Trends in venture capital from the point of view of a long term auditor, Deloitte's Mark Jensen has seen it all. How long is the average life to exit for a VC backed company? With this life cycle taking many years longer, how are VC funds changing to meet their needs for big returns? If you're an entrepreneur, it's not getting any easier to get funded. Why? Mark explains that nearly half the US funds are looking to deploy their capital elsewhere in the world.

What can you do to even the odds of getting funded? Mark has some ideas...

Show #151 (42:41)

Welcome my new sponsor, David McNeil with TechRiskPro.com

Events
May 7-9 the Angel Capital Association is having their Annual Summit in San Diego. If you're an angel investor, register now.
May 19 the Tech Coast Angels host Fast Pitch at the Anaheim Marriott, details.

James Geshwiler was the founding chairman of the Angel Capital Association, the founding chairman of the Angel Capital Education Foundation and today he's the Managing Director of the Common Angels, the largest angel group in the northeast. You might say, he has some relevant experience.

What kind of year did the Common Angels have in '07? They funded 5 new startups and did 14 follow-on rounds. Those are big numbers! And it speaks to their ability to be included in follow-on rounds and not get overlooked when VCs ante up for the B round. How do they fight their way to the table? And what kind of a year will 2008 be for them? James knows...

Show #150 (53:36)

As investors, angels and venture capitalists, we enjoy many luxuries; life is good! We've all heard it: many angels say they're in it as a way to give back.

Let's consider some historical perspective... during the Renaissance the Medici family of Florence fed and educated many artists who eventually thrived and are well known today. Today at UC Irvine, Dean Nohema Fernandez has initiated the Medici Circle with the idea of supporting budding artists with scholarships for exceptional opportunities during the summer.

On this special podcast you'll hear from 2 investors, Don Kasle and Rich Linting, Dean Fernandez and two Medici recipients; Michelle Nielsen describes her trip to Cambodia and Byeong Sam Jeon describes his robotic Telematic Drum Circle project. It's philanthropy in five parts.

Medici program details Pledge form

Show #149 (1:02:19)

Events
March 24-25 join me at the Southwest Regional Angel Summit and Innovation Showcase in Tucson, sponsored by the Desert Angels, the University of Arizona, and the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship.

May 7-9 the Angel Capital Association is having their Annual Summit in San Diego. If you're an angel investor, register now.

Why are there so few women entrepreneurs? Is that why we see so few women angel investors?
How well do black entrepreneurs fare in this country? What role should public agencies, like the SBA, have in promoting entrepreneurship? The Kauffman Foundation, what illusions do they have?

The answers in Scott Shane's new book, The Illusions of Entrepreneurship may surprise you.

Before you listen to the interview, take Scott's Entrepreneurship Quiz; very likely, your score will increase your motivation to explore the myths and illusions behind entrepreneurship.

Show #148 (39:29)

Events
March 24-25 join me at the Southwest Regional Angel Summit and Innovation Showcase in Tucson, sponsored by the Desert Angels, the University of Arizona, and the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship.

May 7-9 the Angel Capital Association is having their Annual Summit in San Diego. If you're an angel investor, register now.

Yesterday my friend Steve Curtis pointed me to a great site that aggregates VC blogs, check out: http://venturecapital.alltop.com/.

Today Guy Kawasaki added me to the list.

Jan Norman scooped me when she broke the story about Craig Cooper leaving Vantage Point Venture Partners for Saban Capital Group.

Is he now OC's most notorius VC?
Where does this leave YouMail? The smallest investment in Vantage Point's portfolio.
Craig's keeping his Fashion Island digs, so we should be happy that he'll have an OC focus with his new fund.

Think he'd make a good Fast Pitch judge? We'll find out! He's agreed to join us at the May 19th event.

If you haven't listened to his podcast interview, it's a good one: "transformative deals" are what he's looking for. Listen.

Angel Capital Association board member and Executive Director of the Angel Investor Forum in Hartford, CT, Liddy Karter is my guest. With networks in Hartford, New Haven and Stamford, they're close to New York and can draw as far away as Maine. Business is good, she announces a recent 7x exit.

She's using VBrick video technology to record entrepreneur presentations, combined with their Powerpoint slides then hosting it all on their website. How does this help? Many members spend the winter months in the sun belt, but they can login and still participate in the funding process.

Show #147 (35:07)

Events
March 24-25 join me at the Southwest Regional Angel Summit and Innovation Showcase in Tucson, sponsored by the Desert Angels, the University of Arizona, and the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship.

May 7-9 the Angel Capital Association is having their Annual Summit in San Diego. If you're an angel investor, register now.

Show #146 Listen (58:33) Download

Non-profit Entretech has grown from a modest little organization focused on Pasadena to a juggernaut that has teamed together with Caltech, USC and UCLA to support university based startups across the Los Angeles basin. Executive Director Stephanie Yanchinski refers me to Elena Medo, Prolacta Bioscience founder, and to Mike Giardello, CEO of Caltech spinout Materia, Inc; three interesting perspectives on a entrepreneur networking organization that's working to change Los Angeles.

Events
March 24-25 join me at the Southwest Regional Angel Summit and Innovation Showcase in Tucson, sponsored by the Desert Angels, the University of Arizona, and the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship.

May 7-9 the Angel Capital Association is having their Annual Summit in San Diego. If you're an angel investor, register now.