholders. If the value of our assets increases, then leveraging would cause the net asset value attributable to our common stock to increase more sharply than it would have had we not leveraged. Conversely, if the value of our assets decreases, leveraging would cause net asset value to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have had we not leveraged. Similarly, any increase in our income in excess of interest payable on the borrowed funds would cause our net income to increase more than it would without the leverage, while any decrease in our income would cause net income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not borrowed. Leverage is generally considered a speculative investment technique. Our ability to service the Convertible Senior Notes and any future debt that we incur will depend largely on our financial performance and will be subject to prevailing economic conditions and competitive pressures. Moreover, as the management fee payable to GSV Asset Management will be payable on our gross assets, including those assets acquired through the use of leverage, GSV Asset Management may have a financial incentive to incur additional leverage which may not be consistent with our stockholders’ interests. In addition, our common stockholders will bear the burden of any increase in our expenses as a result of such leverage, including any increase in the management fee payable to GSV Asset Management.

There are significant potential conflicts of interest, which could impact our investment returns and limit the flexibility of our investment policies.

We have entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with GSV Asset Management. GSV Asset Management is controlled by Michael T. Moe, our president, chief executive officer and chairman of our Board of Directors and Stephen D. Bard, our chief financial officer, chief compliance officer, treasurer and corporate secretary. Messrs. Moe and Bard, as principals of GSV Asset Management, collectively manage the business and internal affairs of GSV Asset Management. In addition, GSV Capital Service Company provides us with office facilities and administrative services pursuant to an Administration Agreement. Mr. Bard is the managing member of and controls GSV Capital Service Company. While there is no limit on the total amount of expenses we may be required to reimburse to GSV Capital Service Company, our administrator will only charge us for the actual expenses it incurs on our behalf, or our allocable portion thereof, without any profit to GSV Capital Service Company.

In addition, our executive officers and directors, and the principals of our investment adviser, GSV Asset Management, serve or may serve as officers and directors of entities that operate in a line of business similar to our own, including new entities that may be formed in the future. Accordingly, they may have obligations

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to investors in those entities, the fulfillment of which might not be in the best interests of us or our stockholders, such as, for example, the management of GSV X Fund by GSV Asset Management.

While the investment focus of each of these entities may be different from our investment objective, it is likely that new investment opportunities that meet our investment objective will come to the attention of one of these entities, or new entities that will likely be formed in the future in connection with another investment advisory client or program, and, if so, such opportunity might not be offered, or otherwise made available, to us. However, our executive officers, directors and investment adviser intend to treat us in a fair and equitable manner consistent with their applicable duties under law so that we will not be disadvantaged in relation to any other particular client. In addition, while GSV Asset Management anticipates that it will from time to time identify investment opportunities that are appropriate for both GSV Capital and the other funds that are currently or in the future may be managed by GSV Asset Management, to the extent it does identify such opportunities, GSV Asset Management has established an allocation policy to ensure that GSV Capital has priority over such other funds. Our Board of Directors will monitor on a quarterly basis any such allocation of investment opportunities between GSV Capital and any such other funds.

GSV Asset Management is the owner of the “GSV” name and marks, which we are permitted to use pursuant to a non-exclusive license agreement between us and GSV Asset Management. GSV Asset Management and its principals also use and may permit other entities to use the “GSV” name and marks in connection with businesses and activities unrelated to our operations. The use of the “GSV” name and marks in connection with businesses and activities unrelated to our operations may not be in the best interest of us or our stockholder and may result in actual or perceived conflicts of interest.

In the ordinary course of business, we may enter into transactions with portfolio companies that may be considered related party transactions. In order to ensure that we do not engage in any prohibited transactions with any persons affiliated with us, we have implemented certain written policies and procedures whereby our executive officers screen each of our transactions for any possible affiliations between the proposed portfolio investment, us, companies controlled by us and our executive officers and directors. We will not enter into any agreements unless and until we are satisfied that doing so will not raise concerns under the 1940 Act or, if such concerns exist, we have taken appropriate actions to seek Board review and approval or exemptive relief for such transaction. Our Board of Directors will review these procedures on an annual basis.

We have also adopted a Code of Ethics which applies to, among others, our senior officers, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as well as all of our officers, directors and employees. Our officers and directors also remain subject to the fiduciary obligations imposed by both the 1940 Act and applicable state corporate law. Our Code of Ethics requires that all employees and directors avoid any conflict, or the appearance of a conflict, between an individual’s personal interests and our interests. Pursuant to our Code of Ethics, each employee and director must disclose any conflicts of interest, or actions or relationships that might give rise to a conflict, to our chief compliance officer. Our Board of Directors is charged with approving any waivers under our Code of Ethics. As required by the NASDAQ corporate governance listing standards, the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors is also required to review and approve any transactions with related parties, as such term is defined in Item 404 of Regulation S-K. In accordance with Item 404, related parties generally include our directors and executive officers, any nominees for director, any immediate family member of a director or executive officer or nominee for director, and any other person sharing the household of such director, executive officer or nominee for director.

Finally, we pay GSV Capital Service Company our allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by GSV Capital Service Company in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including a portion of the rent and the compensation of our chief financial officer and chief compliance officer and other staff providing administrative services, which creates conflicts of interest that our Board of Directors must monitor.

Our investment adviser has the right to resign on 60 days’ notice, and we may not be able to find a suitable replacement within that time, resulting in a disruption in our operations that could adversely affect our financial condition, business and results of operations.

Our investment adviser has the right, under the Investment Advisory Agreement, to resign at any time upon not more than 60 days’ written notice, whether we have found a replacement or not. If our investment

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adviser resigns, we may not be able to find a new investment adviser or hire internal management with similar expertise and ability to provide the same or equivalent services on acceptable terms within 60 days, or at all. If we are unable to do so quickly, our operations are likely to experience a disruption, our financial condition, business and results of operations as well as our ability to pay distributions are likely to be adversely affected and the market price of our shares may decline. In addition, the coordination of our internal management and investment activities is likely to suffer if we are unable to identify and reach an agreement with a single institution or group of executives having the expertise possessed by our investment adviser and its affiliates. Even if we are able to retain comparable management, whether internal or external, the integration of such management and their lack of familiarity with our investment objective may result in additional costs and time delays that may adversely affect our financial condition, business and results of operations.

The lack of experience of our investment adviser and its management in operating under the constraints imposed on us as a business development company may hinder the achievement of our investment objectives.

The 1940 Act imposes numerous constraints on the operations of business development companies. For example, business development companies are required to invest at least 70% of their total assets primarily in securities of U.S.-based private companies or public companies with market capitalizations of less than $250 million, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high quality debt instruments that mature in one year or less. In addition, qualification for taxation as a RIC requires satisfaction of source-of-income, diversification and distribution requirements. GSV Asset Management has limited experience investing under these constraints. These constraints, among others, may hinder GSV Asset Management’s ability to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities and to achieve our investment objective.

We may have difficulty paying our required distributions if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.

Although we focus on achieving capital gains from our investments, in certain cases we may receive current income, such as interest or dividends, on our investments. Because in certain cases we may recognize such current income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty satisfying the annual distribution requirement applicable to RICs. Accordingly, if we qualify and elected to be taxed as a RIC, we may have to sell some of our investments at times we would not consider advantageous, raise additional debt or equity capital or reduce new investments to meet these distribution requirements. If we are not able to obtain cash from other sources, we may fail to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus would be subject to corporate-level income tax.

Regulations governing our operation as a business development company affect our ability to, and the way in which we raise additional capital, which may expose us to risks, including the typical risks associated with leverage.

We may in the future issue additional debt securities or preferred stock and/or borrow money from banks or other financial institutions, which we refer to collectively (along with the Convertible Senior Notes) as “senior securities,” up to the maximum amount permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the provisions of the 1940 Act, are permitted, as a business development company, to issue senior securities in amounts such that our asset coverage ratio, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% of gross assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities, after each issuance of senior securities. If the value of our assets declines, we may be unable to satisfy this test. If that happens, we may be required to sell a portion of our investments and, depending on the nature of our leverage, repay a portion of our indebtedness at a time when such sales may be disadvantageous. Furthermore, any amounts that we use to service our indebtedness would not be available for distributions to our common stockholders.

All of the costs of offering and servicing the Convertible Senior Notes and any additional debt or preferred stock we may issue in the future, including interest or preferential dividend payments thereon, will be borne by our common stockholders. The interests of the holders of the Convertible Senior Notes any additional debt or preferred stock we may issue will not necessarily be aligned with the interests of our common stockholders. In particular, the rights of holders of the Convertible Senior Notes and our debt or

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preferred stock to receive interest, dividends or principal repayment will be senior to those of our common stockholders. Also, in the event we issue preferred stock, the holders of such preferred stock will have the ability to elect two members of our Board of Directors. In addition, we may grant a lender a security interest in a significant portion or all of our assets, even if the total amount we may borrow from such lender is less than the amount of such lender’s security interest in our assets. In no event, however, will any lender to us have any veto power over, or any vote with respect to, any change in our, or approval of any new, investment objective or investment policies or strategies.

We are not generally able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below net asset value per share. We may, however, sell our common stock, or warrants, options or rights to acquire our common stock, at a price below the then-current net asset value of our common stock if our Board of Directors determines that such sale is in the best interests of GSV Capital and its stockholders, and our stockholders approve such sale. In any such case, the price at which our securities are to be issued and sold may not be less than a price which, in the determination of our Board of Directors, closely approximates the market value of such securities (less any distributing commission or discount). We are also generally prohibited under the 1940 Act from issuing securities convertible into voting securities without obtaining the approval of our existing stockholders.

In addition to regulatory requirements that restrict our ability to raise capital, the Convertible Senior Notes contain various covenants which, if not complied with, could require us to repurchase the Convertible Senior Notes thereby materially and adversely affecting our liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay dividends.

The Convertible Senior Notes require us to comply with certain financial and operational covenants. These covenants require us to, among other things, maintain certain financial ratios, including asset coverage, debt to equity and interest coverage. Our ability to continue to comply with these covenants in the future depends on many factors, some of which are beyond our control. There are no assurances that we will be able to comply with these covenants. Failure to comply with these covenants would result in a default which, if we were unable to obtain a waiver from the lenders under the Convertible Senior Notes and accelerate repurchase of the Convertible Senior Notes and thereby have a material adverse impact on our liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay dividends. In addition, holders of the Convertible Senior Notes will have the right to require us to repurchase the Convertible Senior Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change at a repurchase price equal to 100% of their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. We may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make repurchases.

We will be subject to corporate-level income tax if we are profitable and we are unable to qualify as a RIC, which could have a material adverse effect on us and our stockholders.

We were taxed as a regular C corporation under the Code for our 2012 taxable year, but we did not have any taxable income. We may elect to be treated as a RIC under subchapter M of the Code for our 2013 taxable year if management determines that it is in our interests to do so and we are able to satisfy the requirements under subchapter M of the Code. However, for our 2013 taxable year, if we are not certified by the SEC as “principally engaged in the furnishing of capital to other corporations which are principally engaged in the development or exploitation of inventions, technological improvements, new processes, or products not previously generally available,” we will not be eligible to elect to be treated as a RIC. We currently intend to apply for this certification for our 2013 taxable year, but no assurance can be given that we will receive it, that Management will determine it is in our best interests to qualify as a RIC for our 2013 taxable year, or if we intend to elect to be treated as a RIC, that we will be able to do so. See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations — Taxation of the Company — Taxation of the Company as a RIC.”

Management generally believes that it will be in our best interests to be treated a RIC in any year in which we are profitable. If we fail to qualify as a RIC for any year in which we are profitable and such profits exceed certain loss carry forwards that we are entitled to utilize, we will be subject to corporate-level tax on our income, which could substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of income available for distribution or reinvestment and the amount of our distributions. Such a failure could have a material adverse effect on us and our stockholders.

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In any year in which we intend to be treated as a RIC, we may be forced to dispose of investments at times when our investment advisor would not otherwise do so or raise additional capital at times when we would not otherwise do so, in each case in order to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded to RICs.

In order to qualify for the special treatment accorded to RICs, we must meet certain income source, asset diversification and annual distribution requirements. In order to satisfy the income source requirement, we must derive in each taxable year at least 90% of our gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale of stock or other securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to our business of investing in such stock or securities or income from “qualified publicly traded partnerships.” To qualify as a RIC, we must also meet certain asset diversification requirements at the end of each quarter of our taxable year. Failure to meet these tests in any year in which we intend to be treated as a RIC may result in our having to dispose of certain investments quickly in order to prevent the loss of RIC status. Because most of our investments are in private companies, any such dispositions could be made at disadvantageous prices and could result in substantial losses. In addition, in order to satisfy the annual distribution requirement for a RIC, we must distribute at least 90% of our ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, to our stockholders on an annual basis. We will be subject to certain asset coverage ratio requirements under the 1940 Act and financial covenants under the terms of our indebtedness, including the notes, that could, under certain circumstances, restrict us from making distributions necessary to satisfy the annual distribution requirement. If we are unable to dispose of investments quickly enough to meet the asset diversification requirements at the end of a quarter or obtain cash from other sources in order to meet the annual distribution requirement, we may fail to qualify for special tax treatment accorded to RICs and, thus, be subject to corporate-level income tax on our income.

We may in the future choose to pay dividends in our common stock, in which case you may be required to pay tax in excess of the cash you receive.

We may distribute taxable dividends that are payable in part in our common stock. In accordance with certain applicable Treasury regulations and private letter rulings issued by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), a RIC may treat a distribution of its own common stock as fulfilling the RIC distribution requirements if each stockholder may elect to receive his or her entire distribution in either cash or common stock of the RIC, subject to a limitation that the aggregate amount of cash to be distributed to all stockholders must be at least 20% of the aggregate declared distribution. If too many stockholders elect to receive cash, each stockholder electing to receive cash must receive a pro rata amount of cash (with the balance of the distribution paid in common stock). In no event will any stockholder, electing to receive cash, receive less than 20% of his or her entire distribution in cash. If these and certain other requirements are met, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the amount of the dividend paid in common stock will be equal to the amount of cash that could have been received instead of common stock. Taxable stockholders receiving such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income (or as long-term capital gain to the extent such distribution is properly reported as a capital gain dividend) to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, a U.S. stockholder may be required to pay tax with respect to such dividends in excess of any cash received. If a U.S. stockholder sells the stock it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our common stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to Non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in common stock. In addition, if a significant number of our stockholders determine to sell shares of our common stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price of our common stock.

Even in the event the value of your investment declines, the base management fee will still be payable.

The base management fee will be calculated at an annual rate of 2.0% of the value of our gross assets, which we pay monthly in arrears. The base management fee is payable regardless of whether the value of our gross assets or your investment declines. As a result, we will owe GSV Asset Management a base management fee regardless of whether we incurred significant realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation (losses) during the period for which the base management fee is paid.

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We incur significant costs as a result of being a publicly traded company.

As a publicly traded company, we incur legal, accounting and other expenses, including costs associated with the periodic reporting requirements applicable to a company whose securities are registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, as well as additional corporate governance requirements, including requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and other rules implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Our Board of Directors is authorized to reclassify any unissued shares of stock into one or more classes of preferred stock, which could convey special rights and privileges to its owners.

Our charter permits our Board of Directors to reclassify any authorized but unissued shares of stock into one or more classes of preferred stock. Our Board of Directors will generally have broad discretion over the size and timing of any such reclassification, subject to a finding that the reclassification and issuance of such preferred stock is in the best interests of GSV Capital and our existing common stockholders. Any issuance of preferred stock would be subject to certain limitations imposed under the 1940 Act, including the requirement that such preferred stock have equal voting rights with our outstanding common stock. See “Description of Securities — Preferred Stock.” We are authorized to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of common stock. In the event our Board of Directors opts to reclassify a portion of our unissued shares of common stock into a class of preferred stock, those preferred shares would have a preference over our common stock with respect to dividends and liquidation. The cost of any such reclassification would be borne by our existing common stockholders. In addition, the 1940 Act provides that holders of preferred stock are entitled to vote separately from holders of common stock to elect two directors. As a result, our preferred stockholders will have the ability to reject a director that would otherwise be elected by our common stockholders. In addition, while Maryland law generally requires directors to act in the best interests of all of a corporation’s stockholders, there can be no assurance that a director elected by our preferred stockholders will not chose to act in a manner that tends to favors our preferred stockholders, particularly where there is a conflict between the interests of our preferred stockholders and our common stockholders. The class voting rights of any preferred shares we may issue could make it more difficult for us to take some actions that may, in the future, be proposed by the Board of Directors and/or the holders of our common stock, such as a merger, exchange of securities, liquidation, or alteration of the rights of a class of our securities, if these actions were perceived by the holders of preferred shares as not in their best interests. The issuance of preferred shares convertible into shares of common stock might also reduce the net income and net asset value per share of our common stock upon conversion. These effects, among others, could have an adverse effect on your investment in our common stock.

Our Board of Directors may change our investment objective, operating policies and strategies without prior notice or stockholder approval, the effects of which may be adverse.

Our Board of Directors has the authority to modify or waive our investment objective, current operating policies, investment criteria and strategies without prior notice and without stockholder approval. We cannot predict the effect any changes to our current operating policies, investment criteria and strategies would have on our business, net asset value, operating results and value of our stock. However, the effects might be adverse, which could negatively impact our ability to pay you dividends and cause you to lose all or part of your investment.

Changes in laws or regulations governing our operations may adversely affect our business.

We and our portfolio companies are subject to regulation by laws at the local, state and federal levels. These laws and regulations, as well as their interpretation, may be changed from time to time. Any change in these laws or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business and the value of your investment.

Provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law and of our charter and bylaws could deter takeover attempts and have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.

Our charter and bylaws, as well as certain statutory and regulatory requirements, contain certain provisions that may have the effect of discouraging a third party from making an acquisition proposal for us.

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Our bylaws contain a provision exempting any and all acquisitions by any person of our shares of stock from the Control Share Act under the Maryland General Corporation Law. If our Board of Directors does not otherwise approve a business combination, the Control Share Act (if we amend our bylaws to be subject to that Act) may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer. Additionally, under our charter, our Board of Directors is divided into three classes serving staggered terms; our Board of Directors may, without stockholder action, authorize the issuance of shares of stock in one or more classes or series, including preferred stock; and our Board of Directors may, without stockholder action, amend our charter to increase the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue. These antitakeover provisions may inhibit a change of control in circumstances that could otherwise give the holders of our common stock the opportunity to realize a premium over the market price for our common stock.

Risks Relating to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus

Our common stock price may be volatile and may decrease substantially.

The trading price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially. The price of our common stock that will prevail in the market after any future offering may be higher or lower than the price you pay, depending on many factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be directly related to our operating performance. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Due to the potential volatility of our stock price, we may therefore be the target of securities litigation in the future. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from our business.

Our shares have at times traded, and may in the future trade at premiums that may prove to be unsustainable or at discounts from net asset value.

Shares of business development companies like us may, during some periods, trade at prices higher than their net asset value per share and, during other periods, as frequently occurs with closed-end investment companies, trade at prices lower than their net asset value per share. The perceived value of our investment portfolio may be affected by a number of factors including perceived prospects for individual companies we invest in, market conditions for common stock generally, for initial public offerings and other exit events for venture capital-backed companies, and the mix of companies in our investment portfolio over time. Negative or unforeseen developments affecting the perceived value of companies in our investment portfolio could result in a decline in the trading price of our common stock relative to our net asset value per share.

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The possibility that our shares will trade at a discount from net asset value or at premiums that are unsustainable are risks separate and distinct from the risk that our net asset value per share will decrease. The risk of purchasing shares of a business development company that might trade at a discount or unsustainable premium is more pronounced for investors who wish to sell their shares in a relatively short period of time because, for those investors, realization of a gain or loss on their investments is likely to be more dependent upon changes in premium or discount levels than upon increases or decreases in net asset value per share. As of September 19, 2013, the closing price of our common stock on the NASDAQ Capital Market was $13.28 per share, which represented an approximately 3.2% premium to our net asset value per share as of June 30, 2013.

There is a risk that you may not receive dividends or that our dividends may not grow over time, particularly since we invest primarily in securities that do not produce current income.

We cannot assure you that we will achieve investment results or maintain a tax status that will allow or require any specified level of cash distributions or year-to-year increases in cash distributions. As we intend to focus on making primarily capital gains-based investments in equity securities, which generally will not be income producing, we do not anticipate that we will pay dividends on a quarterly basis or become a predictable issuer of dividends, and we expect that our dividends, if any, will be less consistent than other business development companies that primarily make debt investments.

We will have broad discretion over the use of proceeds from any future offering pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, to the extent any such offering is successful, and will use proceeds in part to satisfy operating expenses.

We will have significant flexibility in applying the proceeds of this offering and may use the net proceeds from any future offering pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement in ways with which you may not agree, or for purposes other than those contemplated at the time of any such offering. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully utilize the proceeds within the timeframe contemplated. We will also pay operating expenses, and may pay other expenses such as due diligence expenses of potential new investments, from the net proceeds of any such offering. Our ability to achieve our investment objective may be limited to the extent that the net proceeds of any such offering, pending full investment, are used to pay operating expenses. In addition, we can provide you no assurance that any future offering will be successful, or that by increasing the size of our available equity capital our aggregate expenses, and correspondingly, our expense ratio, will be lowered.

Investors in any future offering pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement may incur immediate and substantial dilution.

Commissions and discounts payable to any underwriters, together with our organization expense and other expenses of any future offering, will reduce the net proceeds of any such offering available for us to invest. As of June 30, 2013 our net asset value was $248,607,249 or $12.87 per share. Depending upon the public offering price, and after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and the related offering expenses payable by us, in connection with any offering pursuant to this prospectus, investors in any such offering may be subject to an immediate and substantial dilution.

Our stockholders may experience dilution upon the conversion of the Convertible Senior Notes.

The Convertible Senior Notes are convertible into shares of our common stock beginning September 15, 2018, or, under certain circumstances, earlier. The current conversion price of the Convertible Senior Notes is approximately $16.26 per share of common stock, in each case subject to adjustment in certain circumstances. If we elect to deliver shares of common stock upon a conversion at the time our tangible book value per share exceeds the conversion price in effect at such time, our stockholders may incur dilution. In addition, our stockholders will experience dilution in their ownership percentage of common stock upon our issuance of common stock in connection with the conversion of the Convertible Senior Notes and any dividends paid on our common stock will also be paid on shares issued in connection with such conversion after such issuance.

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Your interest in us may be diluted if you do not fully exercise your subscription rights in any rights offering.

In the event we issue subscription rights to purchase shares of our common stock, stockholders who do not fully exercise their rights should expect that they will, at the completion of the offer, own a smaller proportional interest in us than would otherwise be the case if they fully exercised their rights. We cannot state precisely the amount of any such dilution in share ownership because we do not know at this time what proportion of the shares will be purchased as a result of the offer.

In addition, if the subscription price is less than our net asset value per share, then our stockholders would experience an immediate dilution of the aggregate net asset value of their shares as a result of the offer. The amount of any decrease in net asset value is not predictable because it is not known at this time what the subscription price and net asset value per share will be on the expiration date of the rights offering or what proportion of the shares will be purchased as a result of the offer. Such dilution could be substantial.

If we issue preferred stock, the net asset value and market value of our common stock will likely become more volatile.

We cannot assure you that the issuance of preferred stock would result in a higher yield or return to the holders of the common stock. The issuance of preferred stock would likely cause the net asset value and market value of the common stock to become more volatile. If the dividend rate on the preferred stock were to approach the net rate of return on our investment portfolio, the benefit of leverage to the holders of the common stock would be reduced. If the dividend rate on the preferred stock were to exceed the net rate of return on our portfolio, the leverage would result in a lower rate of return to the holders of common stock than if we had not issued preferred stock. Any decline in the net asset value of our investments would be borne entirely by the holders of common stock. Therefore, if the market value of our portfolio were to decline, the leverage would result in a greater decrease in net asset value to the holders of common stock than if we were not leveraged through the issuance of preferred stock. This greater net asset value decrease would also tend to cause a greater decline in the market price for the common stock. We might be in danger of failing to maintain the required asset coverage of the preferred stock or of losing our ratings, if any, on the preferred stock or, in an extreme case, our current investment income might not be sufficient to meet the dividend requirements on the preferred stock. In order to counteract such an event, we might need to liquidate investments in order to fund a redemption of some or all of the preferred stock. In addition, we would pay (and the holders of common stock would bear) all costs and expenses relating to the issuance and ongoing maintenance of the preferred stock, including higher advisory fees if our total return exceeds the dividend rate on the preferred stock. Holders of preferred stock may have different interests than holders of common stock and may at times have disproportionate influence over our affairs.

Holders of any preferred stock we might issue would have the right to elect members of our Board of Directors and class voting rights on certain matters.

Holders of any preferred stock we might issue, voting separately as a single class, would have the right to elect two members of our Board of Directors at all times and in the event dividends become two full years in arrears would have the right to elect a majority of the directors until such arrearage is completely eliminated. In addition, preferred stockholders have class voting rights on certain matters, including changes in fundamental investment restrictions and conversion to open-end status, and accordingly can veto any such changes. Restrictions imposed on the declarations and payment of dividends or other distributions to the holders of our common stock and preferred stock, both by the 1940 Act and by requirements imposed by rating agencies, if any, or the terms of our credit facilities, if any, might impair our ability to maintain our qualification as a RIC for federal income tax purposes. While we would intend to redeem our preferred stock to the extent necessary to enable us to distribute our income as required to maintain our qualification as a RIC, there can be no assurance that such actions could be effected in time to meet the tax requirements.

Risks Related to Our Convertible Notes

Our stockholders may experience dilution upon the conversion of our convertible notes.

Our convertible notes are convertible into shares of our common stock beginning January 1, 2016 or, under certain circumstances, earlier. Upon conversion, we must deliver shares of our common stock. The

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conversion rate of our convertible notes was initially, and currently is, 61.5091 shares of our common stock per $1,000 principal amount of our convertible notes (equivalent to a conversion price of approximately $16.26 per share of common stock), subject to adjustment in certain circumstances. Based on the current conversion rate, the maximum number of shares of common stock that would be issued upon conversion of the $69.0 million convertible debt currently outstanding is 4,244,128. If we deliver shares of common stock upon a conversion at the time our net asset value per share exceeds the conversion price in effect at such time, our stockholders may incur dilution. In addition, our stockholders will experience dilution in their ownership percentage of our common stock upon our issuance of common stock in connection with the conversion of our convertible notes and any dividends paid on our common stock will also be paid on shares issued in connection with such conversion after such issuance.

We may not have, or have the ability to raise, the funds necessary to repurchase our convertible notes upon a fundamental change, and our debt may contain limitations on our ability to deliver shares of our common stock upon conversion or pay cash upon repurchase of our convertible notes.

Holders of our convertible notes will have the right to require us to repurchase their notes upon the occurrence of certain significant corporate events involving us, including if our common stock ceases to trade on any national securities exchange or we consolidate or merge into another entity in certain circumstances, at a repurchase price equal to 100% of their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. We refer to such a corporate event as a “fundamental change.” However, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make repurchases of convertible notes surrendered therefor. In addition, our ability to repurchase our convertible notes or deliver shares of our common stock upon conversions of the convertible notes may be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements governing our indebtedness, including our credit facilities. In this regard, the ING facility prohibits us from repurchasing our convertible notes in certain circumstances upon the occurrence of a fundamental change. Our failure to repurchase the notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the indenture relating to the convertible notes or to deliver any shares of our common stock deliverable on future conversions of the convertible notes as required by the indenture would constitute a default under the indenture. A default under the indenture or the occurrence of a fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our indebtedness. If the repayment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness and repurchase our convertible notes.

Provisions of our convertible notes could discourage an acquisition of us by a third party.

Certain provisions of our convertible notes could make it more difficult or more expensive for a third party to acquire us. Upon the occurrence of a fundamental change, the holders of our convertible notes will have the right, at their option, to require us to repurchase all or a portion of their convertible notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest. We may also be required to increase the conversion rate of the convertible notes in certain other circumstances, including in the event of certain fundamental changes. These provisions could discourage an acquisition of us by a third party.

Certain adverse consequences could result if our convertible notes are treated as equity interests in us for purposes of regulations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Pursuant to regulations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), it is possible that, due to their convertibility feature, our convertible notes could be treated as equity interests in us. In that event, if employee benefit plans subject to Title I of ERISA, plans that are not subject to ERISA but that are subject to Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), such as individual retirement accounts, and entities that are deemed to hold the assets of such plans or accounts (such plans, accounts, and entities, “Benefit Plan Investors”) were to acquire 25% or more of the aggregate value of our convertible notes, among other consequences, we and our management would be subject to ERISA fiduciary duties, and certain transactions we might enter into, or may have entered into, in the ordinary course of our business might constitute non-exempt “prohibited transactions” under Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code and might have to be rescinded at significant cost to us. Moreover, if our underlying assets were deemed to be assets constituting plan assets, (i) our assets could be subject to ERISA’s reporting and disclosure

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requirements, (ii) a fiduciary causing a Benefit Plan Investor to make an investment in our equity interests could be deemed to have delegated its responsibility to manage the assets of the Benefit Plan Investor, and (iii) various providers of fiduciary or other services to us, and any other parties with authority or control with respect to our assets, could be deemed to be plan fiduciaries or otherwise parties in interest or disqualified persons by virtue of their provision of such services.

We do not believe that our convertible notes should be treated as equity interests in us for purposes of ERISA in light of the relevant regulations. No assurance can be given, however, that our convertible notes will not be so treated.

The accounting for convertible debt securities is complex and subject to uncertainty.

The accounting for convertible debt securities is complex and subject to frequent scrutiny by the accounting regulatory bodies and is subject to change. The issuance of our convertible notes may have an accounting effect on our earnings per share on a fully diluted basis. Further, we cannot predict if or when changes in the accounting for convertible debt securities could be made and whether any such change could have an adverse impact on our reported or future financial results. Any such impacts could adversely affect the market price or value of our common stock.

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about GSV Capital, our current and prospective portfolio investments, our industry, our beliefs, and our assumptions. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “will,” “may,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “targets,” “projects,” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus involve risks and uncertainties, including statements as to:

These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements, including without limitation:

Although we believe that the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of those assumptions could prove to be inaccurate, and as a result, the forward-looking statements based on those assumptions also could be inaccurate. Important assumptions include our ability to originate new investments, certain margins and levels of profitability and the availability of additional capital. In light of these and other uncertainties, the inclusion of a projection or forward-looking statement in this prospectus should not be regarded as a representation by us that our plans and objectives will be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include those described or identified in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this prospectus. However, we will update this prospectus to reflect any material changes to the information contained herein. The forward-looking statements in this prospectus are excluded from the safe harbor protection provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We plan to invest the net proceeds from the sale of our securities pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement in portfolio companies in accordance with our investment objective and strategies described in this prospectus. We will also use a portion of any such proceeds to pay operating expenses, and other expenses such as due diligence expenses relating to potential new investments. We anticipate that substantially all of the net proceeds of any such offering will be used for the above purposes within six to 12 months, depending on the availability of investment opportunities that are consistent with our investment objectives and market conditions, except for such amounts as may be retained for purposes of funding our ongoing operations subsequent to the completion of any such offering. We cannot assure you we will achieve our targeted investment pace. Pending such investments, we will invest the net proceeds of any such offering primarily in cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high-quality debt investments that mature in one year or less from the date of investment. The management fee payable by us will not be reduced while our assets are invested in such securities. See “Regulation as a Business Development Company — Temporary Investments” for additional information about temporary investments we may make while waiting to make longer-term investments in pursuit of our investment objective.

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PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK AND DISTRIBUTIONS

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “GSVC”. The following table sets forth, for each fiscal quarter since our initial public offering on April 28, 2011, the net asset value, or “NAV,” per share of our common stock, the high and low sales prices for our common stock, and such sales prices as a percentage of NAV per share.

						Price Range								High Sales Price as a Premium (Discount) to NAV(2)				Low Sales Price as a Premium (Discount) to NAV(2)
		NAV(1)				High				Low
Fiscal 2013
Third Quarter (through September 19, 2013)		$	*			$	14.43			$	7.82				*%				*%
Second Quarter			12.87				8.44				7.42				(34.4	)			(42.3	)
First Quarter			12.69				9.14				7.79				(28.0	)			(38.6	)
Fiscal 2012
Fourth Quarter		$	13.07			$	8.99			$	6.84				(31.2	)%			(47.7	)%
Third Quarter			13.45				10.38				8.29				(22.8	)			(38.4	)
Second Quarter			13.81				20.25				8.83				46.6				(36.1	)
First Quarter			13.47				20.89				13.03				55.1				(3.3	)
Fiscal 2011
Fourth Quarter		$	12.95			$	17.23			$	12.10				33.1	%			(6.6	)%
Third Quarter			13.26				19.97				12.09				50.6				(8.8	)
Second Quarter (from April 28, 2011 through June 30, 2011)			13.57				15.35				9.75				13.1				(28.2	)

On September 19, 2013, the last reported sales price of our common stock was $13.28 per share.

Shares of business development companies may trade at a market price that is less than the value of the net assets attributable to those shares. The possibility that our shares of common stock will trade at premiums that are unsustainable over the long term or at a discount from net asset value are separate and distinct from the risk that our net asset value will decrease. Since our initial public offering on April 28, 2011, our shares of common stock have traded at both a discount and a premium to the net assets attributable to those shares. As of September 11, 2013, our shares of common stock traded at a discount equal to approximately 4.66% of the net assets attributable to those shares based upon our $12.87 NAV per share as of June 30, 2013. It is not possible to predict whether the notes offered hereby will trade at, above, or below net asset value.

The timing and amount of our dividends, if any, will be determined by our Board of Directors. Any dividends to our stockholders will be declared out of assets legally available for distribution. We intend to focus on making capital gains-based investments from which we will derive primarily capital gains. As a consequence, we do not anticipate that we will pay dividends on a quarterly basis or become a predictable distributor of dividends, and we expect that our dividends, if any, will be much less consistent than the dividends of other business development companies that primarily make debt investments. However, if there are earnings or realized capital gains to be distributed, we intend to declare and pay a dividend at least annually.

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During the taxable year ended December 31, 2012, we were taxed as a C corporation subject to federal and state corporate income taxes. However, we may elect to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, beginning with our 2013 taxable year if management determines that it is in the best interests of the Company and the Company is able to satisfy the requirements to be treated as a RIC. If we are not certified by the SEC as “principally engaged in the furnishing of capital to other corporations which are principally engaged in the development or exploitation of inventions, technological improvements, new processes, or products not previously generally available” for our 2013 taxable year, we will not be eligible to elect to be treated as a RIC for our 2013 taxable year. We currently intend to apply for this certification, but no assurance can be given that we will receive it, or that we will otherwise qualify as a RIC for our 2013 taxable year. If we opt not to elect to be taxed as a RIC or are unable to qualify as a RIC, we will continue to be taxed as a C corporation under the Code for our 2013 taxable year. To obtain and maintain RIC tax treatment, we must, among other things, distribute at least 90% of our ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, for each taxable year. See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.” There is no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and we will be prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the 1940 Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings.

Our current intention is to make any distributions out of assets legally available therefrom in additional shares of our common stock under our dividend reinvestment plan, unless you elect to receive your dividends and/or long-term capital gains distributions in cash. Under the dividend reinvestment plan, if a stockholder owns shares of common stock registered in its own name, the stockholder will have all cash distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of common stock unless the stockholder opts out of our dividend reinvestment plan by delivering a written notice to our dividend paying agent prior to the record date of the next dividend or distribution. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan.” Any distributions reinvested under the plan will nevertheless be treated as received by the U.S. stockholder for U.S. federal income tax purposes, although no cash distribution has been made. As a result, if you do not elect to opt out of the dividend reinvestment plan, you may be required to pay applicable federal, state and local taxes on any reinvested dividends even though you will not receive a corresponding cash distribution. In addition, reinvested dividends have the effect of increasing our gross assets, which may correspondingly increase the management fee payable to our investment adviser. If you hold shares in the name of a broker or financial intermediary, you should contact the broker or financial intermediary regarding your election to receive distributions in cash.

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

We are an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company under the 1940 Act. Our investment objective is to maximize our portfolio’s total return, principally by seeking capital gains on our equity and equity-related investments. We invest principally in the equity securities of what we believe to be rapidly growing venture capital-backed emerging companies. We acquire our investments through direct investments with prospective portfolio companies, secondary marketplaces for private companies and negotiations with selling stockholders. We may also invest on an opportunistic basis in select publicly-traded equity securities or certain non-U.S. companies that otherwise meet our investment criteria. Our investment activities are managed by GSV Asset Management, and GSV Capital Service Company provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate.

Our investment philosophy is premised on a disciplined approach of identifying high-growth emerging companies across several key industry themes which may include, among others, social mobile, cloud computing and big data, internet commerce, sustainability and education technology. Our investment adviser’s investment decisions are based on a disciplined analysis of available information regarding each potential portfolio company’s business operations, focusing on the company’s growth potential, the quality of recurring revenues and cash flow and cost structures, as well as an understanding of key market fundamentals. Many of the companies that our investment adviser evaluates have financial backing from top tier venture capital funds or other financial or strategic sponsors.

We seek to deploy capital primarily in the form of non-controlling equity and equity-related investments, including common stock, warrants, preferred stock and similar forms of senior equity, which may or may not be convertible into a portfolio company’s common equity, and convertible debt securities with a significant equity component. We used substantially all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and follow-on offerings for the above purposes.

In May 2011 we completed our initial public offering of 3,335,000 shares of our common stock at an offering price of $15.00 per share. We completed a follow-on offering of 2,185,000 shares of our common stock in September 2011 at an offering price of $14.15 per share, a follow-on offering of 6,900,000 shares of our common stock in February 2012 at an offering price of $15.00 per share and a follow on offering of 6,900,000 shares of our common stock in May 2012 at an offering price of $16.25 per share. In the aggregate, we have raised approximately $277.7 million in equity capitalization. Our shares are currently listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “GSVC”.

Investments

The fair value of our investments can be expected to fluctuate in future periods due to changes in our investments and changes in the fair value of the investments. The investments made during the six months ended June 30, 2013 include:

Investments totaling $2,879,293 in SugarCRM Inc., a customer relationship management company, comprising an investment of $1,499,999, plus transaction costs, on January 16, 2013 and an investment of $1,379,294, plus transaction costs, on April 1, 2013.

Investments totaling $599,999 in AlwaysOn, Inc., a social media company, comprising an investment of $200,000, plus transaction costs, on February 4, 2013, an investment of $200,000, plus transaction costs, on February 28, 2013, an investment of $24,999, plus transaction costs, on April 26, 2013 and an investment of $175,000, plus transaction costs, on May 24, 2013.

Investments totaling $775,863 in CUX, Inc. (d/b/a CorpU), a corporate education company, comprising an investment of $517,244, plus transaction costs, on February 25, 2013 and an investment of $258,619, plus transaction costs, on May 31, 2013.

An investment of $1,000,000, plus transaction costs, in Fullbridge, Inc., a business education company, on March 22, 2013.

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An investment of $1,733,923, plus transaction costs, in ZocDoc Inc., an online medical scheduling company, on April 4, 2013.

An investment of $750,000, plus transaction costs, in AliphCom, Inc. (d/b/a Jawbone), an audio electronics company, on May 17, 2013.

An investment of $430,950, plus transaction costs, in Dailybreak, Inc., a social advertising company, on May 31, 2013.

An investment of $1,000,000, plus transaction costs, in Solexel, Inc., a solar power company, on June 6, 2013.

An investment of $180,000, plus transaction costs, in oDesk Corporation, an online marketplace company, on June 11, 2013.

An investment of $9,999,999, plus transaction costs, in Coursera Inc., an online education company, on June 18, 2013.

The fair value, as of June 30, 2013, of all of our portfolio investments was $244,198,486. We also held $4,634,110 in unrestricted cash on June 30, 2013.

The investments made during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 include:

Investments totaling $983,493 in AlwaysOn, LLC, a social media company, comprising an investment of $100,000, plus transaction costs, in, on January 10, 2012, an investment of $150,000, plus transaction costs, on March 9, 2012 and an investment of $733,493, plus transaction costs, on September 7, 2012.

Investments totaling $2,199,998 in Maven Research, Inc., a global knowledge marketplace, comprising an investment of $200,000, plus transaction costs, on February 28, 2012 and an investment of $1,999,998, plus transaction costs, on July 2, 2012.

Investments totaling $1,400,000 in AltEgo, LLC, an avatar technology and games developer, comprising an investment of $500,000, plus transaction costs, on February 29, 2012, an investment of $200,000, plus transaction costs, on May 11, 2012, an investment of $300,000, plus transaction costs, on June 15, 2012 and an investment of $400,000, plus transaction costs, on August 7, 2012.

Investments totaling $8,000,000 in Chegg, Inc., an online textbook rental company, comprising investments of $4,000,000, plus transaction costs, on March 7, 2012 and investments of $2,400,000 and $1,600,000, plus transaction costs, on June 20, 2012 and June 25, 2012, respectively.

Investments totaling $1,000,000 in The Echo System Corp., a social analytics company, comprising an investment of $250,000, plus transaction costs, on March 21, 2012 and an investment of $750,000, plus transaction costs, on March 30, 2012.

An investment of $1,000,000, plus transaction costs, in StormWind, LLC, an electronic marketing and business services platform, on March 23, 2012.

Investments totaling $1,998,800 in Bloom Energy Corporation, a fuel cell energy company, comprising an investment of $855,000, plus transaction costs, on March 28, 2012 and an investment of $1,143,800, plus transaction costs, on April 4, 2012.

An investment of $2,000,000, plus transaction costs, in CUX, Inc. (d/b/a CorpU), a corporate education company, on March 29, 2012.

An investment of $750,000, plus transaction costs, in The rSmart Group, Inc., a higher education learning platform, on March 30, 2012.

Investments totaling $14,799,996 in Violin Memory, Inc., a flash memory company, comprising an investment of $9,999,996, plus transaction costs, on April 11, 2012, and an investment of $4,800,000, plus transaction costs, on May 22, 2012.

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Investments totaling $4,150,000 in Top Hat, Inc., an internet commerce company, comprising an investment of $4,000,000, plus transaction costs, on April 13, 2012 and an investment of $150,000, plus transaction costs, on November 2, 2012.

Investments totaling $5,922,000 in Control4 Corporation, a smart home automation company, comprising investments of $2,369,500, $1,277,500 and $350,000, plus transaction costs, on April 18, 2012, April 19, 2012 and April 20, 2012, respectively, an investment of $1,190,000, plus transaction costs, on August 15, 2012 and an investment of $735,000, plus transaction costs, on October 19, 2012.

An investment of $2,999,998, plus transaction costs, in Global Education Learning (Holdings) Ltd., an Asia-focused education technology company, on April 19, 2012.

Investments totaling $20,602,500 in Twitter, Inc., a social communication company, comprising investments of $5,312,492, $4,875,010 and $7,312,498, plus transaction costs, on April 25, 2012, April 27, 2012, and April 30, 2012, respectively, an investment of $1,900,000, plus transaction costs, on June 1, 2012 and an investment of $1,202,500, plus transaction costs, on July 10, 2012.

An investment of $3,800,000, plus transaction costs, in Silver Spring Networks, Inc., a smart grid company, on May 1, 2012.

Investments totaling $2,250,001 in Fullbridge, Inc., a business education company, comprising an investment of $1,969,996, plus transaction costs, on May 4, 2012 and an investment of $280,005, plus transaction costs, on May 15, 2012.

Investments totaling $21,017,501 in Palantir Technologies, Inc., a cyber-security company, comprising investments of $888,384 and $2,674,048, plus transaction costs, on May 7, 2012 and May 11, 2012, respectively, investments of $40,500, $67,500 and $540,000, plus transaction costs, on May 16, 2012, May 21, 2012 and May 22, 2012, respectively, investments of $999,999, $15,228,070 and $135,000, plus transaction costs, on July 24, 2012, July 27, 2012 and July 31, 2012, respectively, an investment of $174,000, plus transaction costs, on August 24, 2012 and an investment of $270,000, plus transaction costs, on October 17, 2012.

An investment of $10,000,000, plus transaction costs, in Avenues World Holdings LLC, a globally-focused private school, on May 9, 2012.

Investments totaling $3,000,000 in Whittle Schools, LLC, an affiliate of Avenues World Holdings LLC, comprising an investment of $1,500,000, plus transaction costs, on September 6, 2012 and an investment of $1,500,000, plus transaction costs, on December 3, 2012.

Investments totaling $8,618,500 in Dropbox, Inc., an online storage service, comprising an investment of $6,858,500, plus transaction costs, on May 11, 2012 and an investment of $1,760,000, plus transaction costs, on September 4, 2012.

Investments totaling $1,500,000 in NestGSV, Inc., an entrepreneurial education company, comprising an investment of $1,000,000, plus transaction costs, on May 25, 2012 and an investment of $500,000, plus transaction costs, on July 10, 2012.

An investment of $10,000,000, plus transaction costs, in Solexel, Inc., a solar power company, on June 18, 2012.

An investment of $7,500,000, plus transaction costs, in Kno, Inc., an education software company, on June 27, 2012.

An investment of $2,000,000, plus transaction costs, in Dailybreak, Inc., a social advertising company, on June 29, 2012.

An investment of $1,999,999, plus transaction costs, in Dataminr, Inc., a social media analytics company, on July 2, 2012.

An investment of $10,000,000, plus transaction costs, in 2U, Inc. (f/k/a 2tor, Inc.), an online education company, on July 16, 2012.

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An investment of $5,000,000, plus transaction costs, in Totus Solutions, Inc., an LED lighting company, on July 20, 2012.

An investment of $1,001,000, plus transaction costs, in Gilt Groupe, Inc., an eCommerce platform, on July 27, 2012.

An investment of $500,000, plus transaction costs, in SinoLending Ltd, a Chinese P2P lending platform, on August 7, 2012.

An investment of $3,589,659, plus transaction costs, in Spotify Technology S.A., a music streaming service, on August 7, 2012.

An investment of $250,000, plus transaction costs in Neuron Fuel, Inc. (d/b/a Tynker), a computer software company, on August 8, 2012.

An investment of $500,000, plus transaction costs, in Strategic Sports Solutions, LLC, a sports analytics company, on August 31, 2012.

Investments totaling $3,801,165 in SugarCRM Inc., a customer relationship management company, comprising an investment of $1,513,750, plus transaction costs, on September 12, 2012, an investment of $171,353, plus transaction costs, on November 15, 2012, an investment of $1,225,000, plus transaction costs, on November 27, 2012 and an investment of $891,062, plus transaction costs, on December 28, 2012.

An investment of $3,000,000, plus transaction costs, in Parchment, Inc., an education data company, on October 1, 2012.

An investment of $500,000, plus transaction costs, in Ozy Media, Inc., a social media company, on November 2, 2012.

An investment of $2,000,000, plus transaction costs, in Starfish Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a YourOffers), a marketing platform, on November 13, 2012.

An investment of $500,000, plus transaction costs, in S3 Digital Corp. (d/b/a S3i), a sports analytics company, on November 21, 2012.

An investment of $1,499,999, plus transaction costs in Grockit Inc., an online test preparation company, on December 19, 2012.

The fair value, as of December 31, 2012, of all of our portfolio investments was $225,397,085. In addition, we held $16,000,000 in two money market funds as of December 31, 2012. We also held $11,318,525 in unrestricted cash on December 31, 2012.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the three months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012

Investment Income

For the three months ended June 30, 2013, we had investment income of $15,723, or $0.00 per share, which consisted of $0 of interest income from our portfolio investments and $15,723 of dividend income primarily from our CUX, Inc preferred shares as well as our money market investments.

For the three months ended June 30, 2012, we had investment income of $110,354, or $0.01 per share, which consisted of $102,883 of interest income from our portfolio investments and $7,471 of dividend income from our money market investments.

The decrease in investment income for the three months ended June 30, 2013 relative to the three months ended June 30, 2012 was primarily due to us no longer carrying fixed income investments during the three months ended June 30, 2013.

Operating Expenses

For the three months ended June 30, 2013, we had $2,402,634 in total operating expenses consisting primarily of investment management fees and administration fees, in addition to legal, audit and consulting fees. The investment advisory fee for the three months ended June 30, 2013, was $1,246,378, representing the

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base management fee as provided in our investment advisory agreement. Costs incurred under our administration agreement for the three months ended June 30, 2013, were $709,885. Professional fees, consisting of legal, valuation, audit and consulting fees, were $220,978 for the three months ended June 30, 2013.

For the three months ended June 30, 2012, we had $2,190,473 in total operating expenses consisting primarily of investment management fees and administration fees, in addition to legal, audit and consulting fees. The investment advisory fee for the three months ended June 30, 2012, was $1,126,091, representing the base management fee as provided in our investment advisory agreement. Costs incurred under our administration agreement for the three months ended June 30, 2012, were $602,201. Professional fees, consisting of legal, valuation, audit and consulting fees, were approximately $222,561 for the three months ended June 30, 2012.

The increase in total operating expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2013 relative to the three months ended June 30, 2012 was mostly due to an increase in management fees as well as administration fees incurred. These fees increased due to an increase in our gross and net asset values during the same periods, which impact the fees incurred. Refer to note 2 for further details regarding the calculations of these fees.

Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets

For the three months ended June 30, 2013, we had a net change in unrealized appreciation of $12,230,246, or $0.63 per share, resulting from appreciation of our investments, including our investments in Palantir Technologies, Inc., Twitter, Inc. and Dataminr, Inc., as well as the reclassification of the losses on our investments in Top Hat 430, Inc., Serious Energy, Inc., and AltEgo, LLC from unrealized loss to realized loss on investments. Net realized loss was $6,327,632, or $0.33 per share during the three months ended June 30, 2013 as a result of the write-off of our investments in Top Hat 430, Inc., Serious Energy, Inc., and AltEgo, LLC. Net investment loss was $2,386,911, or $0.12 per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2013, resulting primarily from operating expenses incurred during the quarter. Net increase in net assets resulting from operations was $3,515,703, or $0.18 per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2013.

For the three months ended June 30, 2012, we had a net change in unrealized depreciation of $2,014,512, or $0.12 per share. The change in unrealized depreciation is primarily a result of our investment in Facebook, Inc. We had a net realized loss of $1,380,263, or $0.08 per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2012, resulting from our investment in PJB Fund LLC, which resulted from fluctuating share prices of Zynga, Inc. Net investment loss was $2,080,119, or $0.13 per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2012, resulting primarily from operating expenses incurred during the quarter. Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations was $5,474,894, or $0.34 per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2012.

The per share figures noted above are based on a weighted-average of 19,320,100 and 16,287,133 shares outstanding for the three months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Comparison of the six months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012

Investment Income

For the six months ended June 30, 2013, we had investment income of $20,258, or $0.00 per share, which consisted of $0 of interest income from our portfolio investments and $20,258 of dividend income primarily from our CUX, Inc preferred shares as well as our money market investments.

For the six months ended June 30, 2012, we had investment income of $228,159, or $0.02 per share, which consisted of $214,984 of interest income from our portfolio investments and $13,175 of dividend income from our money market investments.

The decrease in investment income for the six months ended June 30, 2013 relative to the six months ended June 30, 2012 was primarily due to us no longer carrying fixed income investments during the six months ended June 30, 2013.

Operating Expenses

For the six months ended June 30, 2013, we had $4,974,894 in total operating expenses consisting primarily of investment management fees and administration fees, in addition to legal, audit and consulting

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fees. The investment advisory fee for the six months ended June 30, 2013, was $2,529,977, representing the base management fee as provided in our investment advisory agreement. Our base management fee was significantly higher than during the same period in 2012 as a result of the increase in our gross assets. Costs incurred under our administration agreement for the six months ended June 30, 2013, were $1,597,869. Professional fees, consisting of legal, valuation, audit and consulting fees, were $457,864 for the six months ended June 30, 2013.

For the six months ended June 30, 2012, we had $3,402,280 in total operating expenses consisting primarily of investment management fees and administration fees, in addition to legal, audit and consulting fees. The investment advisory fee for the six months ended June 30, 2012, was $1,748,017, representing the base management fee as provided in our investment advisory agreement. Costs incurred under our administration agreement for the six months ended June 30, 2012, were $947,795. Professional fees, consisting of legal, valuation, audit and consulting fees, were approximately $354,406 for the six months ended June 30, 2012.

The increase in total operating expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2013 relative to the six months ended June 30, 2012 was mostly due to an increase in management fees as well as administration fees incurred. These fees increased due to an increase in our gross and net asset values during the same periods, which impact the fees incurred. Refer to note 2 for further details regarding the calculations of these fees.

Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets

For the six months ended June 30, 2013, we had a net change in unrealized appreciation of $10,653,608, or $0.55 per share, resulting from appreciation of our investments, including our investments in Palantir Technologies, Inc., Twitter, Inc., Stormwind, LLC, and Dataminr, Inc., as well as the reclassification of the losses on our investments in Top Hat 430, Inc., Serious Energy, Inc., and AltEgo, LLC from unrealized loss to realized loss on investments. Net realized loss was $9,674,524, or $0.50 per share, and resulted from sales of investments in Zynga, Inc. and Groupon Inc., as well as the write-off of our investments in Top Hat 430, Inc., Serious Energy, Inc., and AltEgo, LLC. Net investment loss was $4,954,636, or $0.26 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2013, resulting primarily from operating expenses incurred during the quarter. Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations was $3,975,552, or $0.21 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2013.

For the six months ended June 30, 2012, we had a net change in unrealized depreciation of $1,003,317, or $0.08 per share. The change in unrealized depreciation is primarily a result of our investment in Facebook, Inc. We had a net realized loss of $1,380,519, or $0.11 per share, resulting primarily from our investment in PJB Fund LLC, which resulted from fluctuating share prices of Zynga, Inc. Net investment loss was $3,174,121, or $0.25 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2012, resulting primarily from operating expenses incurred during the period. Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations was $5,557,957, or $0.43 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2012.

The per share figures noted above are based on a weighted-average of 19,320,100 and 12,837,133 shares outstanding for the six months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Comparison of the year ended December 31, 2012 and the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011.

As January 6, 2011 was our date of inception and April 28, 2011 was the date of our initial public offering, the period from January 6, 2011 to December 31, 2011 is not a directly comparable period to the year ended December 31, 2012.

Investment Income

For the year ended December 31, 2012, we had investment income of $248,077, or $0.02 per share, which consisted of $222,047 of interest income from our portfolio investments and $26,030 of dividend income from our money market investments.

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For the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011, we had investment income of $162,328, or $0.05 per share, which consisted of $158,389 of interest income and $3,939 of dividend income.

The increase in investment income for the year ended December 31, 2012 relative to the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011, was primarily due to us holding more fixed income investments during the year ended December 31, 2012.

Operating Expenses

For the year ended December 31, 2012, we had $8,530,958 in total operating expenses consisting primarily of investment management fees and administration fees, in addition to legal, audit and consulting fees. The investment advisory fee for the year ended December 31, 2012, was $4,419,345, representing the base management fee as provided in our investment advisory agreement. Our base management fee was significantly higher than during the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011 as a result of the increase in our gross assets. Costs incurred under our administration agreement for the year ended December 31, 2012, were $2,384,764. Professional fees, consisting of legal, valuation, audit and consulting fees, were approximately $959,604 for the year ended December 31, 2012.

For the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011, we had $2,196,192 in total operating expenses consisting primarily of legal, audit and consulting fees, in addition to organizational expenses, investment management fees and administration fees. The investment advisory fee for the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011, was $618,865, representing the base fee as provided for in our investment advisory agreement. Costs incurred under our administration agreement for the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011, were $554,232. Professional fees, consisting of legal, valuation, audit, and consulting fees, were approximately $409,983 for the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011.

The increase in our total operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2012 as compared to the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011 is primarily a result of increased investment management fees and administration fees due to the growth of our portfolio.

Net Decrease in Net Assets

For the year ended December 31, 2012, we had a net change in unrealized depreciation of $10,170,850, or $0.63 per share. The change in unrealized depreciation is primarily a result of our investments in Top Hat 430, Inc., Silver Spring Networks, Inc., Gilt Groupe, Inc., Zynga, Inc., and Facebook, Inc. We had a net realized loss of $1,380,519, or $0.09 per share, resulting primarily from our investment in PJB Fund LLC, which resulted from fluctuating share prices of Zynga, Inc. Net investment loss was $8,282,881, or $0.51 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2012, resulting primarily from operating expenses incurred during the year. Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations was $19,834,250, or $1.23 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2012.

For the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011, we had a net change in unrealized depreciation of $1,579,800, or $0.47 per share. Net investment loss was $2,033,864, or $0.60 per share, for the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011, resulting primarily from operating expenses incurred during the period. Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations was $3,613,664, or $1.07 per share, for the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011.

The per share figures noted above are based on a weighted-average of 16,096,330 and 3,377,429 shares outstanding for the year ended December 31, 2012 and for the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to December 31, 2011, respectively.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

At June 30, 2013, we had investments in 45 portfolio companies with costs totaling $245,295,528, and cash in the amount of $4,634,110.

At December 31, 2012, we had investments in 47 portfolio companies with costs totaling $237,147,735, two money market funds totaling $16,000,000 and cash in the amount of $11,318,525.

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We completed a follow-on offering of 6,900,000 shares of our common stock in February 2012 at an offering price of $15.00 per share and a follow on offering of 6,900,000 shares of our common stock in May 2012 at an offering price of $16.25 per share, resulting in an aggregate of approximately $201.6 million in equity capitalization. Our shares are currently listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “GSVC”.

Our primary use of cash is to make investments and to pay our operating expenses. We used substantially all of the proceeds of the offerings to invest in portfolio companies as of June 30, 2013, except for amounts retained for purposes of funding our ongoing expenses.

Our current policy is to maintain cash and marketable security reserves in an amount sufficient to pay our operating expenses, including investment management fees, incentive fees and costs incurred under the administration agreement, for approximately two years. For a description of the investment advisory and administration services we receive, see “Related Party Transactions and Certain Relationships”. We incurred approximately $1,246,378 and $2,529,977 in investment management fees and $709,885 and $1,597,869 in costs incurred under the administration agreement for the three and six months ended June 30, 2013, respectively. We incurred approximately $1,126,091 and $1,748,017 in investment management fees and $602,201 and $947,795 in costs incurred under the administration agreement for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively. We incurred approximately $4,419,345 in investment management fees and $2,384,764 in costs incurred under the administration agreement for the year ended December 31, 2012.

As of June 30, 2013, the fair value of our portfolio investments was equal to the cost of the investments, net of unrealized depreciation representing transaction costs and any fair value adjustments. Fair value adjustments may include subsequent financing rounds, discounts due to lack of marketability, senior management changes or any other developments that factor into our valuations. The fair value of our investments can be expected to fluctuate in future periods due to changes in our investments and changes in the fair value of the investments.

On August 6, 2013, we executed a non-binding term sheet with SVB for the Proposed SVB Facility of $18 million. As set forth in the term sheet, the Proposed SVB Facility would be secured by substantially all of our assets, including interests in our portfolio companies, and have a three-year term with an interest rate of WSJ Prime plus 4.75%, with an interest rate floor of 8.00%. Our term sheet with SVB is non-binding, and the final terms and conditions of the Proposed SVB Facility, including term and interest rate, remain subject to satisfactory completion of SVB’s due diligence and credit approval process and the negotiation of final definitive agreements acceptable to both parties. We cannot be certain when or if we will be successful in closing on the proposed credit facility contemplated in the term sheet. SVB’s obligation to lend under the Proposed SVB Facility would terminate if we compete with SVB in providing loans, directly or indirectly, to our portfolio companies or any of their subsidiaries.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of June 30, 2013, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements, including any risk management of commodity pricing or other hedging practices. However, we may employ hedging and other risk management techniques in the future.

Distribution Policy

The timing and amount of our dividends, if any, will be determined by our Board of Directors. Any dividends to our stockholders will be declared out of assets legally available for distribution. We intend to focus on making capital gains-based investments from which we will derive primarily capital gains. As a consequence, we do not anticipate that we will pay dividends on a quarterly basis or become a predictable distributor of dividends, and we expect that our dividends, if any, will be much less consistent than the dividends of other business development companies that primarily make debt investments. However, if there are earnings or realized capital gains to be distributed, we intend to declare and pay a dividend at least annually.

During the taxable year ended December 31, 2012, we were taxed as a C corporation subject to federal and state corporate income taxes. We may elect to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, beginning with our 2013 taxable year if management determines that it is in the best interests of the Company

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and the Company is able to satisfy the requirements to be treated as a RIC. However, if we are not certified by the SEC as “principally engaged in the furnishing of capital to other corporations which are principally engaged in the development or exploitation of inventions, technological improvements, new processes, or products not previously generally available” for our 2013 taxable year, we will not be eligible to elect to be treated as a RIC for our 2013 taxable year. We currently intend to apply for this certification, but no assurance can be given that we will receive it, or that we will otherwise qualify as a RIC for our 2013 taxable year. If we opt not to elect to be taxed as a RIC or are unable to qualify as a RIC, we will continue to be taxed as a C corporation under the Code for our 2013 taxable year. To obtain and maintain RIC tax treatment, we must, among other things, distribute at least 90% of our ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, for each taxable year. See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.” There is no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions, and we will be prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the 1940 Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings.

Our current intention is to make any distributions out of assets legally available therefrom in additional shares of our common stock under our dividend reinvestment plan, unless stockholders elect to receive dividends and/or long-term capital gains distributions in cash. Under the dividend reinvestment plan, if a stockholder owns shares of common stock registered in its own name, the stockholder will have all cash distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of common stock unless the stockholder opts out of our dividend reinvestment plan by delivering a written notice to our dividend paying agent prior to the record date of the next dividend or distribution. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan.” Any distributions reinvested under the plan will nevertheless be treated as received by to the U.S. stockholder for U.S. federal income tax purposes, although no cash distribution has been made. As a result, if stockholders do not elect to opt out of the dividend reinvestment plan, such holders may be required to pay applicable federal, state and local taxes on any reinvested dividends even though they will not receive a corresponding cash distribution. In addition, reinvested dividends have the effect of increasing our gross assets, which may correspondingly increase the management fee payable to our investment adviser. If stockholders hold shares in the name of a broker or financial intermediary, they should contact the broker or financial intermediary regarding an election to receive distributions in cash.

Borrowings

We had no borrowings outstanding as of June 30, 2013. On September 17, 2013, we completed a private placement of 5-year unsecured 5.25% Convertible Senior Notes. A total of $69.0 million in aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Senior Notes were issued at the closing. See “— Recent Developments.”

Related Party Transactions

We entered into the Investment Advisory Agreement with GSV Asset Management in connection with our initial public offering. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, GSV Asset Management will be paid a base annual fee of 2.00% of gross assets, and an annual incentive fee equal to the lesser of (i) 20% of the GSV Capital’s realized capital gains during each calendar year, if any, calculated on an investment-by-investment basis, subject to a non-compounded preferred return, or “hurdle,” and a “catch-up” feature, and (ii) 20% of the GSV Capital’s realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid incentive fees. GSV Asset Management earned $1,246,378 and $2,529,977 in base management fees and $0 in incentive fees for the three and six months ended June 30, 2013, respectively. GSV Asset Management earned $1,126,091 and $1,748,017 in base fees and $0 in incentive fees for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively.

As of June 30, 2013, we were owed $2,606 from GSV Asset Management for reimbursement of expenses paid for by us that were the responsibility of GSV Asset Management.

In addition as of June 30, 2013, we owed GSV Asset Management $438,848, of which $415,459 relates to accrued management fees, and $20,783 is for reimbursement of expenses paid for by GSV Asset Management that were the responsibility of the Company.

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As of June 30, 2012, we were owed $5,901 from GSV Asset Management for reimbursement of legal fees paid for by us that were the responsibility of GSV Asset Management.

In addition as of June 30, 2012, we owed GSV Asset Management $17,159 for reimbursement of travel-related and other expenses. We owed certain officers and directors $12,717 in reimbursements for travel-related and other expenses.

We entered into an Administration Agreement with GSV Capital Service Company (the “Administration Agreement”) to provide administrative services, including furnishing us with office facilities, equipment, clerical, bookkeeping services and other administrative services, in connection with our initial public offering. We reimburse GSV Capital Service Company an allocable portion of overhead and other expenses in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement. There were $709,885 and $1,597,869 in such costs incurred under the Administration Agreement for the three and six months ended June 30, 2013, respectively. There were $602,201 and $947,795 in such costs incurred under the Administration Agreement for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively.

We also adopted a Code of Ethics which applies to, among others, our senior officers, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as well as all of our officers, directors and employees. Our Code of Ethics requires that all employees and directors avoid any conflict, or the appearance of a conflict, between an individual’s personal interests and our interests. Pursuant to our Code of Ethics, each employee and director must disclose any conflicts of interest, or actions or relationships that might give rise to a conflict, to our Chief Compliance Officer. Our Board of Directors is charged with approving any waivers under our Code of Ethics. As required by the NASDAQ corporate governance listing standards, the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors is also required to review and approve any transactions with related parties (as such term is defined in Item 404 of Regulation S-K).

In April 2012, in connection with our investment in Top Hat, Inc., Cherry Tree & Associates, LLC, an investment banking firm, received a fee of approximately $259,000 for its representation of Top Hat, Inc. Mark Moe, who is the brother of our Chief Executive Officer, Michael Moe, served as a Managing Director of Cherry Tree & Associates, LLC, and may therefore be deemed to have had an indirect material interest in such transaction. In February 2013, Mark Moe joined NestGSV, Inc., one of our portfolio companies, as a Vice President of Business Development, Global Expansion.

Critical Accounting Policies

Valuation of Investments at Fair Value

We carry our investments at fair value, as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors, in accordance with GAAP. Fair value is the price that one would receive upon selling an investment or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date in the principal or most advantageous market for the investment or liability. GAAP emphasizes that valuation techniques should maximize the use of observable market inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Observable inputs are based on market data obtained from sources independent of the entity and should not be limited to information that is only available to the entity making the fair value determination, or to a small group of users. Observable market inputs should be readily available to participants in that market. In addition, observable market inputs should include a level of transparency that is reliable and verifiable.

GAAP fair value measurement guidance classifies the inputs used to measure these fair values into the following hierarchy:

Level 1.  Financial assets and liabilities whose values are based on unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in an active market that we have the ability to access.

Level 2.  Financial assets and liabilities whose values are based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or model inputs that are observable either directly or indirectly for substantially the full term of the asset or liability. Level 2 inputs include the following:

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Level 3.  Financial assets and liabilities whose values are based on prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. These inputs reflect management’s own assumptions about the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability.

An asset’s categorization within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Securities that are publicly traded are generally valued at the close price on the valuation date; however, if they remain subject to lock-up restrictions they are discounted accordingly. Securities that are not publicly traded or for which there are no readily available market quotations are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors.

In connection with that determination, portfolio company valuations are prepared using the most currently available data. As appropriate, we obtain updates on each portfolio company’s financial performance, including information such as economic and industry trends, new product development, and other operational issues.

In making our good faith determination of the fair value of investments, we consider valuation methodologies consistent with industry practice, including but not limited to (i) publicly available information regarding the valuation of the securities based on recent sales in comparable transactions of private companies, (ii) when management believes there are comparable companies that are publicly traded, a review of these publicly traded companies and applicable market multiples of their equity securities and, (iii) an income approach that estimates value based on the expectation of future cash flows that an asset or business will generate.

We engage independent valuation firms to perform valuations of our investments that are not publicly traded or for which there are no readily available market quotations. We also engage independent valuation firms to perform valuations of any securities that trade on private secondary markets, but are not otherwise publicly traded, where there is a lack of appreciable trading or a wide disparity in recently reported trades. We consider the independent valuations, among other factors, in making our fair value determinations.

Recent Developments

On July 12, 2013, July 15, 2013, and July 24, 2013, the Company sold a total of 175,000 shares of its investment in Facebook, Inc. in three transactions for $1,282,663, $657,521, and $3,133,395, respectively. The Company continues to hold 175,000 shares of Facebook, Inc.

Subsequent to June 30, 2013, the Company closed on investments of $4.7 million, plus transaction costs as follows:

An investment of $600,000, plus transaction costs, in NestGSV, Inc., an incubator company, on July 15, 2013.

An investment of $1,099,997, plus transaction costs, in Dataminr, Inc., a Social Media Analytics company, on July 26, 2013.

An investment of $225,000 in the form of a promissory note, plus transaction costs, in Kno, Inc., a digital textbooks company, on August 1, 2013.

An investment of $1,000,000, plus transaction costs, in Strategic Data Command, LLC, a software development company, on August 15, 2013.

An investment of $1,500,000, plus transaction costs, in Whittle Schools, an education technology company, on August 30, 2013.

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An investment of $250,000, plus transaction costs, in Sinolending Ltd, a Chinese P2P lending company, on September 4, 2013.

On July 31, 2013, Grockit, Inc. sold its test preparation business and related assets, including the Grockit name, to Kaplan. Concurrently, Grockit, Inc. changed its name to Learnist Inc and has refocused its business plan as a social learning platform.

August 6, 2013, we executed a non-binding term sheet with SVB for the Proposed SVB Facility of $18 million. As set forth in the term sheet, the Proposed SVB Facility would be secured by substantially all of our assets, including interests in our portfolio companies, and would have a three-year term with an interest rate of WSJ Prime plus 4.75%, with an interest rate floor of 8.00%. Our term sheet with SVB is non-binding, and the final terms and conditions of the Proposed SVB Facility, including term and interest rate, remain subject to satisfactory completion of SVB’s due diligence and credit approval process and the negotiation of final definitive agreements acceptable to both parties. We cannot be certain when or if we will be successful in closing on the proposed credit facility contemplated in the term sheet. The Proposed SVB Facility, if consummated, is expected to be effectively senior to the Convertible Senior Notes described in this prospectus to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness (other than to the extent of the interest escrow).

On August 7, 2013, Control4 Corporation completed its initial public offering, selling 4,600,000 shares and received net proceeds of approximately $65.9 million. GSV Capital Corp.’s shares in Control4 Corporation are subject to a lock-up agreement.

Convertible Senior Notes

On September 17, 2013, we completed a private placement of 5-year unsecured 5.25% Senior Convertible Notes due 2018 (the “Convertible Senior Notes”). A total of $69.0 million in aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Senior Notes were issued at the closing. The Convertible Senior Notes are convertible into shares of our common stock based on an initial conversion rate of 61.5091 shares of our common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $16.26 per share of common stock. The conversion price for the Convertible Senior Notes will be reduced or adjusted for, among other things, annual cash dividends paid to common shares. The Convertible Senior Notes bear interest at an annual rate of 5.25%, payable semiannually in arrears on March 15 and September 15 of each year, beginning March 15, 2014. The Convertible Senior Notes mature on September 15, 2018, unless previously converted in accordance with their terms. The Convertible Senior Notes are our general unsecured obligations, rank equally in right of payment with our future senior unsecured debt, and rank senior in right of payment to any potential subordinated debt, should any be issued in the future

The Company is presently in the final stages of negotiations with respect to several private company investments that it anticipates entering into within the next 30 to 60 days, subject to satisfaction of applicable closing conditions. In the case of secondary market transactions, such closing conditions may include approval of the issuer, waiver or failure to exercise rights of first refusal by the issuer and/or its stockholders and termination rights by the seller or the Company. Equity investments made through the secondary market may involve making deposits in escrow accounts until the applicable closing conditions are satisfied, at which time the escrow accounts will close and such equity investments will be effectuated. Subsequent to June 30, 2013, the Company has not made any such escrow deposits.

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BUSINESS

GSV Capital

We are an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company under the 1940 Act. Our investment objective is to maximize our portfolio’s total return, principally by seeking capital gains on our equity and equity-related investments. We invest principally in the equity securities of what we believe are rapidly growing venture capital-backed emerging companies. We acquire our investments through direct investments with prospective portfolio companies, secondary marketplaces for private companies and negotiations with selling stockholders. We may also invest on an opportunistic basis in select publicly-traded equity securities or certain non-U.S. companies that otherwise meet our investment criteria. Our investment activities are managed by GSV Asset Management, and GSV Capital Service Company provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate.

Our investment philosophy is premised on a disciplined approach of identifying potentially high-growth emerging companies across several key industry themes which may include, among others, social mobile, cloud computing and big data, internet commerce, sustainability and education technology. Our investment adviser’s investment decisions are based on a disciplined analysis of available information regarding each potential portfolio company’s business operations, focusing on the company’s growth potential, the quality of recurring revenues and cash flow and cost structures, as well as an understanding of key market fundamentals. Venture capital funds or other financial or strategic sponsors have invested in the vast majority of the companies that our investment adviser evaluates.

We seek to deploy capital primarily in the form of non-controlling equity and equity-related investments, including common stock, warrants, preferred stock and similar forms of senior equity, which may or may not be convertible into a portfolio company’s common equity, and convertible debt securities with a significant equity component.

About GSV Asset Management

Our investment activities are managed by GSV Asset Management, an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, or the “Advisers Act.” GSV Asset Management is led by Michael T. Moe, our president, chief executive officer and chairman of our Board of Directors. Mr. Moe is assisted by Stephen D. Bard, our chief financial officer, chief compliance officer, treasurer and corporate secretary and David V. Crowder, our Executive Vice President, whom we refer to collectively as GSV Asset Management’s senior investment professionals. Mr. Moe co-founded and previously served as chairman and chief executive officer of ThinkEquity Partners, an asset management and investment banking firm focusing on venture capital, entrepreneurial and emerging private companies. Prior to founding ThinkEquity, Mr. Moe served as Head of Global Growth Research at Merrill Lynch and before that served as Head of Growth Research and Strategy at Montgomery Securities.

We believe we benefit from the ability of our investment adviser’s senior investment professionals and Board of advisers (the “Advisory Board”) to identify attractive investment opportunities, conduct diligence on and value prospective investments, negotiate terms, and manage and monitor a portfolio of those investments. See “Portfolio Management — Advisory Board to GSV Asset Management.” Our investment adviser’s senior investment professionals and Advisory Board members have broad investment backgrounds, with prior experience at investment banks, commercial banks, unregistered investment funds and other financial services companies, and have collectively developed a broad network of contacts that provides us with an important source of investment opportunities.

We pay GSV Asset Management a fee for its services under an investment advisory agreement (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) consisting of two components — a base management fee and an incentive fee. The base management fee is calculated at an annual rate of 2.00% of our gross assets, which is our total assets as reflected on our balance sheet (with no deduction for liabilities). The incentive fee is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date), commencing on December 31, 2011, and will equal the lesser of (i) 20% of our realized capital gains during such calendar year, if any, calculated on an

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investment-by-investment basis, subject to a non-compounded preferred return, or “hurdle,” and a “catch-up” feature, and (ii) 20% of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid incentive fees. See “Investment Advisory Agreement.” The terms for calculating the management fee create an incentive for our investment adviser to utilize leverage because our management fee is based on our gross assets, including issuances of preferred stock and borrowings for investment purposes, rather than our net assets. We will be required, however, to obtain the approval of our Board of Directors before we incur any future indebtedness. We have obtained approval from our Board of Directors to issue the notes.

Investment Opportunity

We believe that the technology industry is experiencing a convergence of numerous disruptive trends, producing new high-growth markets. The growth of both social networking and connected mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, has opened up new channels for communication and real-time collaboration. The number of devices and people that regularly connect to the Internet has increased dramatically in recent years, generating significant demand for always accessible, personalized and localized content and real-time online interactivity. These factors are creating opportunities for new market participants and significant growth for established companies with leading positions capitalizing on these trends.

At the same time, we believe that the initial public offering, or “IPO,” markets have experienced substantial structural changes which have made it significantly more challenging for private companies to go public. Volatile equity markets, a lack of investment research coverage for private and smaller companies and investor demand for a longer history of revenue and earnings growth have resulted in companies staying private significantly longer than in the past. In addition, increased public company compliance obligations such as those imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 have made it more costly and less attractive to become a public company. As a result, there are significantly fewer IPOs today than there were during the 1990’s, with prospective public companies taking longer to come to market. For example, from 1991 – 2000, there were 4,361 IPOs in the United States, of which 1,701 were venture-capital backed. From 2001 – 2011, there were 1,286 IPOs, of which 600 were venture-capital backed. In 2012, there were 128 IPOs, of which 49 were venture backed.

Investment Strategy

We seek to add to our portfolio of potentially high-growth emerging private companies via a repeatable and disciplined investment approach, as well as to provide investors with access to such companies through our publicly traded common stock.

Our investment objective is to maximize our portfolio’s total return, principally by seeking capital gains on our equity and equity-related investments. We have adopted the following business strategies to achieve our investment objective:

We leverage a combination of our relationships throughout Silicon Valley and our independent research to identify leaders in our targeted sub-sectors that we believe are differentiated and best positioned for sustained growth. Our evaluation process is based on what we refer to as “the four Ps”:

We consider these to be the core elements for identifying rapidly growing emerging companies.

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Direct equity investments.  We also seek direct investments in private companies. There is a large market among emerging private companies for equity capital investments. Many of these companies, particularly within the technology sector, lack the necessary cash flows to sustain substantial amounts of debt, and therefore have viewed equity capital as a more attractive long-term financing tool. We seek to be a source of such equity capital as a means of investing in these companies and look for opportunities to invest alongside other venture capital and private equity investors with whom we have established relationships.

Private secondary marketplaces and direct share purchases.  We also utilize private secondary marketplaces as a means to acquire equity and equity-related interests in privately-held companies that meet our investment criteria and that we believe are attractive candidates for investment. We believe that such markets offer new channels for access to equity investments in private companies and provide a potential source of liquidity should we decide to exit an investment. In addition, we also purchase shares directly from stockholders, including current or former employees. As certain companies grow and experience significant increased value while remaining private, employees and other stockholders may seek liquidity by selling shares directly to a third party or to a third party via a secondary marketplace. Sales of shares in private companies are typically restricted by contractual transfer restrictions and may be further restricted by provisions in company charter documents, investor rights of first refusal and co-sale and company employment and trading policies, which may impose strict limits on transfer. We believe that our investment professionals’ reputation within the industry and history of investing affords us a favorable position when seeking approval for a purchase of shares subject to such limitations.

Competitive Advantages

We believe that we will benefit from the following competitive advantages in executing our investment strategy:

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Operating and Regulatory Structure

GSV Capital was formed as a Maryland corporation that is an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company. We completed our initial public offering in May 2011 and have elected to be treated as a business development company under the 1940 Act. As a business development company, we are required to meet regulatory tests, including the requirement to invest at least 70% of our gross assets in “qualifying assets.” Qualifying assets generally include, among other things, securities of “eligible portfolio companies.” “Eligible portfolio companies” generally include U.S. companies that are not investment companies and that do not have securities listed on a national exchange. If at any time less than 70% of our gross assets are comprised of qualifying assets, including as a result of an increase in the value of any non-qualifying assets or decrease in the value of any qualifying assets, we would generally not be permitted to acquire any additional non-qualifying assets until such time as 70% of our then current gross assets were comprised of qualifying assets. We would not be required, however, to dispose of any non-qualifying assets in such circumstances. See “Regulation as a Business Development Company.” We were taxed as a regular corporation (a “C corporation”) under subchapter C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) for our 2012 taxable year. We may elect to be treated as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under subchapter M of the Code, if management determines that it is in the best interests of the Company to do so and the Company is able to satisfy the requirements under subchapter M of the Code, which we will be unable to do for the 2013 taxable year unless the SEC certifies us as being principally engaged in the furnishing of capital to certain types of developmental corporations. See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”

Our investment activities are managed by GSV Asset Management and supervised by our Board of Directors. GSV Asset Management is an investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act. Under our investment advisory agreement, which we refer to as the Investment Advisory Agreement, we have agreed to pay GSV Asset Management an annual base management fee based on our gross assets as well as an incentive fee based on our performance. See “Investment Advisory Agreement.” We have also entered into an administration agreement, which we refer to as the Administration Agreement, under which we have agreed to reimburse GSV Capital Service Company for our allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred.

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Investment Process

Concentrated Technology-related Focus

During the course of over two decades of researching and investing in non-public companies, we have identified five areas from which we expect to see significant numbers of high-growth companies emerge: new media, communication, alternative energy, education technology, and the consumerization of information technology. These broad markets have the potential to produce disruptive technologies, reach a large addressable market and provide significant commercial opportunities. Within these areas we have identified broad trends that could create significant positive effects on growth such as globalization, consolidation, branding, convergence and network effects. From within these broad technology themes, we have selected five sub-segments in which we target companies for investment: social mobile, cloud computing and big data, internet commerce, sustainability and education technology. We remain focused on selecting market leaders within the sub-segments we have identified, while continuing to review our pipeline to ensure we are tracking the next phase of leaders.

Investment Targeting and Screening

We identify prospective portfolio companies through an extensive network of relationships developed by our investment professionals, supplemented by the knowledge and relationships of our investment adviser’s Advisory Board and our Board of Directors. Investment opportunities that fall within our identified themes are validated against the observed behavior of leading venture capitalists and through our own internal and external research. We evaluate potential portfolio companies across a spectrum of criteria, including “the four Ps”, industry positioning and leadership, stage of growth, and several other factors that collectively characterize our proprietary investment process. We typically seek to invest approximately 90% of our portfolio in well-established, late stage companies and the remaining approximately 10% in emerging companies that fit within our targeted areas, where we see the potential for higher returns from early investment. Based on our initial screening, we identify a select set of companies which we evaluate in greater depth.

Research and Due Diligence Process

Once we identify those companies that we believe warrant more in-depth analysis, we focus on their revenue growth, revenue quality and sustainability and earnings growth, as well as other metrics that may be strongly correlated with higher valuations. We also focus on the company’s management team and any significant financial sponsor, the current business model, competitive positioning, regulatory and legal issues, the quality of any intellectual property and other investment-specific due diligence. Each prospective portfolio company that passes our initial due diligence review is given a qualitative ranking to allow us to evaluate it against others in our pipeline, and we review and update these companies on a regular basis.

Our due diligence process will vary depending on whether we are investing through a private secondary transaction on a marketplace or with a selling stockholder or by direct equity investment. We access information on our potential investments through a variety of sources, including information made available on secondary marketplaces, publications by private company research firms, industry publications, commissioned analysis by third-party research firms, and, to a limited extent, directly from the company or financial sponsor. We utilize a combination of each of these sources to help us set a target value for the companies we ultimately select for investment.

Portfolio Construction and Sourcing

Upon completion of our research and due diligence process, we select investments for inclusion in our portfolio based on their relative qualitative ranking, fundamentals and valuation. We seek to create a relatively diversified portfolio that we expect will include investments in companies representing a broad range of investment themes. We generally choose to pursue specific investments based on the availability of shares and valuation expectations. We utilize a combination of secondary marketplaces, direct purchases from stockholders and direct equity investments in order to make investments in our portfolio companies. Once we have established an initial position in a portfolio company, we may choose to increase our stake through subsequent purchases. Maintaining a balanced portfolio is a key to our success, and as a result we constantly evaluate the composition of our investments and our pipeline to ensure we are exposed to a diverse set of companies within our target segments.

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Transaction Execution

We enter into purchase agreements for each of our private company portfolio investments. Private company securities are typically subject to contractual transfer limitations, which may, among other things, give the issuer, its assignees and/or its stockholders a particular period of time, often 30 days or more, in which to exercise a veto right, or a right of first refusal over, the sale of such securities. Accordingly, the purchase agreements we enter into for secondary transactions typically require the lapse or satisfaction of these rights as a condition to closing. Under these circumstances, we are may be required to deposit the purchase price into escrow upon signing with the funds released to the seller at closing or returned to us if the closing conditions are not met.

Risk Management and Monitoring

We monitor the financial trends of each portfolio company to assess our exposure to individual companies as well as to evaluate overall portfolio quality. We establish valuation targets at the portfolio level and for gross and net exposures with respect to specific companies and industries within our overall portfolio. In cases where we make a direct investment in a portfolio company, we may also obtain Board positions, Board observation rights and/or information rights from that portfolio company in connection with our equity investment. We regularly monitor our portfolio for compliance with the diversification requirements for purposes of maintaining our status as a 1940 Act business development company and a RIC for tax purposes.

Portfolio Overview

At June 30, 2013, our portfolio was invested approximately 53.80% in common shares, 45.90% in preferred shares, 0.20% in membership interests, and 0.10% in equity warrants. Such percentages are not inclusive of our holdings in money market funds.

Our ten largest portfolio company investments as of June 30, 2013, based on the combined fair value of the securities we hold in each portfolio company, were as follows:

						At June 30, 2013
Portfolio Company		Industry				Cost				Fair Value				% of Net Asset Value
Twitter, Inc.			Social Communication			$	32,991,111			$	37,638,840				15.1
Palantir Technologies, Inc.			Cyber Security				21,060,447				23,007,098				9.3
Dropbox, Inc.			Online Storage				13,656,486				15,093,589				6.1
Violin Memory, Inc.			Memory Flash				14,819,168				14,359,996				5.8
Chegg, Inc.			Textbook Rental				14,022,902				14,049,836				5.6
Solexel, Inc.			Solar Power				11,016,624				10,999,998				4.4
2U, Inc. (f/k/a 2tor, Inc.)			Online Education				10,030,793				10,591,875				4.3
Avenues World Holdings LLC			Globally-Focused Private School				10,026,005				10,395,159				4.2
Coursera, Inc.			Online Education				9,999,999				9,999,999				4.0
Kno Inc.			Digital				9,987,021				9,922,913				4.0
Total						$	147,610,556			$	156,059,303				62.8	%

Set forth below are descriptions of the ten largest portfolio investments as of June 30, 2013:

Twitter, Inc.

Twitter is a social networking company. Twitter is a real-time information network that allows users to send and receive information.

Palantir Technologies, Inc.

Palantir solves critical intelligence and security issues for government agencies, banks, and large institutions.

Dropbox, Inc.

Dropbox is a provider of cloud storage that enables users to store and share files across the internet.

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Violin Memory Inc.

Violin Memory provides scalable flash memory which improves the performance of memory on computers by reducing the power and space requirements in a data center.

Chegg, Inc.

Chegg is an online textbook rental company with a leading market presence in the online education industry. Chegg has built a social education learning platform that assists students by providing course planning and selection services, textbooks, study materials and homework assistance.

Solexel, Inc.

Solexel is developing high-efficiency, low-cost, crystalline silicon solar cells and modules for photovoltaic electricity generation

2U, Inc. (f/k/a 2tor, Inc.)

2U partners with universities, providing technology solutions to manage students from recruitment to post-graduation job placement, as well as develop and deliver curriculum in a virtual environment.

Avenues World Holdings LLC

Avenues is a private pre-K through 12^th grade school that aspires to ultimately become a single school with multiple integrated global campuses, raising the global standard for top-tier private schools.

Coursera, Inc.

Coursera is an online open course provider that partners with universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free.

Kno, Inc.

Kno is a provider of education software, digital textbooks and social engagement tools for students.

Managerial Assistance

As a business development company, we are required to offer, and in some cases may provide and be paid for, significant managerial assistance to portfolio companies. This assistance typically involves monitoring the operations of portfolio companies, participating in their Board and management meetings, consulting with and advising their officers and providing other organizational and financial guidance.

Competition

Our primary competitors include specialty finance companies including late stage venture capital funds, private equity funds, other crossover funds, public funds investing in private companies and business development companies. Many of these entities have greater financial and managerial resources than we will have. For additional information concerning the competitive risks we face, see “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure.”

Employees

While we have executive officers, they receive no direct compensation from us, and we have no direct employees. Our day-to-day investment operations are managed by our investment adviser. In addition, we reimburse GSV Capital Service Company for an allocable portion of expenses incurred by it in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including a portion of the rent and the compensation of our chief financial officer and chief compliance officer and other staff providing administration services. See “Investment Advisory Agreement.”

Properties

Our principal office is located at 2925 Woodside Road, Woodside, California, in the offices of GSV Capital Service Company. We do not own or lease any office space directly; however, we will pay a portion of the rent as allocated to us by GSV Capital Service Company. Our office facilities are suitable and adequate for our business as it is presently conducted.

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Legal Proceedings

We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us. From time to time, we may be a party to certain legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business, including proceedings relating to the enforcement of our rights under contracts with our portfolio companies. While the outcome of these legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not expect that these proceedings will have a material effect upon our financial condition or results of operations.

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PORTFOLIO COMPANIES

The following table sets forth certain information as of June 30, 2013 for each portfolio company in which we had an investment. The general terms of our investments are described in “Business — Investment Process.” Other than these investments, our only formal relationships with our portfolio companies are the managerial assistance we may provide upon request and the Board observer or participation rights we may receive in connection with our investment. We do not “control” and are not an “affiliate” of any of our portfolio companies, each as defined in the 1940 Act, other than as indicated in the table below. In general, under the 1940 Act, we would “control” a portfolio company if we owned more than 25% of its voting securities and would be an “affiliate” of a portfolio company if we owned more than 5% of its voting securities.

Name and Address of Portfolio Company		Industry				Investment				% of Class Held(1)				Number of Shares Held				Cost(2)				Fair Value(3)
Twitter, Inc. (San Francisco, CA)			Social Communication				Common shares				0.36	%			1,835,600				31,755,821				36,351,602
Twitter, Inc. (San Francisco, CA)			Social Communication				Preferred shares, Series A				0.36	%			65,000				1,235,290				1,287,238
Palantir Technologies, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA)			Cyber Security				Common shares, Class A				57	%			7,145,690				20,051,479				21,994,434
Palantir Technologies, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA)			Cyber Security				Preferred shares, Series G				57	%			326,797				1,008,968				1,012,664
Dropbox, Inc. (San Francisco, CA)			Online Storage				Common share				26	%			760,000				8,641,153				8,740,000
Dropbox, Inc. (San Francisco, CA)			Online Storage				Preferred shares, Series A-1				26	%			552,486				5,015,333				6,353,589
Violin Memory, Inc. (Mountain View, CA)			Memory Flash				Preferred shares, Series D				1.44	%			1,666,666				10,018,370				9,999,996
Violin Memory, Inc. (Mountain View, CA)			Memory Flash				Preferred shares, Series B				1.44	%			800,000				4,800,798				4,360,000
Chegg, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA)			Textbook Rental				Common shares				1.65	%			1,274,193				10,014,248				9,571,313
Chegg, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA)			Textbook Rental				Preferred shares, Series F				1.65	%			500,000				4,008,654				4,478,523
Solexel, Inc. (Milpitas, CA)			Solar Power				Preferred shares, Series C				3.40	%			5,034,324				11,016,624				10,999,998
2U, Inc. (f/k/a 2tor, Inc.) (Landover, MD)			Online Education				Common shares				3.73	%			1,151,802				8,757,668				9,247,603
2U, Inc. (f/k/a 2tor, Inc.) (Landover, MD)			Online Education				Preferred shares, Series A				3.73	%			167,431				1,273,125				1,344,272
Avenues World Holdings LLC (New York, NY)			Globally-focused Private School				Preferred shares, Class A-1				3.87	%			5,000,000				10,026,005				10,395,159
Coursera, Inc. (Mountain View, CA)			Online Education				Preferred shares, Series B				3.20	%			2,039,609				9,999,999				9,999,999
Kno, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA)			Digital				Preferred shares, Series C				1.18	%			440,313				2,262,006				2,249,999
Kno, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA)			Textbooks				Preferred shares, Series C-1				1.18	%			1				7,510,334				7,500,000
Kno, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA)			Textbooks				Common shares				1.18	%			50,000				214,681				172,914
Facebook, Inc. (Menlo Park, CA)			Social Networking				Common shares, Class A				0.02	%			350,000				10,472,294				8,708,000
Control4 Corporation (Salt Lake City, UT)			Home Automation				Common shares				3.31	%			782,821				7,011,025				7,518,198
SugarCRM, Inc. (Cupertino, CA)			Customer Relationship Manager				Common shares				3.45	%			1,480,131				5,192,673				5,180,459
SugarCRM, Inc. (Cupertino, CA)			Customer Relationship Manager				Preferred shares, Series E				3.45	%			373,134				1,500,522				1,652,476
ZocDoc Inc. (New York, NY)			Online Medical Scheduling				Preferred shares, Series A				0.56	%			200,000				3,563,178				3,100,000
ZocDoc Inc. (New York, NY)			Online Medical Scheduling				Common Stock				0.56	%			111,866				1,734,878				1,733,923
Bloom Energy Corporation (Sunnyvale, CA)			Fuel Cell Energy				Common shares				0.17	%			201,589				3,855,601				4,008,093

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Name and Address of Portfolio Company		Industry				Investment				% of Class Held(1)				Number of Shares Held				Cost(2)				Fair Value(3)
Gilt Groupe, Inc. (New York, NY)			e-Commerce Flash Sales				Common shares				0.60	%			248,600				6,594,433				3,841,793
Spotify Technology S.A. (Stockholm, Sweden)			Music Streaming Service				Common shares				0.12	%			3,658				3,598,472				3,682,927
StormWind, LLC (Scottsdale, AZ)			Interactive Learning Platform				Preferred shares, Series B				16.08	%			3,279,629				2,019,687				3,667,495
Learnist Inc, (f/k/a Grockit, Inc.) (San Francisco, CA)			Online Test Preparation				Preferred shares, Series D				7.50	%			2,728,252				2,005,945				2,018,906
Learnist Inc, (f/k/a Grockit, Inc.) (San Francisco, CA)			Online Test Preparation				Preferred shares, Series E				7.50	%			1,731,501				1,503,670				1,427,558
Fullbridge, Inc (Cambridge, MA)			Business Education				Preferred shares, Series C				9.22	%			1,728,724				3,260,465				3,289,115
Fullbridge, Inc (Cambridge, MA)			Business Education				Warrants				0.99	%			186,170				—				—
CUX, Inc. (d/b/a CorpU) (San Francisco, CA)			Corporate Education				Common Stock				31.22	%			615,763				2,006,077				2,483,986
CUX, Inc. (d/b/a CorpU) (San Francisco, CA)			Corporate Education				Convertible preferred shares, Series D				31.22	%			169,033				778,607				775,861
CUX, Inc. (d/b/a CorpU) (San Francisco, CA)			Corporate Education				Warrants				31.22	%			16,903				—				—
Global Education Learning (Holdings) Ltd. (Hong Kong)			Education Technology				Preferred shares, Series A				17.96	%			1,472,175				2,999,998				3,187,140
Parchment, Inc. (Scottsdale, AZ)			E-Transcript Exchange				Preferred shares, Series D				3.43	%			2,400,384				3,000,000				3,040,167
Whittle Schools, LLC (New York, NY)			Globally-focused Private School				Preferred shares, Series B				18.51	%			3,000,000				3,000,000				3,000,000
Dataminr, Inc. (New York, NY)			Social Media Analytics				Preferred shares, Series B				3.42	%			904,977				2,063,356				2,972,849
Totus Solutions, Inc. (Carrollton, TX)			LED Lighting				Common shares				18.59	%			20,000,000				5,023,748				2,586,345
Dailybreak, Inc. (Boston, MA)			Social Advertising				Preferred shares, Series A-1				15.53	%			1,878,129				2,430,950				2,422,788
SharesPost, Inc. (San Bruno, CA)			Online Marketplace (Finance)				Preferred shares, Series B				4.49	%			1,771,653				2,258,328				2,232,283
SharesPost, Inc. (San Bruno, CA)			Online Marketplace (Finance)				Common warrants				4.49	%			770,934				23,128				138,768
Silver Spring Networks, Inc. (Redwood City, CA)			Smart Grid				Common shares				0.06	%			102,028				5,145,271				2,366,472
TrueCar, Inc. (Santa Monica, CA)			Online Marketplace				Common shares				0.31	%			377,358				2,014,863				2,305,338
Maven Research, Inc. (San Francisco, CA)			Knowledge Networks				Preferred shares, Series C				16.50	%			318,979				1,999,998				1,828,817
Maven Research, Inc. (San Francisco, CA)			Knowledge Networks				Preferred shares, Series B				16.50	%			49,505				217,206				232,971
S3 Digital Corp. (d/b/a S3i) (New York, NY)			Sports Analytics				Preferred shares, Class A1				20.36	%			1,033,452				989,058				1,123,622
S3 Digital Corp. (d/b/a S3i) (New York, NY)			Sports Analytics				Preferred warrants				20.36	%			500,000				31,354				—
NestGSV, Inc. (Redwood City, CA)			Incubator				Preferred shares, Series A				16.67	%			1,000,000				1,021,778				1,093,866
The rSmart Group, Inc. (Scottsdale, AZ)			Higher Education Learning Platform				Preferred shares, Series B				4.71	%			1,201,923				1,266,940				933,381
DreamBox Learning, Inc. (Bellevue, WA)			Education				Preferred shares, Series A				1.47	%			3,579,610				758,017				828,257
AlwaysOn, Inc. (Woodside, CA)			Social Media				Preferred shares, Series A				22.93	%			1,066,626				1,027,391				600,000
AlwaysOn, Inc. (Woodside, CA)			Social Media				Preferred shares, Series A-1				22.93	%			3,152,417				624,783				203,011
AliphCom, Inc. (d/b/a Jawbone) (San Francisco, CA)			Smart Device Company				Common Stock				0.07	%			150,000				793,152				750,000

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Name and Address of Portfolio Company		Industry				Investment				% of Class Held(1)				Number of Shares Held				Cost(2)				Fair Value(3)
SinoLending Ltd. (Shanghai, China)			Chinese P2P Lending				Preferred shares, Class A				5	%			6,414,368				501,998				604,859
NestGSV Silicon Valley, LLC (Redwood City, CA)			Incubator				Common membership interest				13.33	%			500,000				500,000				514,084
Ozy Media, Inc. (Mountain View, CA)			Social Media				Preferred shares, Series Seed				4.55	%			500,000				500,000				513,725
Starfish Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a YourOffers) (Beverly Hills, CA)			Marketing Platform				Preferred shares, Series A				11.77	%			43,878,894				2,177,461				500,000
Starfish Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a YourOffers) (Beverly Hills, CA)			Marketing Platform				Common warrants				11.77	%			144,800,351				—				—
The Echo System Corp. (New York, NY)			Social Analytics				Preferred shares, Series A				17.84	%			512,365				1,436,404				379,150
The Echo System Corp. (New York, NY)			Social Analytics				Preferred warrants				0	%			68,359				75,988				—
NewZoom, Inc. (d/b/a ZoomSystems) (San Francisco, CA)			Smart e-tail (Retail)				Preferred shares, Series A				0.29	%			1,250,000				260,476				262,500
Neuron Fuel, Inc. (San Jose, CA)			Computer Software				Preferred shares, Series AAI				1.21	%			250,000				262,530				250,000
Odesk Corporation (Redwood City, CA)			Online Workplace Platform				Common Stock				0.04	%			30,000				183,269				180,000

From June 30, 2013 through September 19, 2013, we closed on investments of $4,674,997, plus transaction costs in six portfolio investments. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Recent Developments” for more information about these investments. Set forth below is a brief description of each portfolio company in which we have made an investment that represents greater than 5% of the fair value of our investment portfolio as of June 30, 2013.

Twitter, Inc.

Twitter is a social networking company. Twitter is a real-time information network that allows users to send and receive information.

Palantir Technologies, Inc.

Palantir solves critical intelligence and security issues for government agencies, banks, and large institutions.

Dropbox, Inc.

Dropbox is a provider of cloud storage that enables users to store and share files across the internet.

Violin Memory Inc.

Violin Memory provides scalable flash memory which improves the performance of memory on computers by reducing the power and space requirements in a data center.

Chegg, Inc.

Chegg is an online textbook rental company with a leading market presence in the online education industry. Chegg has built a social education learning platform that assists students by providing course planning and selection services, textbooks, study materials and homework assistance.

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MANAGEMENT

Our Board of Directors oversees our management. The Board of Directors currently consists of seven members, four of whom are not “interested persons” of GSV Capital as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act. We refer to these individuals as our independent directors. Our Board of Directors elects our officers, who serve at the discretion of the Board of Directors. The responsibilities of each director will include, among other things, the oversight of our investment activity, the quarterly valuation of our assets, and oversight of our financing arrangements. The Board of Directors has also established an audit committee, a nominating and corporate governance committee and a valuation committee, and may establish additional committees in the future.

Board of Directors and Executive Officers

Directors

Information regarding the Board of Directors is as follows:

Name		Age		Position		Director Since		Expiration of Term
Interested Directors
Michael T. Moe		50		President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors		2010		2015
Mark W. Flynn		57		Director		2011		2015
Mark D. Klein		51		Director		2011		2014
Independent Directors
Leonard A. Potter		50		Director		2011		2016
R. David Spreng		52		Director		2011		2014
William V. Campbell		73		Director		2012		2016
Catherine J. Friedman		53		Director		2013		2016

The address for each of our directors is 2925 Woodside Road, Woodside, California 94062.

Executive Officers Who Are Not Directors

Name		Age		Position		Executive Officer Since
David V. Crowder		47		Executive Vice President		2012
Stephen D. Bard		54		Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary		2011

Biographical Information

Directors

Our directors have been divided into two groups — interested directors and independent directors. An interested director is an “interested person” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act.

Interested Directors

Mr. Moe is an “interested person” of GSV Capital as defined in the 1940 Act due to his positions as President and Chief Executive Officer of GSV Capital and as a principal of and Chief Investment Officer for GSV Asset Management. Mr. Klein is an “interested person” of GSV Capital as defined in the 1940 Act due to his financial relationship as a consultant for GSV Asset Management. Mr. Flynn is an “interested person” of GSV Capital as defined in the 1940 Act due to his position as Co-Managing Partner of GSV Asset Management.

Michael T. Moe has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our Board of Directors since 2010 and is primarily responsible for overall investment strategies and portfolio management. In addition, Mr. Moe has served as Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of GSV

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Asset Management since 2010. Mr. Moe previously co-founded and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ThinkEquity Partners, an investment banking firm focusing on venture capital, entrepreneurial and emerging growth companies, from 2001 to 2008. Prior to founding ThinkEquity, Mr. Moe served as head of Global Growth Research at Merrill Lynch from 1998 to 2001, and before that served as head of Growth Research and Strategy at Montgomery Securities from 1995 to 1998. In 2006, Mr. Moe published his critically acclaimed book Finding the Next Starbucks: How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow (Penguin/Portfolio Books, 2006). Mr. Moe is currently a member of the Board of Directors of SharesPost, a private secondary market, and ePals, the world’s largest K-12 social learning network. He is also a member of the advisory Board of Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). Mr. Moe earned his BA in Political Science and Economics at the University of Minnesota and is a CFA charter holder. Our Board of Directors has concluded that Mr. Moe’s depth of experience in managerial positions in investment management, securities research and financial services, as well as his intimate knowledge of our business and operations, gives the Board of Directors valuable industry-specific knowledge and expertise on these and other matters, and that therefore he is qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.

Mark D. Klein has served as a member of our Board of Directors since 2011. Mr. Klein also served as a director of New University Holdings Corp., (“NUH”) a capital pool company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, since its inception in 2010 through August 2011, when NUH merged with ePals, Inc., the world’s largest K-12 learning network provider. In addition, from April 2010 until May 2011, Mr. Klein served as the Chief Executive Officer, President and a Director of 57^th Street General Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company, until it completed a merger with Crumbs Bake Shop. Mr. Klein continues to serve as a Director of Crumbs. Between 2007 and 2009, Mr. Klein served as the Chief Executive Officer, President and a Director of Alternative Asset Management Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company he helped form in 2007, and which completed a merger with Great American Group LLC. Mr. Klein continues to serve on the Board of Directors of Great American Group. From 2007 until 2008, Mr. Klein served as the Chief Executive Officer of Hanover Group US LLC, an indirect US subsidiary of the Hanover Group. Prior to joining Hanover in 2007, Mr. Klein served as Chairman of Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. From March 2005 to September 2006, he was Chief Executive Officer and President of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services, Inc., the parent of Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., and Chief Executive Officer of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management Inc., a subsidiary of Ladenburg Financial Services, Inc. Prior to joining Ladenburg Thalmann, from June 2000 to March 2005, Mr. Klein served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of NBGI Asset Management, Inc. and NBGI Securities, which were the US subsidiaries of the National Bank of Greece. Mr. Klein has been a registered representative at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. since 2005, and a portfolio manager of the LTAM Titan Fund, a fund of funds hedge fund, since 2004. Mr. Klein is also a Managing Member and Majority Partner of M. Klein & Company, LLC, which owns the Klein Group, LLC, a registered broker dealer. Mr. Klein also maintains registration with the Klein Group, LLC as a registered representative and Principal. Mr. Klein is a graduate of the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, with a Masters of Management Degree, and also received a Bachelor’s of Business Administration Degree with high distinction from Emory University. Our Board of Directors has concluded that Mr. Klein’s extensive familiarity with the financial and investment banking industries and experience as a director of other publicly-traded companies provides our Board of Directors with valuable insight and perspective, and that therefore he is qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.

Mark W. Flynn has served as a member of our Board of Directors since 2011 and has served as Co-Managing Partner of GSV Asset Management since 2013. Mr. Flynn has managed Trilogy Capital Partners (“Trilogy”), a Menlo Park, California based private investment firm, since its formation in 1997. Prior to forming Trilogy, Mr. Flynn worked in various capacities in the investment banking groups at Salomon Brothers and Volpe, Brown & Whelan. During his investment-banking career Mr. Flynn primarily worked with technology and health care companies. At Salomon Brothers, he was responsible for the Global Software and Internet investment banking activities. Previously Mr. Flynn worked for Arthur Young and Company in the High Technology practice. Mr. Flynn previously served as a regent at St. John’s University and as Chairman of The Preserve Company. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the DAPER Fund at Stanford University as well as a number of privately held companies. He is a graduate of Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. Our Board of Directors has

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concluded that Mr. Flynn’s extensive familiarity with the financial and investment management industries and experience evaluating technology-related companies provides our Board of Directors with valuable insight and perspective, and that therefore he is qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.

Independent Directors

The following directors are not “interested persons” of GSV Capital, as defined in the 1940 Act.

Leonard A. Potter has served as a member of our Board of Directors since 2011. Mr. Potter is currently the President of a private family investment office. From August 2009 through August 2011, Mr. Potter served as the Chief Investment Officer of Salt Creek Hospitality, a private acquirer and owner of hospitality related assets. From December 2002 through July 2009, Mr. Potter was a Managing Director — Soros Private Equity at Soros Fund Management LLC (“SFM”) where, from May 2005 through July 2009, Mr. Potter served as co-head of the Private Equity group and a member of the Private Equity Investment Committee. From September 1998 until joining SFM in 2002, Mr. Potter was a Managing Director of Alpine Consolidated LLC, a private merchant bank, and from April 1996 through September 1998, Mr. Potter founded and served as a Managing Director of Capstone Partners LLC, a private merchant bank. Prior to founding Capstone Partners, Mr. Potter was an attorney specializing in mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Mr. Potter is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Solar Senior Capital, Ltd. (“SUNS”), Solar Capital Ltd. (“SLRC”) and GSV Capital, each a business development company, and 57^th Street General Acquisition Corp., the owner of Crumbs Holdings LLC (“CRMB”), and has previously served as a Board member of several other public companies. He also serves on the Boards of three private companies, including Hilton Worldwide. Mr. Potter has a B.A. from Brandeis University and a J.D. from the Fordham University School of Law. Our Board of Directors has concluded that Mr. Potter’s experience practicing as a corporate lawyer provides valuable insight to the Board of Directors on regulatory and risk management issues, and that his tenure in private equity investments and service as a director of both public and private companies provides industry-specific knowledge and expertise to our Board of Directors, and that therefore he is qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.

R. David Spreng has served as a member of our Board of Directors since 2011. Mr. Spreng is the founder and has served as Managing General Partner of Crescendo Ventures, a venture capital firm, since its formation in 1998. Mr. Spreng has been active in the formation and development of nearly 50 technology companies, 17 of which have completed initial public offerings. Mr. Spreng has been a participant and a panelist at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers selection committee and on the World Economic Forum’s Steering Committee for Entrepreneurship and Successful Growth Strategies. Mr. Spreng also presently sits on the Advisory Board of the Silicon Valley Executive Network, is a member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and previously served as a member of the Board of, and Chairman of the Government Affairs Committee of, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Mr. Spreng currently serves on the Board of Directors of a number of private technology-focused companies. In addition, Mr. Spreng previously served on the Board of Directors of Compellent Technologies, a publicly-traded provider of enterprise-class network solutions, from 2006 to 2011, prior to its acquisition by Dell. Mr. Spreng has previously been named as a defendant in several cases arising out of his service as a member of the Board of Directors of three public companies. Mr. Spreng is a graduate, with distinction, of the University of Minnesota. Our Board of Directors has concluded that Mr. Spreng’s extensive familiarity with the venture capital industry and experience as a director of other publicly traded companies, provides our Board of Directors with valuable insight and perspective, and that therefore he is qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.

William V. Campbell has served as a member of our Board of Directors since 2012. Mr. Campbell has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Intuit Inc. since 1998 and has served on the Board of Directors of Apple Inc. since 1997. Mr. Campbell previously served as Intuit's president and CEO from 1994 to 1998 and as CEO from 1999 until 2000. Mr. Campbell is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University and a director of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc. Mr. Campbell has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master of Science from Columbia University. Our Board of Directors has concluded that Mr. Campbell brings extensive qualifications and acumen to the Board as a result of his executive leadership experience, including his service as a Chairman of a public company,

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along with extensive financial expertise and technological and industry experience, and that therefore he is qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.

Catherine J. Friedman has served as a member of our Board of Directors since 2013. Ms. Friedman has served as an independent consultant serving public and private growth companies since 2006. Prior to that, Ms. Friedman held the position of Managing Director at Morgan Stanley from 1997 to 2006 and Head of West Coast Healthcare and Co-Head of the Biotechnology Practice at Morgan Stanley from 1993 to 2006. Ms. Friedman has served on the Board of Directors of XenoPort Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, since 2007 and also serves on its Audit and Governance Committees. Ms. Friedman joined the Board of Enteromedics, a publicly traded medical device company in 2007 and also serves as the Chair of its Audit Committee. She has been a Board member of the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula for seven years, where she serves on the Executive and Program committees. Ms. Friedman is a member of the Board of Trustees for Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton. She has a B.A. from Harvard University and received an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Our Board of Directors has concluded that Ms. Friedman’s experience as an independent consultant to growth companies in both private and public markets, along with her extensive experience in the financial sector, provides valuable expertise to the Board of Directors, and that therefore, she is qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.

Executive Officers Who Are Not Directors

Stephen D. Bard has served as our Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary since 2011. In addition, Mr. Bard has served as a principal and Managing Member of GSV Asset Management since 2010. Mr. Bard co-founded GSV Asset Management in 2010, and he is the firm’s Chief Operating Officer. From 2001 to 2009, Mr. Bard served as Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Fuller & Thaler Asset Management (“Fuller & Thaler”), an institutional investment firm. As Chief Operating Officer of Fuller & Thaler, Mr. Bard built out and managed the firm’s non-investment team and infrastructure. From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Bard managed the West Coast for Fidelity Management Trust Company (now Pyramis Global Advisors). Mr. Bard has also held senior consultant and business development roles at Hewitt Associates from 1988 to 1996 and New York Life Investment Management from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Bard is currently a Board and Executive Committee member of the CFA Society of San Francisco, where he chairs the Investment Committee. Mr. Bard’s other Board and committee service includes work with Purisima West Funds, Crystal Springs Uplands School, the Hillsborough Schools Foundation, The Olympic Club Investment & Endowment Committee and Blue Chip Exec. Mr. Bard earned his BS from Duke University and his MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Bard is also a CFA charter holder.

David V. Crowder has served as our Executive Vice President since 2012. Mr. Crowder has been an Advisory Board Member at GSV Asset Management since 2011, where he has focused primarily on sourcing and managing investments. Before he joined GSV Asset Management, Mr. Crowder was a General Partner of Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, which he co-founded in 2000. During that time, Mr. Crowder played a key role in raising the funds, recruiting the team, and managing the fund’s investments, while also serving on the Boards of several portfolio companies. Prior to his time at Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, Mr. Crowder was a founding partner of Thomas Weisel Partners, a Senior Managing Director and head of the Software and Internet Group at Montgomery Securities, and an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Mr. Crowder received his BA in Finance from the University of Utah and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Board Leadership Structure

Our Board of Directors monitors and performs an oversight role with respect to the business and affairs of GSV Capital, including with respect to investment practices and performance, compliance with regulatory requirements and the services, expenses and performance of service providers to GSV Capital. Among other things, our Board of Directors approves the appointment of our investment adviser and officers, reviews and monitors the services and activities performed by our investment adviser and executive officers and approves the engagement, and reviews the performance of, our independent public accounting firm.

Under GSV Capital’s bylaws, our Board of Directors may designate a Chairman to preside over the meetings of the Board of Directors and meetings of the stockholders and to perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Board. We do not have a fixed policy as to whether the Chairman of the Board

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should be an independent director and believe that we should maintain the flexibility to select the Chairman and reorganize the leadership structure, from time to time, based on the criteria that is in the best interests of GSV Capital and its stockholders at such times.

Presently, Mr. Moe serves as the Chairman of our Board of Directors. Mr. Moe is an “interested person” of GSV Capital as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act because he is the President and Chief Executive Officer of GSV Capital and a principal of and the Chief Investment Officer for GSV Asset Management. Mr. Moe’s history with the GSV Asset Management, familiarity with GSV Asset Management’s investment platform, and extensive knowledge of the financial services industry and the investment valuation process in particular qualify him to serve as the Chairman of our Board of Directors. Our view is that GSV Capital is best served through this existing leadership structure, as Mr. Moe’s relationship with GSV Capital’s investment adviser provides an effective bridge and encourages an open dialogue between management and the Board of Directors, ensuring that both groups act with a common purpose.

Our Board of Directors does not currently have a designated lead independent director. We are aware of the potential conflicts that may arise when a non-independent director is Chairman of the Board, but believe these potential conflicts are offset by our strong corporate governance policies. Our corporate governance policies include regular meetings of the independent directors in executive session without the presence of interested directors and management, the establishment of audit, valuation and nominating and corporate governance committees comprised solely of independent directors and the appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer, with whom the independent directors meet regularly without the presence of interested directors and other members of management, for administering our compliance policies and procedures.

We recognize that different Board leadership structures are appropriate for companies in different situations. We intend to re-examine our corporate governance policies on an ongoing basis to ensure that they continue to meet GSV Capital’s needs.

Board’s Role In Risk Oversight

Our Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function primarily through (a) its three standing committees, which report to the entire Board of Directors and are comprised solely of independent directors, and (b) active monitoring of our chief compliance officer and our compliance policies and procedures.

As described below in more detail under “Committees of the Board of Directors,” the audit committee, nominating and corporate governance committee and valuation committee assist the Board of Directors in fulfilling its risk oversight responsibilities. The audit committee’s risk oversight responsibilities include overseeing GSV Capital’s accounting and financial reporting processes, GSV Capital’s systems of internal controls regarding finance and accounting, and audits of GSV Capital’s financial statements. The nominating and corporate governance committee’s risk oversight responsibilities include selecting, researching and nominating directors for election by our stockholders, developing and recommending to the Board a set of corporate governance principles and overseeing the evaluation of the Board and our management. The valuation committee’s risk oversight responsibilities include establishing guidelines and making recommendations to our Board of Directors regarding the valuation of our investments.

Our Board of Directors also performs its risk oversight responsibilities with the assistance of the Chief Compliance Officer. The Board of Directors will annually review a written report from the Chief Compliance Officer discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the compliance policies and procedures of GSV Capital and its service providers. The Chief Compliance Officer’s annual report will address, at a minimum, (a) the operation of the compliance policies and procedures of GSV Capital and its service providers since the last report; (b) any material changes to such policies and procedures since the last report; (c) any recommendations for material changes to such policies and procedures as a result of the Chief Compliance Officer’s annual review; and (d) any compliance matter that has occurred since the date of the last report about which the Board of Directors would reasonably need to know to oversee our compliance activities and risks. In addition, the Chief Compliance Officer will meet separately in executive session with the independent directors at least once each year.

Our Board’s role in risk oversight is effective, and appropriate given the extensive regulation to which we are already subject as a business development company. As a business development company, we are required

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to comply with certain regulatory requirements that control the levels of risk in our business and operations. For example, our ability to incur indebtedness is limited such that our asset coverage must equal at least 200% immediately after each time we incur indebtedness, we generally have to invest at least 70% of our gross assets in “qualifying assets” and we are not generally permitted to invest in any portfolio company in which one of our affiliates currently has an investment.

We recognize that different Board roles in risk oversight are appropriate for companies in different situations. We intend to re-examine the manners in which the Board administers its oversight function on an ongoing basis to ensure that they continue to meet GSV Capital’s needs.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors has established an Audit Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and a Valuation Committee. During 2012, our Board of Directors held four Board meetings, four Audit Committee meetings, seven Valuation Committee meetings and one Nominating and Corporate Governance Meetings. With the exception of Mr. Campbell, all directors attended at least 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of our Board of Directors and of the respective committees on which they served. We require each director to make a diligent effort to attend all Board and committee meetings, as well as each annual meeting of stockholders.

Audit Committee

The audit committee operates pursuant to a charter approved by our Board of Directors, which sets forth the responsibilities of the audit committee. The audit committee’s responsibilities include selecting the independent registered public accounting firm for GSV Capital, reviewing with such independent registered public accounting firm the planning, scope and results of their audit of GSV Capital’s financial statements, pre-approving the fees for services performed, reviewing with the independent registered public accounting firm the adequacy of internal control systems, reviewing GSV Capital’s annual financial statements and periodic filings and receiving GSV Capital’s audit reports and financial statements. The audit committee is currently composed of Ms. Friedman and Messrs. Potter, and Spreng, all of whom are considered independent under the rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market and are not “interested persons” of GSV Capital as that term is defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act. Ms. Friedman serves as Chair of the audit committee. Our Board of Directors has determined that Ms. Friedman is an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined under Item 407 of Regulation S-K, as promulgated under the Exchange Act. Ms. Friedman meets the current independence and experience requirements of Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

The nominating and corporate governance committee operates pursuant to a charter approved by our Board of Directors. The members of the nominating and corporate governance committee are Ms. Friedman and Messrs. Potter and Spreng, all of whom are considered independent under the rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market and are not “interested persons” of GSV Capital as that term is defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act. Mr. Potter serves as Chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee. The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for selecting, researching and nominating directors for election by our stockholders, selecting nominees to fill vacancies on the Board of Directors or a committee thereof, developing and recommending to the Board of Directors a set of corporate governance principles and overseeing the evaluation of the Board of Directors and our management. The nominating and corporate governance committee currently does not consider nominees recommended by our stockholders.

The nominating and corporate governance committee seeks candidates who possess the background, skills and expertise to make a significant contribution to the Board of Directors, GSV Capital and its stockholders. In considering possible candidates for election as a director, the nominating and corporate governance committee takes into account, in addition to such other factors as it deems relevant, the desirability of selecting directors who:

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The nominating and corporate governance committee has not adopted a formal policy with regard to the consideration of diversity in identifying director nominees. In determining whether to recommend a director nominee, the nominating and corporate governance committee considers and discusses diversity, among other factors, with a view toward the needs of the Board of Directors as a whole. The nominating and corporate governance committee generally conceptualizes diversity expansively to include, without limitation, concepts such as race, gender, national origin, differences of viewpoint, professional experience, education, skill and other qualities that contribute to the Board of Directors, when identifying and recommending director nominees. The nominating and corporate governance committee believes that the inclusion of diversity as one of many factors considered in selecting director nominees is consistent with the nominating and corporate governance committee’s goal of creating a Board of Directors that best serves the needs of GSV Capital and the interests of its stockholders.

Valuation Committee

The valuation committee establishes guidelines and makes recommendations to our Board of Directors regarding the valuation of our investments. The Board of Directors and valuation committee utilize the services of nationally recognized third-party valuation firms to help determine the fair value of our securities that are not publicly traded and for which there are no readily available market quotations including securities that, while listed on a private securities exchange, have not actively traded. The valuation committee is presently composed of Ms. Friedman and Messrs. Potter, and Spreng, all of whom are considered independent under the rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market and are not “interested persons” of GSV Capital as that term is defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act. Mr. Spreng serves as Chairman of the valuation committee.

Compensation Committee

We do not have a compensation committee and do not engage any compensation consultants because our executive officers do not receive any direct compensation from us.

Compensation of Directors

The following table sets forth compensation of the Company’s directors for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Name		Fees Earned or Paid in Cash(1)				All Other Compensation(2)				Total
Interested Directors
Michael T. Moe			—				—				—
Mark D. Klein			—				—				—
Mark W. Flynn(3)		$	82,500				—			$	82,500
Independent Directors
Leonard A. Potter		$	77,500				—			$	77,500
R. David Spreng		$	77,500				—			$	77,500
William V. Campbell			—				—				—
Catherine J. Friedman			—				—				—

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Our independent directors currently receive an annual fee of $80,000. They also receive reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attending each Board and committee meeting attended in person. In addition, the Chairman of the audit committee receives an annual fee of $10,000 and each Chairman of any other committee receives an annual fee of $5,000 for their additional services, if any, in these capacities. No compensation is paid to directors who are “interested persons” of GSV Capital, as such term is defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act.

Compensation of Executive Officers

None of our officers receives direct compensation from the Company. As a result, we do not have a compensation committee and do not engage any compensation consultants. Mr. Moe, our Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Bard, our Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, Treasurer and Secretary, through their ownership interests in GSV Asset Management, LLC, our investment adviser, are entitled to a portion of any profits earned by GSV Asset Management, LLC in performing its services under the Investment Advisory Agreement, which includes any fees payable to GSV Asset Management under the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement, less expenses incurred by GSV Asset Management in performing its services under the Investment Advisory Agreement. The compensation of our finance, compliance, operations and administrative staff is paid by our administrator, GSV Capital Service Company, under the terms of the Administration Agreement, subject to reimbursement by us of an allocable portion of such compensation for services rendered to GSV Capital. During 2012, pursuant to our Administration Agreement, we reimbursed GSV Capital Service Company approximately $1.6 million for overhead expenses, which includes the allocable portion of compensation expenses incurred by GSV Capital Service Company on our behalf for our finance, compliance, operations and administrative staff, as well rent, the fees and expenses associated with performing compliance functions for GSV Asset Management, and its allocable portion of the compensation of any administrative support staff.

Indemnification Agreements

We have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors. The indemnification agreements are intended to provide our directors the maximum indemnification permitted under Maryland law and the 1940 Act. Each indemnification agreement provides that GSV Capital shall indemnify the director who is a party to the agreement (an “Indemnitee”), including the advancement of legal expenses, if, by reason of his or her corporate status, the Indemnitee is, or is threatened to be, made a party to or a witness in any threatened, pending, or completed proceeding, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law and the 1940 Act.

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PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

The management of our investment portfolio is the responsibility of our investment adviser, GSV Asset Management, and its investment committee, composed of Messrs. Moe, Bard, Flynn Pampoulov and Hanson. For more information regarding the business experience of Messrs. Moe, Flynn and Bard, see “Management — Board of Directors and Executive Officers.” Biographical information for Messrs. Pampoulov and Hanson are set forth below. GSV Asset Management’s investment committee must approve each new investment that we make. Messrs. Moe, Bard, Flynn, Pampoulov and Hanson are not employed by us, and receive no compensation from us in connection with their portfolio management activities. However, Messrs. Moe, Bard, Flynn Pampoulov and Hanson, through their financial interests in GSV Asset Management, are entitled to a portion of any investment advisory fees paid by GSV Capital to GSV Asset Management.

Investment Personnel

Our investment adviser is led by Michael T. Moe, our president and chief executive officer, chairman of our Board of Directors and co-founder, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of GSV Asset Management, Stephen D. Bard, our chief financial officer, chief compliance officer, treasurer and corporate secretary and co-founder and chief operating officer of GSV Asset Management, David V. Crowder, our Executive Vice President, Mark W. Flynn, our co-managing partner, Luben Pampoulov, co-founder, co-portfolio manager and managing director of GSV Asset Management and Matthew Hanson, managing director of GSV Asset Management. We consider Messrs. Moe, Bard, Flynn, Pampoulov and Hanson, who are the members of our investment adviser’s investment committee, to be our portfolio managers.

Our portfolio managers are currently providing management and advisory services to the following other entities:

Name

Entity

Investment Focus

Total Assets(1)

GSV X Fund

private fund

global long/short absolute return fund

$

505,435

The table below shows the dollar range of shares of our common stock beneficially owned by each of our portfolio managers as of September 19, 2013.

Name of Portfolio Manager		Dollar Range of Equity Securities in GSV Capital(1)(2)
Michael T. Moe		$	100,000 – 500,000
Stephen D. Bard		$	500,001 – $1,000,000
David V. Crowder		$	100,000 – 500,000
Mark W. Flynn			None
Luben Pampoulov			None
Matthew Hanson			None

The following information pertains to the members of GSV Asset Management’s investment team who are not executive officers or directors of GSV Capital Corp.:

Luben Pampoulov is a co-founder and has served as co-portfolio manager of GSV Asset Management since 2010. Mr. Pampoulov also co-founded GSV Media, a research firm focused on private rapidly-growing

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companies, in 2009. Prior to joining GSV Asset Management, Mr. Pampoulov served as an analyst and co-portfolio manager at ThinkEquity Partners from 2006 to 2008. Mr. Pampoulov earned his BA from UCLA in 2006.

Matthew Hanson joined GSV Asset Management as a New York-based Partner in 2012. Prior to joining GSV Asset Management, Mr. Hanson served as Head of Corporate Finance for ThinkEquity Partners, where he worked from 2005 to 2011. From 2003 to 2004, Mr. Hanson was an investment banker in the Global Corporate & Investment Banking Division at Banc of America Securities, LLC, and was a financial analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co., from 2001 to 2003. Mr. Hanson earned his BA in Economics (General Honors) from the University of Chicago in 2001. Mr. Hanson is a CFA charterholder, holds FINRA Series 24, 79, 7 and 66 licenses, and is a member of the New York Society of Securities Analysts and the Manhattan Institute Young Leaders Circle.

Compensation

None of the members of GSV Asset Management’s investment team receive any direct compensation from us in connection with the management of our portfolio. Messrs. Messrs. Moe, Bard, Flynn Pampoulov and Hanson, through their financial interests in GSV Asset Management, are entitled to a portion of any profits earned by GSV Asset Management, which includes any fees payable to GSV Asset Management under the terms of our Investment Advisory Agreement, less expenses incurred by GSV Asset Management in performing its services under our Investment Advisory Agreement. The compensation paid by GSV Asset Management to its other investment personnel includes: (i) annual base salary; (ii) annual cash bonus; (iii) portfolio-based performance award; and (iv) individual performance award and/or individual performance bonus.

Advisory Board to GSV Asset Management

GSV Asset Management has access to an Advisory Board that consists of investment professionals with extensive experience within the financial, investing and technology-related sectors. None of the members of the Advisory Board will be compensated by us. Set forth below are the current members of our investment adviser’s Advisory Board.

Scott A. Bedford founded Peninsula Capital Management, Inc. in 1989 and serves as the firm’s President, Chief Investment Officer and the lead Portfolio Manager of Peninsula Master Fund, Ltd. Prior to Peninsula, Mr. Bedford was a General Partner of Volpe Welty & Co. He also was Vice President in Institutional Sales in the investment banking department of L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin. Mr. Bedford has a B.S. in Finance from California State University, Chico.

Todd Bradley has been executive vice president of Personal Systems Group worldwide at Hewlett-Packard Co., since June 2005. Mr. Bradley also serves as a member of HP’s Executive Council. He served as Chief Executive Officer of the Solutions Group of Palm Inc., since June 2002. Mr. Bradley served as the Chief Executive Officer of Palm, and also served as its President since April 30, 2004 and its Advisor since 2005. He served as the President and the Chief Operating Officer of the Solutions Group since May 2002. From June 2001 to May 2002, Mr. Bradley served as an Executive Vice President and the Chief Operating Officer of the Solutions Group. From September 1998 to January 2001, Mr. Bradley held several Executive positions at Gateway Corporation, serving most recently as a Senior Vice President of Consumer and Executive Vice President of global operations. From February 1997 to September 1998, he served as the President and the Chief Executive Officer of Transport International Pool, a GE Capital Services company that is a global transportation equipment leasing and rental business. From September 1993 to February 1997, Mr. Bradley was with Dun & Bradstreet, most recently serving as the President of NCH Promotional Services, a Dun & Bradstreet subsidiary. Mr. Bradley previously held various management positions within logistics, production and quality control at Federal Express Corporation and the Miller Brewing Company. He has been Director of LiveOps Inc. since January 30, 2008. He serves as Director of Challenger Capital Group, Ltd. He served as a Director of Palm since July 2002. Mr. Bradley also serves on the Advisory Boards of the Consumer Electronics Association of America and Sonic Wall Corporation. He serves as a Trustee of the American Film Institute. He is a member of the University of Maryland’s Board of Visitors. Mr. Bradley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Towson State University.

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Robert E. Grady is a managing director and partner at Cheyenne Capital Fund, L.P. He joined the firm in 2009 and has 17 years of experience in private equity. Prior to joining the firm, he was a partner and member of Management Committee of The Carlyle Group for nine years from 2000 through 2009. Mr. Grady joined Carlyle in 2000 as Global Head of Venture Capital and served as a Member of Carlyle’s Management Committee. At Carlyle, Mr. Grady served as the global coordinator of venture and growth capital (which had $5 billion in assets under management), Chairman and Fund Head of Carlyle Venture Partners I, II, and III, and on the investment committees of Carlyle Venture Partners, Carlyle Asia Growth Partners, and Carlyle Europe Technology Partners. He focused on investments in the technology and business services sectors and was based in San Francisco. Mr. Grady was the Managing Partner and Chairman of Carlyle Venture Partners. Mr. Grady is on the Board of Directors of The Carlyle Group’s portfolio companies including: Secure Elements Inc, eScreen, The Health Central Network, Choice Media, Keen.com, Panasas Inc., Verari Systems Inc., USBX Inc., Viator, Inc., Eleutian Technology, Symbio, and Wall Street Institute, as well as Maxim Integrated Products. He has been a Director of The Symbio Group since 19 August, 2008. Mr. Grady serves on the Investment Committees of CVP, Carlyle Asia Growth Partners, and Carlyle Europe Technology Partners. He is the Chairman of Resources for the Future, is a Member of Advisory Board of RBC Venture Partners and Strategic Technology Fund and the National Commission on Energy Policy, and a Trustee of Environmental Defense. He is also a Director of Stifel Financial Corp. since August 3, 2010. Mr. Grady serves on the Boards of Directors of the Environmental Defense Fund, TechNet, Asia America Multi-Industry Association, the Jackson Hole Land Trust, and the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Grady was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to be a Member of Advisory Committee on Trade and Policy Negotiations and by the Administrator of NASA to be a Member of the NASA Advisory Council’s Task Force on the cost and management of the International Space Station. Prior to this, he served in the White House from 1989 to 1993 as a Deputy Assistant to President George H.W. Bush and as an Executive Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Grady received a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Marc B. Mazur is the Chairman of Elsworthy Capital Management Ltd. a London based European Equity Long/Short hedge fund. Mr. Mazur was previously the CEO of Brevan Howard U.S. Asset Management, the U.S. arm of Europe's largest hedge fund. His experience includes management positions at Salomon Brothers, Swiss Bank Corporation and Goldman Sachs, where he was responsible for businesses in the international fixed income and credit areas. Mr. Mazur has been a Senior Advisor to both Tsinghua Venture Capital Company and Think Equity Partners LLC. In 1998, Mr. Mazur was named Vice President for strategic business development at CareInsite (subsequently acquired by WebMD). He has been an advisor to leading private equity firms and serves on a number of private company Boards. He is currently a member of the Board of Fibrocell Science Inc (FCSC). He has also been an active angel and venture investor. Mr. Mazur’s non-profit Board affiliations include the executive committee of the Columbia College Alumni Association, The Jed Foundation which works to prevent college suicide, East Palo Alto-based College Track which provides educational and mentoring support for economically challenged youth in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as New Orleans and Aurora, CO, and the National Association on Drug Abuse Problems.

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INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT

Management Services

GSV Asset Management serves as our investment adviser. GSV Asset Management is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act. Subject to the overall supervision of our Board of Directors, GSV Asset Management manages the day-to-day operations of, and provides investment advisory services to, GSV Capital. Under the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement, GSV Asset Management:

GSV Asset Management’s services under the Investment Advisory Agreement are not exclusive, and it is free to furnish similar services to other entities so long as its services to us are not impaired. GSV Asset Management currently serves as the investment adviser for GSV X Fund, a global long/short absolute return fund. GSV Asset Management does not anticipate that it will ordinarily identify investment opportunities that are appropriate for both GSV Capital and the other funds that are currently or in the future may be managed by GSV Asset Management. However, to the extent it does identify such opportunities, GSV Asset Management will allocate such opportunities between GSV Capital and such other funds pursuant to an established procedure that is designed to ensure that such allocation is fair and equitable.

Management Fees

We pay GSV Asset Management a fee for its services under the Investment Advisory Agreement consisting of two components — a base management fee and an incentive fee. The cost of both the base management fee payable to GSV Asset Management, and any incentive fees earned by GSV Asset Management, are ultimately borne by our common stockholders.

The base management fee (the “Base Fee”) is calculated at an annual rate of 2.00% of our gross assets, which is our total assets as reflected on our balance sheet (with no deduction for liabilities). For the period from the close of our initial public offering through and including December 31, 2011, the Base Fee was payable monthly in arrears, and was calculated based on the initial value of our assets upon the closing of our initial public offering. For services rendered after December 31, 2011, the Base Fee will be payable monthly in arrears, and will be calculated based on the average value of our gross assets at the end of the two most recently completed calendar quarters, and appropriately adjusted for any equity or debt capital raises, repurchases or redemptions during the current calendar quarter. The Base Fee for any partial month or quarter will be appropriately prorated.

The incentive fee is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date), commencing on December 31, 2011, and will equal the lesser of:

Our realized capital gains from each investment, expressed as a non-compounded annual rate of return on the cost of such investment since we initially acquired it, will be compared to a hurdle rate of 8.00% per year. We will only pay an incentive fee on any realized capital gains from an investment that exceeds the hurdle rate. We will pay GSV Asset Management an incentive fee with respect to our realized capital gains from each investment as follows:

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In no event, however, will we pay an incentive fee for any calendar year that exceeds 20% of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of such calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid incentive fees.

The following is a graphical representation of the calculation of our incentive fee with respect to a single investment:

Realized Capital Gains Received From Investment
(expressed as a non-compounded annual rate of return)

Percentage of realized capital gains from such investment
allocated to GSV Asset Management

For accounting purposes, in order to reflect the theoretical capital gains incentive fee that would be payable for a given period as if all unrealized gains were realized, we are required to accrue a capital gains incentive fee based upon realized capital gains and losses during the current calendar year through the end of the period, plus any unrealized capital appreciation and depreciation as of the end of the period. It should be noted that a fee so calculated and accrued would not necessarily be payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement, and may never be paid based upon the computation of capital gains incentive fees in subsequent periods. Amounts paid under the Investment Advisory Agreement will be consistent with the formula reflected in the Investment Advisory Agreement.

Example:  Calculation of incentive fee

Alternative 1:

Assumptions

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The incentive fee would be calculated as follows:

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Alternative 2:

Assumptions

The incentive fee would be calculated as follows: