Folks seem to be constantly confusing the Seed stage of the Risk Investng industry with the traditional VC stage. They are differnt.
The point for this conversation is that the VC stage does not create jobs or innovate. The VC stage provides growth money, business development contacts and a network for team building.
Innovation and initial job creation (which is then expanded upon during the VC stage) is created during the Seed stage.
And - the last thing anyone should hope for is having the People's money go to VCs. Scary thought.
The People's money is already helping to support a good Seed Infrastructure of Incubators, Academia, Tech Transfers and Economic Development Agencies. The People's money should continue to go to the Seed Infrastructure.
Private money should go to investing in worthy portfolio companies of this existing Seed Infrastruct5ure. And, this private money should be investing on a For Profit basis
tom4370 - just noticed your queston to me about going to school there -
I graduated from UNC. My middle brother graduated from UNC. My oldest brother attended law school at UNC. My nephew graduated from UNC. My niece graduated from UNC. I have been in SV for about 30 years now.
And, even if Carolina does beat Georgia Tech by 30 points, I am still very, very concerned about this on again / off again defense from Carolina. And, don't blame it on Ginyard being out.
Tom4370 - you write - "Heck, I wonder if semi-decent mentorship for founders from people who actually got something out-the-door would be more helpful than just having some VC opening the checkbook." . . . .Yes !
The CED should have offered this hands-on mentorship program for entrepreneurs. And I am not talking about another conference or speaker series or fraternity mixer.. . . .very disappointing.
And "yes" - there is a very strong talent pool of techie folks, business folks and support folks (one of the nicest people I know is actually a Lawyer - Fred Hutchison).
As for "customer base" - 2 points - RTP, depending on your sector has a strong customer base. But,the necessary proximity of the customer base is more dependent upon what you ar doing, who can introduce you, etc.
And finally, my comments about "passivity, complacency, and parochialism" were not directed at just the entrepreneur base - if anything, it was directed at the VC base, the Incubator base and the Mentorship base you mention in your comment above.
Entrepreneurs will be entrepreneurs and work hard and innovate and . . . . . only if the rest of the Seed Community around them gives them a good reason to be Entrepreneurs.
By all measures, the RTP area of North Carolina should be growing startups and growing massively large companies with the best of them.
UNC, Duke, NC State + dozens of smaller colleges/universities within a one hour drive provide a very well educated work force.
An existing network of colleges exist within a several hour drive (Wake Forest, etc.)
The financial center (hopefully things will return to at least "functioning") of Charlotte is a day trip in a car.
Washington D.C., Atlanta and New York are airplane day trips and Boston, Chicago and Miami are overnight trips away. Attracting constant attention from traditional VC funds is not a problem.
There is a strong base of both Tech and Life Sciences companies in RTP. This base can provide everything from internal skunk works within these companies to employees leaving to create startups.
The weather ain't all that bad - for the East Coast.
So - what is the real problem - it isn't money.
The problem can be found in passivity, complacency and parochialism.
I was once told (by a Silicon Valley born and bred person), "everyone has their prejudices - but these folks (around RTP) actually let that get in the way of making money." The Silicon Valley is not filled with folks singing "Kumbaya" - but it is filled with folks who are more than willing to put aside whatever personal feelings they may have if there is a buck to be made.
One of the most prominent venture capitalists in the RTP region once said (in private) that all the "entrepreneurs" around here are hoping that one day they can afford a nice beach house on the Coast, instead of . . . . being entrepreneurs.
Nope - RTP is an example - it isn't only about the money.
It's really about the people.
BUT - money for seed/startup development is essential.
Funding startups shouldn't come from the government - it should come from a For Profit Seed/Startup fund that works with, supports and Compensates the Seed Infrastructure (incubators, tech transfers, economic development agencies). The Seed Infrastructure should not concentrate on being landlords, academicians or civil servants. The Seed Infrastructure should concentrate on sourcing, screening and providing post Seed investment oversight for companies that will ultimately be worthy of traditional Series A investments.
And remember, this Seed Infrastructure is, for the most part,already funded by local/state governments, academia and corporate sponsorships.
The idea of simply throwing money into a broken system won't work. The idea of expecting the traditional VC stage of the Risk Investing industry to innovate or nurture is fallacious. Regardless of what Alan Patricof said in his NYTimes article - VCs don't nurture. VCs provide growth capital for those Seed/Startup enterprises which have reached a level of traction and validation.
Thomas Friedman was even more delusional with his idea of giving 20 VC firms $1 billion each to generate innovation. All you are going to get by giving VCs $20 billion is somewhere between $2-$2.5 billion in management fees for the VC firms.
I do not know how you can generate an "entrepreneur" mentality in a short time - after all, even the success of Noyce and Friends took a while to take hold after they left Fairchild to start Intel.
The point for this conversation is that the VC stage does not create jobs or innovate. The VC stage provides growth money, business development contacts and a network for team building.
Innovation and initial job creation (which is then expanded upon during the VC stage) is created during the Seed stage.
Please review the powerpoint - The START Fund - http://www.slideshare.net/ElliottDahan/start-fund-feb2009
Please review interview from VC Experts - http://vcexperts.com/vce/news/buzz/archive_view.asp?id=642
And - the last thing anyone should hope for is having the People's money go to VCs. Scary thought.
The People's money is already helping to support a good Seed Infrastructure of Incubators, Academia, Tech Transfers and Economic Development Agencies. The People's money should continue to go to the Seed Infrastructure.
Private money should go to investing in worthy portfolio companies of this existing Seed Infrastruct5ure. And, this private money should be investing on a For Profit basis