venture capital

VC’s don’t read business plans; So, what to do?

May 15, 2009

A recent UMD study has found that VCs pay little attention ot the content of business plans.This is not much of a surprise. I’m generally bearish on business plans, but I do recognize their important role. Having written several business plans and having successfully competed in business plan competitions, I’ve recognized that many of the [...]

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Creative Destruction in Biotechnology

May 11, 2009

For all the talk of the numerous biotechnology companies with mere months of cash left and the predictions of looming liquidations, mergers, and acquisitions, it is important to note that a measure of destruction can benefit industry progress. Economy Joseph Schumpeter coined a term for industrial progress through destruction: creative destruction. In this process, growth [...]

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Want biotechnology venture capital? Use a shotgun!

January 14, 2008

On returning from a meeting with a small biotechnology firm in which I serve on the advisory board, I was reminded of a novel strategy for attracting venture capital. One of the challenges is attracting investment is finding an investor aligned with your company’s future directions. Venture capitalists may be interested only in large companies, [...]

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Venture Capital Returns

November 30, 2007

At a recent event was recently asked about investment outcomes for venture capitalists. I didn’t have any recent data, so I said that VCs generally expect that 1/3 of their investments will see great returns, 1/3 will see modest or no returns, and 1/3 will not be profitable. VC Fred Wilson as Union Square Ventures [...]

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