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venture capital investment

Your Business: From Hopes and Dreams to The Real Thing

May 12, 2010 by Fred Wilson with 303 views

Companies start out as hopes and dreams and stay there for at least a little while. Even after the product has been launched and users are jumping aboard, the company is still in hopes and dreams mode. But eventually one of three things happens to a company; it goes out of business, it gets sold, or it becomes a real business. And one... [read more]

The VC Model is "broken" (again? yawn!)

November 24, 2009 by seth levine with 178 views

In the latest lob into the morass that has become somewhat of a sport amongst journalists and those that follow the venture capital industry, Carl Schramm and Harold Bradley write in BusinessWeek about “How Venture Capital Lost Its Way.” The evidence? Venture capital funding is down - from an “astonishing” 1.1% of US GDP in 2000; and in... [read more]

The 'We Need To Own' Baloney

October 15, 2009 by Fred Wilson with 110 views

Over the past few months, I've heard countless VCs utter the words 'we need to own' followed by some number. Often it is 20pcnt, but it is frequently 30pcnt. I heard someone tell me about a VC yesterday who said they needed to own 44pcnt. I was tempted to ask them to give me the number to four digits. This behavior by VCs is not... [read more]

Venture Capitalist Activity Up 61% in Q2 2009. Is the Worst Over?

July 14, 2009 by Anand Sanwal with 215 views

Despite the steady beat of news predicting the demise and destruction of the venture capital asset class, could the reports of venture capital’s death be greatly exaggerated? Q2 2009 offers some hope as evidenced by a quarter over quarter bounce in investment by venture capital firms. With the numbers tallied, Q2 2009 saw 61% more money... [read more]

Building Successful Long-Term Relationships

June 20, 2009 by Fred Wilson with 200 views

Twenty-two years ago today, the Gotham Gal and I were married. I've learned a lot in the twenty-seven years that we've been living together and much of those lessons have spilled over into my business life. I also have to say that observing my parents, who have been married fifty-two years now, provided a lot of learnings for me early... [read more]

A Deeper Dive Into The First Quarter VC Investment Numbers

April 19, 2009 by Fred Wilson with 110 views

Claire Cain Miller wrote a story in Friday's New York Times about the "Money Tree Report" that is published every quarter by the National Venture Capital Association and Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The picture in the first quarter is not pretty. As Claire explains:Venture capital firms invested only $3 billion in 549 young companies in the... [read more]

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