New York is Announcing New VC Funds – Boulder?
Posted: February 2, 2010 Filed under: Search 1 Comment »Boulder has a thriving startup scene, some would say as vibrant as anyplace in the US. Using New Tech Boulder as a point of reference let’s review:
- Boulder has had as many startups present as New York, Silicon Valley and San Francisco over the past 3 years.
- New Tech Boulder’s rate of growth is on par with these cities and actually leads SF.
- We have standout Web companies:
- OneRiot, Lijit, many others
- We have an incubator/mentor program
- TechStars
- We have exits
Seems like the community is doing its part, so where are the VC’s? New York and the Valley seem to be announcing new funds focused on New Tech every month, but Boulder has not made much noise since David Cohen announced his fund last year.
Why?
Hey Robert–
A great question. There does seem to be an imbalance between start-up activity / community / success and the local funding opportunities. And indeed it’s a bummer!
It seems not only that there’s not enough VC in Boulder, but that the number of VC’s are on the decline (Sequel, etc.).
I don’t know about those older firms as much, but newer firms–particularly the new breed of seed capital firms like FRC, Andreessen, etc.–typically start as mega-successful entrepreneurs, who then become angels, and then become institutional VC. For Boulder to get there, we probably need some mega-successful exits.
Other option would be for some of those new seed funds to put a partner in Boulder. There’s a lot of market opportunity here and that’d be a great move to exploit it.
At the very least, as someone who is fundraising, I can say that having your start-up in Boulder is not a liability for VC’s and is even an asset. Though you have to spend a lot of time in SF & NY fundraising, the VCs are not put off at all by the fact that you’re not in their town. Rather, they recognize that Boulder is a thriving hub and it’s seen as a plus.
Thx again for the meet-up! :-)