What ever happened to profits?

At last week’s NVCA Annual Meeting, there was a lot of talk about getting the exit market revved up again. The NVCA unveiled their Four Pillar strategy for getting the IPO markets back in action. I agree that regulatory relief would be helpful and it would be really great if we cultivated (once again) relationships with bankers, accountants and advisers whose livelihood is inextricably linked with our business. What was missing at the meeting, however, was a critical discussion of the underlying changes in the industry that are undermining our ability to create a viable crop of IPO candidates.

A Show of Leadership at the NVCA Annual Meeting

With the NVCA Annual Meeting upon us, you can bet that the hallways and banquet rooms of Boston’s Westin Waterfront Hotel will be backdrop to some pretty interesting conversations. Market volatility, difficult fundraising conditions, failing lenders, challenging prospects for portfolio companies and, despite a couple recent fragile-seeming IPOs, an all but shut window for exits should make for a couple good cathartic days of behind-the-scenes venting among colleagues.

Thankfully, the NVCA has avoided the temptation to use apocalyptic exhortations to market the Annual Meeting, which is pretty much already a must-attend event for VCs at old school firms like mine.

Beware of the (Alpha) Dog

There’s no doubt, much of the way we see the world has changed during the last six months.  I have been around long enough to recognize that it is starting to look like days long gone by. (Does anyone remember the 80’s?) Today, global financial markets are in turmoil, the venture industry is at risk of being regulated , and fewer exit opportunities have created a clogged pipeline of mid-stage venture-backed companies.  More than a few of these can be great companies with high growth potential, but mid-stage investing is not familiar or glamorous enough turf for many in the venture industry.