The last 15 months have been highly uncertain for both the venture capital industry and the companies they fund, but history shows that funding entrepreneurs takes patience and endurance. The first annual AlwaysOn Venture Capital 100 highlights the one hundred individuals who have backed the most profitable winners in the last four years. To compile the first VC 100 List, our editorial team sourced data from its research partners Morgan Stanley, VentureDeal and the 451 Group on more than 700 active venture capitalists, 1,400 VC investments and 1,000 technology liquidity events in the last four years, from October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2009. The winning venture capitalists were selected based on total number and dollar amounts of successful M&A and IPO deals from their portfolio companies. For IPOs, AlwaysOn examined opening market capitalization as well as subsequent stock performance, relative to the Nasdaq. For each investment, AlwaysOn counted one lead investor per firm, in order to identify the true dealmakers, understanding that in many cases more than one partner is involved in helping each company.  Much of the exact valuation data that would have been ideal for  this kind of analysis remains private and inaccessible, of course, so we present the VC 100 ultimately as a "representative list", based upon our best efforts.

While the VC 100 is not based upon perfect information—and we are certain there are great investors we missed— this list underscores the critical role venture capital plays in new company and new job creation. Congratulations to the winners who, together with the entrepreneurs they have funded, have saddled innovation to overcome a daunting economic environment, and provide a long-term stimulus for our economy.