Here’s an interesting juxtaposition for you.
Venture firms raise $9.1 Billion in Q2 of 08
Money comes in, but it won’t come out. The quick summary is that despite billions of dollars flowing into the venture capital coffers, there just aren’t any good exits these days. No IPOs. Very few mergers. And the mergers that are going down aren’t the big victory deals that you brag about at partner meetings.
How to interpret this? It’s an awesome time to be an entrepreneur with a great idea that will take 5 years to build. Because baby, you’re funded! It’s a marvelous time to be a partner at a VC firm. If the average management fee is 2.5%, then this raise represents annual fees of $225 million. That will cover a lot of golf. Especially when you add it to the tens of billions under management already. And of course, it’s always a good time to be a rich investor pouring cash into venture funds, because it’s always good to be rich.
So let’s hear it for the Silicon Valley. Where it’s always a good time to be whatever it is you are.
