It's never a dull week in venture capital. Things may be happening behind the scenes, but somehow it eventually comes out. We pick the best stories, blog posts and other intel inside the VC ecosystem here in the US and in happening places around the world. Onward dear reader…
WOMEN VCs
According to a November 2011 survey by Dow Jones, only 11% of people who identify themselves as "investors” at US venture capital firms are women.
Forbes: VCs Say They Want More Women
The article focuses on top-tier Silicon Valley VC firms and provides a specific rundown on how many women partners are at each firm.
QUANTS AND ENTREPRENEURS IN CHICAGO
The New Venture Institute has recently created a modular training course for the study of “entrepreneurship principles and processes".
Web Release: Calling All Founders
The Institute has developed a new learning model based upon "Quantitative Learning Theory" through its group of PhD and venture capital instructors. The idea is to systematize entrepreneurial startups.
GETTING YOUR KICK STARTED?
With all the recent news about crowdfunding, Dave Copeland over at ReadWriteWeb worked with Kickstarter to come up with some handy tips for successful fundraising on the platform.
ReadWriteWeb: Kickstarter Tips
Entrepreneurs wanting to raise initial funding would do well to learn the ins and outs of successful campaigns on its new platform.
UNDERSTANDING VC CODE
Think it's hard to understand the opposite sex? Well, figuring out the conversational codes from VCs is also a challenge.
David Beisel: Deciphering the Code
The piece helps to demystify the meanings of conversations, invitations and interactions with venture capitalists and how best to operate within the correct context.
VENTURE CAPITAL IS LOOKING UP
With all the talk lately about the poor performance in the venture capital industry, one experienced VC has a very different take:
PE Hub: Venture Capital at a Tipping Point
Bob Ackerman is an extremely experienced VC and his main thesis is that the venture capital industry has largely downsized to its proper size. Also, he says the opportunities for companies in the software/Internet space are better than they have ever been before.
CROWDFUNDING EVOLUTION
Even though we just thought that crowdfunding was getting started, Arie Abecassis has an interesting post about how he thinks it will evolve in the near future:
VentureBeat: The Next Generation
Of particular interest is he predicts that a wide variety of organizations (in addition to individuals) will participate in these emerging platforms.
ARE APPS DYING?
Digital media and Internet VC Nic Brisbourne has a thought-provoking post up on the latest data regarding mobile application downloads.
The Equity Kicker: The Post App Era?
He cites a Financial Times piece that said that iPhone application downloads have actually been falling for the past few months, which he found surprising. Me, too.
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION…VC?
When you think of venture capital you don't typically think of the Small Business Administration (SBA):
Wall Street Journal: An Older, Wiser SBA
The US Small Business Administration is apparently jumping back into the early stage venture capital world by allocating $1 billion over the next five years modeled after the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) debentures program.
VENTURE CAPITAL DISRUPTION
Matthew DeBord muses on how the Internet venture capital industry may change in the years ahead:
DeBord Report: Venture Capital Isn't Over
Referring to a VC panel at the recent TechCrunch Disrupt conference, Matthew thinks that the venture capital industry will break into three parts – he calls it “trifurcation”.
IPO CHILL IN PROGRESS?
With the recent controversial Facebook IPO, a number of Internet and software technology companies have found the IPO process quite chilly.
PE Hub: VCs Turning to M&A
PE Hub references a new report by Rutberg & Co. that says that as a result of a closed IPO window, it might force more sellers to the M&A process, possibly pushing down investment returns.
THIS VC FEELS YOUR PAIN
Think that venture capitalists are only unfeeling, ruthless business people?
TechCrunch: The Struggle
Ben Horowitz has penned a heartfelt piece, almost an ode, to entrepreneurs everywhere who are struggling to make their vision a reality.