These 100 cutting-edge venture investors are keeping the global innnovation engine humming
When I'm not writing for VatorNews or working with Bambi on the next mixer, I'm doing research for AlwaysOn. Over there, we just released the VC 100--our pick of the top venture capitalists based on exit performance in the last four years. One thing we learned in the process was how many top dealmakers don't make it into the limelight. Some of the real rockstars are Kevin McQuillan (4 IPOs, 7 acquisitions in 4 years), Todd Chaffee (4 acquisitions, 2 IPOs), Scott Ungerer (cleantech darkhorse--10 big exits in the last 4 years) and Mike Gordon (IPOs: Sourcefire, Vonage, TeleAtlas, BigBand Networks, Isilon). Check out our rundown below and the full list of winners here: https://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/34032The
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.