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????我不斷聽到有人談論風險資本融資的地域競爭無關緊要，說什么硅谷、紐約和波士頓在創業者生態體系中都扮演著重要角色，什么風險資本只投資辦公室方圓十幾英里內的日子已經一去不返，地域競爭過時了，以及我們應該都加入Accela，放松一下緊張的神經云云。 ????聽起來很美好，但有些天真。 ????公司在哪里獲得資金當然很重要（反過來說，在哪里得不到資金也是一樣）。決定創業的人們會移居到各方面條件對公司成長最有利的地方，資本可獲得性是決定性因素之一。是的，如今有很多風險資本家都會長途旅行、尋找投資機會，但所有這些人肯定都希望最好還是在家門口就做成生意。而且，很多創業者也依然看重接到通知馬上即可到公司的董事會成員。 ????因此，根據合理競爭精神……波士頓不僅在風險資本投資方面繼續走在紐約的前面，而且兩者間的差距還在擴大。（注：硅谷仍是無可爭議的冠軍，因此這只是一場第二名爭奪戰。） ????根據MoneyTree日前發布的數據，今年第一季度馬薩諸塞州有77家公司共籌得風險資本約5.83億美元。相比之下，紐約有44家公司共籌得約4.03億美元——融資公司數和融資金額的差距分別為43%和31%。而2010年第四季度時差距分別僅為22%和17%。 ????第一季度，波士頓在“信息技術”領域的融資公司數也重獲領先地位（35比34，而去年第四季度為43比55），雖然在融資金額上仍落后（2.25億美元比3.31億美元，而去年第四季度為2.76億美元比3.61億美元）。紐約信息技術領域的融資金額似乎略高于MoneyTree過去的報告數據，這可能是因為新的統計方法納入了企業投資（一個早該實施的調整）。也可能是因為第一季度美國融資額最大的兩家公司是紐約信息技術公司Beyond Oblivion和Appsense（波士頓公司無一入圍前十名）。 ????當然，所有這些并不意味著波士頓在風險投資方面將比紐約打出更多漂亮的本壘打。但這的確意味著波士頓上場擊球的次數將較多…… |
????I keep hearing about how regional battles over venture capital funding don't matter. How Silicon Valley and New York and Boston all have important roles to play in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and how territorial battles are anachronistic pissing contests from the days when VCs only would invest within a dozen miles of their office. How we should all board the Accela and give each other back rubs. ????Lovely sentiments, but they're naive. ????Of course it matters where companies are getting funded (and, conversely, where they aren't). Prospective entrepreneurs migrate to where conditions are the most favorable for company growth, and capital availability is one of the determining factors. It's certainly true that many of today's VCs will travel far and wide to find investments, but all of them would prefer to do one in their backyard. Plus, many entrepreneurs still value board members who can stop by the office on a moment's notice. ????So, in the spirit of justified competition... Boston not only continues to lead New York in VC investments, but the gap has actually grown. (Note: Silicon Valley remains the undisputed champ, so this is a battle for second place) ????Seventy-seven Massachusetts-based companies raised around $583 million in venture capital last quarter, according to the MoneyTree report released this morning. This compares to 44 New York-based companies that raised around $403 million -- a 43% spread in deal volume and a 31% discrepancy in deal dollars. Those percentages were just 22% and 17%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2010. ????Boston also regained its lead last quarter in the number of "information technology" fundings (35-34, compared to 43-55 in Q4), although still lagged in terms of investment dollars ($225m-$331m, compared to $276m-$361m in Q4). Those IT dollar figures for New York seems a bit higher than in past MoneyTree reports, perhaps due to new methodology that includes corporate investments (a long-overdue change). Or perhaps because two of the first quarter's largest deals were for New York-based IT companies, Beyond Oblivion and Appsense (no Boston companies were in the top 10). ????To be sure, none of this means that Boston will produce more VC home-runs than will New York. But it does mean that Boston will have a few more times at bat... |
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