Private Equity
Venture capitalists are characteristically an upbeat bunch. It’s sort of a requirement for anyone who makes a living funneling millions of dollars to money-losing companies in the hopes of making enormous profits from the few that succeed. This year, however -- with the industry coming out of a multi-year period of sluggish fundraising and under-performing returns in the wake of the financial crisis -- optimism seems to be on overdrive. As I made the rounds at this year’s National Venture Capital Association Conference in Boston, virtually every venture industry I spoke with said he or she sees see current conditions as more favorable than a year ago. IPOs are back. M&A is picking up. And the closing of several outsized follow-on funds indicates that LPs are dipping their toes back in venture waters. Contrarians might take that as a risky sign. After all, there’s a lot more upside from the bottom of a cycle than near the top. But for now, judging by the vibe at the NVCA conference, VCs are feeling pretty good. Following are some snippets from the panels, events, conversations, and bathroom lines:
5 min read · 07 April 2011
With gas prices at multi-year highs, long-distance travel is getting less affordable than it’s been for a while. But that apparently hasn’t lessened venture interest in startups in the space. There were two travel-related funding announcements so far this week. Oktogo.ru, an online hotel booking service for Russians traveling abroad, raised $5 million from Mangrove Capital Partners, ABRT and French fund Ventech VC. Meanwhile, London-based HouseTrip, which specializes in short-term apartment bookings for travelers, raised $2.7 million in a Series A funding round from Index Ventures. (See a list of half a dozen other recent fundings on the jump.) Those were smaller deals. But with vacation home rental site HomeAway in the pipeline for an IPO, it’s now possible to get a glimpse of larger numbers in a fast-growing space. (HomeAway, which is seeking to raise $230 million in its public offering, had revenue of $153 million and net income of $17 million last year.) Additionally, the recent viral growth of Airbnb, a site for arranging short-term stays in accommodations, ranging from living room futons
2 min read · 06 April 2011
2 min read · 01 April 2011
Growth of a new wave of tech startups is bringing an influx into the trendy San Francisco district, raising rents, but unlike the last dot-com craze
5 min read · 01 April 2011
Companies developing technologies and services related to the payments industry are ringing up the dollars as investors wager that transactions for digital goods are poised for growth
8 min read · 01 April 2011
Spring and summer promise more action ahead as a flurry of firms file intent to go IPO and more are rumored
4 min read · 01 April 2011
2 min read · 30 March 2011
2 min read · 29 March 2011
It’s earnings season in venture and private equity land, when the dozen or so pension funds that disclose return data update their quarterly numbers. Last week, David Toll at our sister magazine Buyouts, dug through the latest report from the Washington State Investment Board, which has one of the oldest and largest private equity portfolios. This week, I thought I’d attempt a similar effort for venture capital. So, below follow some statistical highlights for the state’s buyout portfolio, as of September 30.
1 min read · 28 March 2011
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool. Virtually every time VCs talk about how they identify groundbreaking startups, they mention the formative role of a powerful founder-CEO. And looking at the history of famously successful startups of the last several decades -- from Apple to Microsoft to Oracle to Facebook -- it seems clear they have a point. Yet looking at the recent spate of IPO filings from high-profile venture-funded companies like Pandora, LinkedIn and Homeaway, the trend actually seems to be one of smaller ownership stakes for founders and, in some cases, reduced leadership roles. Overall, it seems like VC stakes are bigger and founders have already parted with the bulk of their holdings, either through secondary transactions or the dilutive effects of multiple funding rounds.
3 min read · 25 March 2011
