The Daily Entrepreneur: Venture Capital Stimulus?

by Nathaniel Whittemore · 2009-02-22 15:43:00 UTC
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Three related but different views on the role of venture capital in getting us into (and out of) this economic crisis.

  • Start Up The Risk Takers: Thomas Friedman argues in his Sunday NYTimes column that we should be looking to innovate our way out of the recession, and the best way to do that would be to give venture capitalists a chunk of the stimulus.

  • A Stimulus Plan For Venture Capital? No Thanks.: Union Square Ventures principle Fred Wilson responds to Friedman's piece suggesting that while the intent is dead on, the best VC's and the best entrepreneurs wouldn't be interested in government money. He likes the idea of tax credits for angel investors for seed stage investment better.

  • Asleep at the Wheel of Creative Destruction: In a piece from about a month ago, Umair Haque argues that the venture industry is failing the country by keeping uninvested capital and shifting resources towards later stage ventures and proven entrepreneurs.

    • The venture economy is failing investors, entrepreneurs, the economy, and society. Sound harsh? Think again. Here's how pervasive the venture economy's failure is: Detroit's dying - but we don't have a better auto industry, let alone better energy to power it. Education is failing - but we don't have a more productive system of schools and universities. Healthcare is going down the tubes - but venture investors are partying like its 1969, still focused on blockbuster drugs instead of structural reinvention.

Together these three pieces provide some incredible food for thought.

Nathaniel Whittemore is the founder of Assetmap. Previously he was the founding director of the Northwestern University Center for Global Engagement.
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