Some very interesting data and perspectives on the VC model.

Quoted: The slides from his presentation are embedded below, but really all you need to look at is the one above. It shows that the money going into VC funds is now more than the money coming out of VC funds. That line was crossed last June and there is no going back anytime soon.

Again, not sure this is denial or reality, but it is food for thought.

Quoted: RVC is contrarian. They invest when most people are scared and sell when everybody is bullish. MVC is the opposite. Smart MVC invest when the trends are obvious and get out quick, the classic "flip artist". Dumb MVC invest when the trends are obvious and don't get out in time. But both smart and dumb MVC are primarily trend spotters.

Quoted: Quoted: The liquidity drought for venture-backed startups, which was already declared to be a crisis in the second quarter when not a single VC-backed IPO went out, continued in the third quarter.
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For the first three quarters of the year combined, IPOs brought in only $470 million and M&A activity totaled $11.3 billion, a steep decline from prior years (see chart). Don’t expect the situation to get better any time soon.

Quoted: The 20s are for getting some expertise. The 30s are for building a reputation. The 40s are where a VC peaks. The 50s are where you start managing the firm, handling relations with the investors, and the 60s are when you retire.

Interesting

Quoted: The news that some Facebook employees are selling their stock privately naturally focuses on the price/valuation (a deep discount to the $15bn that Microsoft paid).

This is consistent with what Bill Bryant was saying in the most recent StartPad talk.

Quoted: When I look at a venture portfolio that is fully constructed, but not yet fully invested (like our 2004 fund is right now), I like to look for the deals that can return the fund. I think we have six or seven. That doesn't mean that those six or seven are the best deals in our portfolio right now. A few of them could be complete busts. But we have six or seven deals that sitting here today I can honestly construct a scenario where they will return the entire fund when they are sold. I hope that one or two will actually do it.

Quoted: And that's the big problem with corporate structures for venture investing. One time gains in corporations don't make anyone rich. Wall Street ignores the gain. The company can't put the gain into the pocket of its management. So it just doesn't matter very much.

Met one of the team members this weekend. They operate out of Boston and Seattle and invest in life science and information technology businesses.

Quoted: Polaris Venture Partners invests in seed and early stage companies and in growth equity companies with substantial operating income. We have over $2 billion under management and current investments in more than 60 companies.

Quoted: Kleiner’s Laws
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* Make sure the dog wants to eat the dog food. No matter how ground-breaking a new technology, how large a potential market, make certain customers actually want it.
* Build one business at a time. Most business plans are overly ambitious. Concentrate on being successful in one endeavor first.
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