It's always an interesting week in venture capital. Discover the best stories, blog posts and other information inside the VC ecosystem in the US and in hotspots around the world. Onward dear reader…
BUSINESS TECH SHINES
The Wall Street Journal's third annual ranking of what it considers the top 50 venture capital backed technology companies is out.
WSJ Online: Looking for the Next Big Thing
The Journal says that VCs are focusing more on business technology as health care and energy opportunities wane.
SUCCESSFUL STARTUP COMMUNITIES
Internet VC Mark Suster expounds on the desire of business leaders to create a Silicon Valley of their own.
Mark Suster: 12 Tips to Building a Successful Startup Community
It's a good list, save for the first tip, which is a bit circular: “A strong pool of tech founders.”
VC PITCHES ARE LIKE INTERVIEWS
It takes practice to learn how to pitch a VC well.
The Equity Kicker: VC Pitch Best Practices
European VC Nic Brisbourne shares nine tips about how to prepare for and approach the actual VC pitch.
A KICKSTARTER FOR IPOs?
Crowd funding startups may be on the rise, but what about crowd funded IPOs?
The Fiscal Times: Buyers Beware
The article takes a dim view of the notion of using crowd funding for taking startup companies public.
SELLING A STARTUP
Lightspeed Venture Partners VC Jeremy Liew has an insightful post up about what your expectations should be about selling your startup.
VentureBeat: How Much Can I Sell My Startup For?
The article goes through a list of different scenarios and the likely valuation multiples you can expect.
VERTICALLY INTEGRATED COMMERCE
Global investor Boris Wertz thinks that the next big e-commerce wave will be vertically integrated commerce.
TechCrunch: The Next Big E-Commerce Wave
By integrating vertically, merchants will be able to find profitable niches outside the Amazon juggernaut.
ANGELS DON'T MAKE MONEY
Former VC Andy Rachleff says that most Angels don't make money.
Andy Rachleff: Why Angels Don't Make Money
He’s got some advice for those who want to be Angels anyway and with 25 years in the VC business, he should know.
NO BUBBLE HERE
There has been a lot of talk recently about a bubble in early-stage Internet investing.
GigaOm: The Opposite of a Bubble
Rising star VC Marc Andreessen doesn't buy it and says that we are in the opposite of a bubble.
MEDICAL DEVICE VCs STRUGGLING
Venture capital fundraising for medical device VC firms is showing signs of strain, according to a recent report by Ernst & Young.
PE Hub: Medtech Struggles
Although investment levels have been relatively steady over the past five years, that activity represents previous VC firm fund-raising success, which is proving difficult to duplicate in the current environment.
WOMEN EXECUTIVES IMPROVE SUCCESS
Venture backed technology companies that have females on their senior executive team have a better chance to succeed, according to Dow Jones.
Dow Jones: Women at the Wheel
The research report pulled data from more than 20,000 US-based companies.