Venture Ain’t Broke: It’s Evolving

The topic for Thursday evening’s Dinner 2.o in Sydney was the question of whether the traditional venture capital model is broken. Marty Wells covers the discussion here, and there are photos up here and here.

My view on the topic:

   Venture Ain’t Broke: It’s Evolving

It’s evolving to the point where different ventures get treated differently. A WIMAX company that has deep technology, a raft of patents and years of fundamental research behind it warrants a different valuation and level of funding than a Web 2.0 consumer play that consists of a two Ajaxians pumping out a beta in a matter of months.

In the Web 2.0 venture space: less is more. Akin to the entertainment industry, venture guys and entrepreneurs need to invest/build in a portfolio play — some of the apps you take to market will succeed, others won’t, but if you have all your efforts tied to only one play the odds are stacked against you.