Thursday, April 12, 2012

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

VCs moving on?

A lot of venture money was raised in the late 90's, before the burst of the first internet bubble (2001).  There has been a lot of talk [citation needed, but I can't find right now] that, since most VC funds are 10 years in duration, we would see a great VC contraction sometime around 2010.  In fact, I had a list of firms that hadn't made any investments in years, and I haven't gone back to check if they are still around.

However, anecdotally, I have witnessed a contraction of another sort.  Good firms, that are still around, losing good partners.  As I've been speaking to investors lately, I've discovered no less than sixnine different partners that I knew personally, mostly senior, from very good firms, have moved on.  They have all taken senior operating roles with technology companies (no surprise, as that is the typical path in and out of VC), but what's interesting is that this seems to be more than the typical gas diffusion mechanic between VCs and tech companies.

What does this mean for the investing landscape, and how those firms operate?  I'm not sure, but I'll certainly be watching.