The Money For Bubble 2.0

from the it's-all-here dept

A few months ago, a banker was telling me that he couldn't believe how many institutional investors were still pouring money into VC funds - despite the dismal returns out of those VC funds the past few years. While there had been some talk post-bubble about limited partners demanding money back from some of the billion dollar funds, the fact remained: those investors still needed some place to put their "risky" money. The only place they can find in venture capital. So, the money keeps on flowing into VC funds, and since few VCs were doing many deals over the past few years, it's been adding up to quite a lot. That "overhang" is now helping to fuel what some believe will be Bubble (and Bust) 2.0. Too much money chasing too few good ideas (with too few good people running too few good companies). Still, some of this talk just sounds like VCs who can't handle the competition, and don't like that the companies they fund might actually have to go out and prove themselves in the market, instead of having it wrapped up for them. At the same time, as we pointed out recently, some are realizing that bubbles have a long term benefit, even if they can be troublesome to those too closely involved. It really depends on your position and your time frame. If you're looking for new products, bubbles are probably a good thing. If you're investing in specific companies, however, it's much riskier.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    data64, 26 Mar 2004 @ 9:58am

    Do not completely get the point

    If you're looking for new products, bubbles are probably a good thing

    Could elaborate on this please. I am not sure I get the point you are trying to make with this statement.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Mike (profile), 26 Mar 2004 @ 10:16am

    Re: Do not completely get the point

    More companies get funded, more risks are taken, more products get out on the market... Not all will survive. In fact, many will fail. However, because of all that money, more companies and products get developed.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Charles W., 26 Mar 2004 @ 10:32am

    Re: Do not completely get the point

    Basically what he is saying is that if you throw enough money at a problem it will be solved. This isn't good for the people doing the trowing(The VC folks) because they will most likely loose that money with no return. Once the problem is solved many people(you, and me) will benifit because of all the new technologies, and ideas that came out.

    -Charles W.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 Mar 2004 @ 12:26pm

    Tell that to fund holders...

    .. whose fund managers get suckered by the VC's into buying the crap just before everyone comes to their senses.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.