Joanna Glasner

About 30% of city traffic is caused by people driving around looking for parking. That’s an estimate by the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA). As a car-owning San Franciscan, I have to say it sounds about right. It’s also a favorite statistic of Zia Yusuf, newly hired CEO of Streetline, a Silicon Valley-based startup […]

After an unprecedented buying binge from 2005 to 2007, private equity firms are looking for public market exits. But while the pace of new filings and offerings is gaining speed, private equity-backed IPOs have actually underperformed in pricing and first-day performance, according to a new report from Renaissance Capital. Currently, the IPO pipeline stands at […]

New poll results show Meg Whitman in the lead over Jerry Brown in the race for California governor, according to Rasmussen Reports. But when it comes to campaign financing, records show the ex-eBay CEO drawing only partial support from what one might consider a bread-and butter constituency – venture capitalists, tech billionaires and entrepreneurs. Certainly […]

Correlation is not causation. I know. Anyone who’s ever watched a scientist raise distraught eyebrows at a piece of shoddy science journalism knows that. Nonetheless, correlation has its place. While it may not prove anything, it provides a sense that seemingly disparate indicators are somehow linked. For today’s experiment in correlation, I’ve followed up on […]

Ok, granted venture returns have been negative overall for the past decade. And sure, the crummy broader economy, painfully high unemployment rates, and improving-but-still-slow IPO market don’t make present conditions particularly inspiring. But it that any reason to be down on the venture capital business?

Why did the hippies move to Oregon? Because there were no jobs. That was an old joke a friend told me before moving to Portland. He thought it was funny until the sixth or so month of fruitless job-hunting in a state that currently boasts a 10.5% unemployment rate – almost a point higher than […]

Certainly starting an Internet company is a lot cheaper than it used to be. And clearly entrepreneurs would prefer to hold on to as much equity as they can. But perhaps there are other drivers behind what might be called a recent mini-trend: Rather mature companies in a variety of sectors raising their first venture […]

For venture capitalists, and cleantech investors in particular, Tesla’s IPO was a watershed moment. Below are comments from several, who sent in their comments about yesterday’s offering and whether it marks a shift in tides for public market exits. Jim Watson, managing general partner, CMEA: It is always good for the venture industry to have […]

Usually having a group of limited partners talk to VCs results in a discussion on the finer points of fee structure and carried interest. But Chris Douvos, co-head of private equity at The Investment Fund of Foundations, livened things up a bit at this week’s Venture Capital Investing Conference in San Francisco with a few points about how the private lives of general partners also factor into LP funding decisions. When entrusting capital to a venture fund, it’s imperative to have confidence in partners’ character, he says, not just their investment strategy. And that means filling the role of investigative reporter. "I need to know how likely they are to sleep with their assistant....I need to know why Person X isn’t speaking to person Y,” Douvos says. “I’m not a moralist or scold… I’m concerned about the distraction this causes to the partnership.”

IPOs are at it again. Seven of them are expected on U.S. exchanges this week, according to Renaissance Capital. It marks some brave but apparently pretty good timing, considering how markets are rebounding from last week’s allegedly glitch-induced selloff. Private equity and venture investors stand to earn some nice returns on several of those offerings. […]