Madoffs and those like him?
"Start-ups feel recession's bite; US venture capital investing falls in '08; N.E. funding plunges" by Robert Weisman, Globe Staff | January 24, 2009
Venture capital investing in new and emerging companies plunged 8.4 percent nationally and 16.2 percent in New England last year, in a clear sign that the stubborn global recession has spread into the once-vibrant entrepreneurial economy.
The latest MoneyTree venture capital survey, released yesterday, showed that venture-backed start-ups, the seeds of future economic growth in key high technology and life sciences sectors, are finding it harder to raise money to fund their expansion and product development.
Pfffft!
It was the first annual decline in venture financing since 2003, with every major sector receiving fewer dollars except clean energy, which is seeking to capitalize on President Obama's stimulus package and the shift to solar, wind, biofuels, and other alternative technologies.
Translation: that's the agenda they are going to stick with for sure!
For much of 2008, venture funding had continued at a steady pace, seemingly resistant to the turbulence in the broader economy. But venture outlays fell off dramatically in the last three months of the year, as factors ranging from the collapse of the financial industry to the freeze in initial public offerings began to take their toll....
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Computer software start-ups, historically the largest venture-backed sector, continued to receive the most money last year, about $4.9 billion, according to the MoneyTree data. That was followed by the industrial and energy sector with $4.6 billion, the biotechnology sector with $4.5 billion, the medical equipment sector with $3.4 billion, and the media and entertainment sector with $2 billion.
And yet they still needed $1 billion dollars worth of taxpayer subsidies, huh? Same goes for Hollywood there!
While much of the quarterly report was downbeat, venture capitalists pointed to one bright spot: an improved ability to recruit chief executives and other leaders from established companies, many of which have been paring their workforces and laying off managers....
Yeah, that's a BRIGHT SPOT! WTF kind of economy do we even have anymore, people? Not one that cares about freedom or people.
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So the VEN CAP is down, huh? That's what my SLOW SATURDAY War Daily said.
Now to square it with my Sunday serving of shit:
"Dueling data backup firms are rare bright spot" by Scott Kirsner | January 25, 2009
The MSM could find a corn kernel in a pile of shit and call it gold!
.... Mozy and Carbonite are two of the leaders of the online backup business, a rare bright spot in a gloomy tech economy. Rather than buying their own hard drives to save a copy of their data, consumers and small businesses pay a fee (Mozy's is $59 a year, Carbonite's is $50) to send their information securely over the Net, and have Mozy or Carbonite keep a copy that can be retrieved any time. IDC, a Framingham research firm, predicts that online backup services will generate about $715 million in annual revenue by 2011.
The big question is whether a start-up like Carbonite, with 125 employees and $47 million in venture capital, can capture a bigger piece of that market, or whether a division of a big company like EMC will have the edge.... Most customers learn about Carbonite through radio ads read by personalities like Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, and Dr. Laura.
Oh, so it is a product for CONSERVATIVES, huh? Wait until you see the treatment the "liberal" press gives them!!!
"Ad rates are down, and people are willing to cut deals if you've got money," says Carbonite chief executive David Friend.
The company keeps customer support costs down by offering help via live chat (the support employees are based in India).
Now, WHY would the MSM BRING THAT UP NOW when it AVOIDS OUTSOURCING SO OFTEN? The ONLY REASON I CAN THINK OF is BIAS, folks!!
BIAS against THOSE NAMES YOU SAW where the ADVERTISEMENTS are TARGETED!!
Yeah, OBJECTIVE, UNBIASED AmeriKan MSM!! Hey, what's ONE MORE LIE after they have told SO MANY, right?
For an additional $20 per year, you can purchase a "premium support package," which allows you to pick up the phone and talk to someone....
Friend says his company won't need to raise any more venture capital to get to profitability. And he adds that he doesn't yet see any negative effect on his business from the slow-down in consumer spending: "January looks like it's going to be a blockbuster," he says. "And I think 2009 will be a pretty good year."
For SOMEONE anyway!
That's not a sentiment you hear from very many CEOs right now.
And the CHEER-LEADING GLOBE FOUND 'em!!!
Pfffft!
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