Nothing ventured, nothing gained

www.enterpriseeconomy.com ^ | 09-11-02 | charles oliver

[john bell hood]

If you're looking for good news about the economy, look no further than the venture capital market.

Venture investing is off from its heights in the go-go years of the late 1990s. But it's still chugging along at a healthy pace. Investors have become a bit more discriminating. But there's still money out there for entrepreneurs with good ideas. And that's good news for the long-term health of the economy. These new and small firms will provide the products and ideas that will fuel future growth. Among them will likely be "the next big thing."

Excerpt. Rest of article.

[john bell hood]

Even in the face of an economic downturn, entrepreneurs keep coming up with ideas, and VCs keep funding them. But how long can this continue if the economy doesn't pick up steam?

[Lee_Atwater]

It is entrepreneurial efforts that lay the foundations of growth.

[taxcontrol]

Actually, quite a long time. Of course, I divide the VC market into two phases - startup and growth. The startup market requires less funding and is more idea than product. The growth VC market is designed to take a startup into proudction and out to market.

The capacity for new ideas is huge because the small demand this places on the VC capital. It's the growth VC market that will strugle for a while.