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Friedman Misses the Point and Economic Reality of Silicon Valley
TechCrunch —
... Point two: Venture capitalists don’t want a bailout. As stated above, they don’t need the money, and startup rule number one is you don’t give away equity for something you don’t need. Friedman proposes VCs would give the government 20% of the proceeds from an IPO or acquisition and keep 80% for themselves. He ignores carve outs for employees and founders in this equation, which cuts down the VC take further. ...
A Stimulus Plan for Silicon Valley Is Needed
SmoothSpan Blog —
... and Fred Wilson may think, but it isn’t in the form of the $20B author Thomas Friedman writes for the NY Times. It’s much cheaper and simpler than that. Change Sarbanes Oxley so small companies can afford to go public again. That’s all it takes. Simple, straightforward, and to the point. ...
Lord Help Us Keep the Feds Out of VC!
VCMike's Blog —
... that the federal bailout ought not to be limited to old school industries like finance and autos, and that the federal government should also be spurring innovation by putting capital to work through VCs.
While I can appreciate the need for dramatic actions to save our banking system and the auto industry, Friedman’s proposition scares the hell out of me, and, I’m sure, every other VC out there who is worth even a fraction of their salt. Bill Gurley, Fred Wilson, and some others from VC-land have also spoken out. As Fred aptly states: ...
Linkpost | 2.23.2009
TechBlog —
... the Gazelle Web Browser - Microsoft Research is developing a secure Web browser that's also an operating system. • Microsoft hopes to train 2 million in basic tech skills - As part of an economic recovery. Wait, didn't Microsoft just lay off 1,400? • Kindle 2 shipping now - A few days before the official launch date. • Exploring a 'Deep Web' That Google Can't Grasp - Google's search engine can't see everything. • Start Up the Risk-Takers and A Stimulus Plan For Venture Capital? No Thanks - Thomas Friedman wants stimulus money to go to ...
How To Break Venture Capital
Silicon Alley Insider —
... Fred Wilson cuts right through to the heart of the problem, explaining that you cannot just create successful companies by throwing money at venture capitalists. ...
Counterpoint: Obama Should Start A Government VC Fund
Silicon Alley Insider —
... What you and [Fred] Wilson say is all true and would apply exactly in, say, 2006. In 2009, however, we can look at a small VC fund in the Northeast that is focused on health care (as an example). They have three companies that are now ready for an IPO but there is no IPO market, therefore funding has to come from the mezz debt world, but that's all fokked up, so the VC firm is using its capital to bridge until the debt markets recover. ...
Nothing better than a good old fashion smackdown
The Inquisitr » Technology —
... This of course brought out the indomitable VC man himself – Fred Wilson who said pretty much .. thanks but no thanks to the idea. In fact the problem right now with venture capital as Fred sees it is that venture capital has too much capital (huh?) ...
Throwing Money At Problems Usually Is Not The Solution
Techdirt —
... a few months ago -- though, concerning a new venture fund in the UK, rather than giving money to existing funds. Indeed, if we must throw money at the economy, it should be to invest in new innovation, rather than throwing good money after bad. However, Fred Wilson points out that the top VC firms don't want or need the cash, and in fact, adding more money to the venture investing pool at this point might cause a lot more harm than good. ...
A bailout for VCs?
VC Ratings —
... for the Obama administration to consider: hand $20 billion to the top 20 U.S. venture capital firms. The idea was dismissed by venture capitalists and ...
Stimulus 2.0: It’s The Startups, Stupid.
TechCrunch —
... but a payroll tax ensures that H-1Bs are used for skilled labor, not cheap labor.
3. Match funds for venture capital and angel investors. Match up to $100 million in stimulus funds for qualifying venture and angel investments if they create jobs in the US. Let these investors keep their normal return plus 50 percent of the returns on the matching funds, while the other half goes back to the government to revitalize further investment.
While others feel differently, I disagree that VCs are grinching because of a lack of good opportunities. ...
