Bubble Fund Exits Improving, Says Secondary Buyer
A decade ago, anyone with a bank account was investing in a venture capital fund. By now, a lot more bubble-era fund stakes have found their way to secondary investors. Hans Swilden, founder of venture capital secondary investor Industry Ventures, estimates that today about half of his firm’s venture capital stakes are for funds closed in 1999 and 2000. This year he expects to invest in another 20 – and is likely to add even more the following year. Currently, Swilden says there are six companies in which Industry Ventures has stakes that are in registration for IPOs, including some founded during the dot-com boom. The firm also made money last week with the IPO of QuinStreet, a provider of online marketing services that first raised venture funding in 1999.
