Recently, I have been introduced to the prospect of early-stage venture capital in Japan. A lot of attention (and money) has been focused on China and India – but what about Japan? Japan is the world’s second largest economy and is home to powerhouse technology companies such as Sony, Toshiba, Fujitsu, NTT, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Toyota, […]
The venture capital business typically alternates between cycles of greed and fear, but will be absent in the emerging clean and green technology sector as these normally opposing emotional forces become synchronized for long periods. As the scientific evidence of global warming and its consequences become clearer, we will become increasingly fearful of overheating the […]
Bambi Francisco wrote several months ago: “Those who dig for gold rather than those who supply the picks and shovels make the most money. That observation holds true if you just take a look at MySpace and YouTube.” Separately, she notes that Steve Case made a similar comment years ago. Few would disagree that the content […]
Remember all those venture-backed companies that promised to turn dreams written on the back of napkins into real businesses (my erstwhile colleagues at Robertson Stephens earned many shiny nickels supporting those arguments)? As you PE professionals correctly predicted, most of them went under or were absorbed into more established entities. However, the most amazing thing has happened over […]
Following an increasing trend in LBO volume in 2006 (Thanks to PE Week Wire/Buyout Magazine Data), 2007 should remain very active in terms of volume, geography (More Europe, Asia and Latin America?) and financial engineering scope. I am particularly interested in the effect of global trends such as the euro/dollar performance in ’06 that could see […]
In the spirit of the annual tradition of New Year’s resolutions, I’ve complied a few points to reflect upon while you ponder the upcoming year… HIDING THE DILUTION A savvy entrepreneur or prior investor might engage in a little “Hiding the Dilution” game playing during a financing. Now, if you READ all the legal documents, […]
In the spirit of the annual tradition of New Year’s resolutions, I’ve complied a few points to reflect upon while you ponder the upcoming year… HIDING THE DILUTION A savvy entrepreneur or prior investor might engage in a little “Hiding the Dilution” game playing during a financing. Now, if you READ all the legal documents, […]
As corny as my wordplay is, the meaning is real. After a lengthy and difficult period of negotiations, the European Commission and Council reached agreement about the final wording of the REACH (“Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals”) regulation. This draft was accepted by the European Parliament last Wednesday, and the regulation will be effective June 1, 2007. […]
My partner Wayne and I recently were in Europe and England (that’s the correct way to think about them, too) raising money for Apex VI. We came away with some impressions that may be relevant for the coming year or two. While the growth rate in Europe has been anemic for the past decade, it […]
More than Nasdaq or AIM, Yahoo has become in recent years The Great Venture Exit. Nestled in Sunnyvale only a Prius’s putter away from Google HQ, the elderstatesman of the Internet was only yesterday the contemplated ramp to riches for many college-aged entrepreneurs hoping to cash their internet traffic for a cool $1.65 billion. So […]