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DC has a list of speaking head panel regulars, most have something to say, yet few of us have much more than our 15 minutes of patter. We are not dropping new knowledge every time we yet again speak multiple times on yet another panel after panel. I mean really, how... Read More
It’s an old parable. The scorpion asks a frog to carry it across the river. The frog declines saying that he’s afraid he’ll get stung. The scorpion replies that he is unable to swim and if he kills the frog he will also die. The frog agrees and in the... Read More
What is the difference between 4B and B? What's the difference between the startup ecosystems of Silicon Valley and the Washington Region? 0B of cash invested since 1995. Region Total Invested $ % of Tot Silicon Valley 4,982,422,400 34.21% New England ,886,136,600 12.00% NY Metro ,031,940,200 8.33% Southeast ,960,796,700 6.47% LA/Orange County ,791,224,000 6.43% Texas ,459,483,500 5.45% Midwest ,012,304,300 5.00% DC/Metroplex ,784,175,600 4.58% Northwest ,019,941,600 3.89% San Diego ,839,895,400 3.67% Colorado ,783,578,300 2.92% Philadelphia Metro ,322,572,900 2.65% SouthWest ,749,248,000 1.62% North Central ,726,799,200 1.61% South Central ,285,416,600 0.42% Upstate NY ,037,316,200 0.38% Sacramento/N.Cal ,334,596,100 0.25% AK/HI/PR 5,002,300 0.11% Unknown 3,587,600 0.02% Grand Total 0,706,437,500 100.00% Source: Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree™ Report, Data: ... Read More
863 US companies raised .9B dollars in Q1, down 14% from the 1,013 companies that raised .7B in Q4 2012. DC jumped from 10th place to 8th, largely on the strength of the 4M raised by distressed Living Social (0) and M for Intrexon (See: The DMV has 2 of... Read More
There’s a slightly dangerous blurred line between reality and Jersey Shore TV show….. at least I hope there is. You see I grew up in Jersey, and spent a lot of time on the shore. Granted it’s been about 40 years since this kid was beach bar hopping, but besides texting,... Read More
Talk is cheap. Talk is so cheap that there’s a new “Startup Community Organizer” organizing their YJASTE (Yet Just Another Startup Community Event) every day. Here’s a tip: We already have the largest Tech Meetup in the country — DC Tech Meetup. We also already have one of the most... Read More
What happens when thousands of government workers and contractors are furloughed? What will sequestration mean for DC Startups…. There will be good, there will be bad there will be ugly. The furloughs are going to be particularly difficult in the DC Region and will have a definite effect on the DC... Read More
Who was the top Angel Investor in 2012? Was it Adeo Ressi of Founder Institute and The Funded? How about Ashton Kutcher, of bad acting fame or Bill Joy, founder of Sun Microsystems and Silicon Valley patriarch or Biz Stone of Twitter? Why not Chris Dixon, David Cohen, Eric Schmid, Esther Dyson,... Read More
I woke up today and the sun was shining and I said to myself. Hey why’s that smile upside down Mr Frowny-pants. Just turn it around….. and I did. And all of a sudden it was like DC turned to OZ only without the bad witch and the flying monkeys and... Read More
Venture Capital Investment was off slightly by Billion dollars this year from .5 Billion in 2011 to .5 Billion in 2012. Regionally Silicon Valley retained their supremacy and dominance garnering Billion or 41% of the total. In fact the next 5 regions together didn’t quite equal the Silicon... Read More
Money talks and no region talks more loudly than Silicon Valley. In the last 23 quarters, Silicon Valley companies have raised over B representing nearly 40% of the money raised by all US companies. In fact you'd have to combine the next 5 regions voices to match the Valley's company... Read More
About a year ago, John Backus of New Atlantic Ventures explained to me why reducing the cost of education was an investment theme for his fund. Last week Grotech’s Don Rainey explained to me that EdTech was one of “the next big things” for venture investors. Limited Partners who invest their... Read More
You know what makes the world turn around? Money! You know show me the money? You want to know why things are the way they are? Follow the money. Why isn't DC, Silicon Valley? Well here's the money story. Region Dollars Silicon Valley 8,068,556,200 New England ,985,560,300 NY Metro ,995,544,400 Southeast ,204,815,700 LA/Orange County ,477,117,300 Texas ,145,419,500 Midwest ,760,062,400 DC/Metroplex ,756,280,300 Northwest ,580,082,900 San Diego ,003,337,500 Colorado ,515,687,400 Philadelphia Metro ,628,715,200 North Central ,369,844,500 SouthWest ,111,981,700 South Central ,175,098,900 Upstate NY ,015,909,000 Sacramento/N.Cal ,321,831,100 ... Read More
Of the 10 largest Venture Capital deals closed in last quarter, 8 of them were from…… drum roll, please………are you ready…….. Kalifornia! Ten companies accounted for 5M with California companies garnering 0M. The electric car dealer Fisker (Fisker Karma pictured above) was the big winner of the quarter raising 0M. The top... Read More
Talk to entrepreneurs who can’t get funded and they whine…. "we need to be more like Silicon Valley." Local governments trying to attract more capital and more high-tech businesses study and attempt to duplicate the Silicon Valley model.“In Silicon Valley, they do this. In Silicon Valley they do that. Silicon... Read More
Not every startup is pure gold. Not every startup is a turd. Not every golden startup gets funded. Some companies that get funded are not golden. Sometimes a turd gets funded.Not getting funded is not an indictment of your company. It is not an indictment of a Venture Capitalists or... Read More
It’s happening again. DC Tech natives are restless. The Jungle Drums are pounding.The mindshare listserv is abuzz. Why do DC Investors Suck! Why aren’t DC Angels more like Silicon Valley Angels. Why can’t I get money? Why doesn’t anyone love me. Why, Why Why? Waa, Waa, Waa! ... Read More
Every one knows that more companies raise money in Silicon Valley than any other US region. How about by sector. In every sector Silicon Valley outperformed Metropolitan DC and New York. Maryland’s concentration on health sciences seems to be paying off as Biotech is consistently the strongest... Read More
Rumors of the death of the DC VC are highly exaggerated. Tracing the source of capital inflows into the capital beltway tells the tale of a resurgence of DC VCs. Of the Forty DC area companies that were funded in the region last quarter an overwhelming amount of that capital... Read More
Which VCs are investing in DC? What is the geographic origin of the region’s venture financing? Q4 saw a big increase in DC VCs investing in the Capital Region with 48 percent of the checks written being signed by DC VCs. That’s up from 29% in Q3. Another trend is the... Read More
What DC regional companies closed on VC funding in the 4th quarter? Well according to the NVCA and PWC Moneytree there were 45 deals concluded with a total value of 9M. That ranks the Capital Region 8th, in dollars invested and 5th in deals of the regions tracked. Of the companies... Read More
Another local DC-area company has successfully raised capital from venture capital and angel investors. Only this time, despite the efforts of out-of-region investors in New England and the Research Triangle to lure Seva Search away, the founders have planted their flag in Potomac, Maryland, bucking the trend to pack up and say goodbye to... Read More
According to the latest PWC MoneyTree survey, Q3 was a downer month for companies seeking Venture Capital (VC) funding. Q3 saw a 2M drop or 13% in total investment over Q2. The quarter was higher than the .2B invested in Q3 of the prior year. DC took a 51% drop... Read More
The DC region jumped from 6th place in dollars invested in local companies byVCs for the 2nd quarter of 2011 according to the MoneyTree™ Report fromPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), based on data provided by Thomson Reuters. In Q2 DC surpassed Texas and the Southeast who consistently garnish more cash then the... Read More
