Dan Primack

For a very long time, venture capitalists reveled in their exclusivity. They took meetings with those they knew, or those who came personally recommended. Then they went golfing, and let inexperienced entrepreneurs fend for themselves. Over the past year, however, the venture capital market has undergone something of an accessibility revolution. Office hours, institutional incubators, socially-networked superangels, no-cost elevator pitch events and more. The latest step in the right direction comes tomorrow morning, when Bain Capital Ventures launches an online "Innovation Center" for early-stage entrepreneurs.

The VC-backed IPO pipeline was drained over the past month, with five VC-backed companies going public and two more withdrawing their offerings. Those companies represented around $1 billion in planned raise, while the month's two new registrants only plan to raise a total of $215 million. There also were two China-based issuers who both filed and priced within the month (HiSoft and AutoNavi). All of this means the current VC-backed IPO pipeline has 39 companies seeking to raise nearly $3.4 billion. That's the lowest dollar expectation since we began keeping track back in January. The full pipeline is after the jump..

Last week I gave three reasons to downplay a Dow Jones report about how VC fundraising was on the upswing. One of them was that a similar report was coming from the NVCA and Thomson Reuters, which would tell a much different story. Indeed, the NVCA/TR data is out, and it says that just 38 U.S.-based VC funds raised $1.9 billion in Q2 2010. That's a 49% decrease from Q1 totals, and the first half of 2010 is off nearly 19% from the first half of 2009.

Venture capitalists brought 26 companies to U.S. public markets in the first half of 2010, raising billions of dollars. Unfortunately, the majority of those companies are now trading below their offering price (16 of them, to be exact), with average performance at a pathetic -9.14 percent. So I figured it was time to take a quick look at the best performers, and the worst. Particularly notable is that four of the five top performers are based in China (but priced here). Get them after the jump...

Dow Jones today published VC fundraising data for the first half of 2010, showing a 13% bump over the first half of last year. This prompted headlines like: "VC Doesn't Look So Bad at the Half After All" and story ledes like "There’s good news for venture fundraising this morning." I hate to piss all over the parade, but this data is hardly worth celebrating. Here are three reasons why: 1. Bigger fundraising totals do not necessarily translate into better returns. For example, the high-water mark for VC fundraising was set in 2000, when funds secured over $100 billion. Lots of money, but it's also one of the worst-ever vintage years for VC funds in terms of performance. Cambridge Associates puts the pooled mean (net to LPs) at -1.26 percent. The only weaker vintage (five years or older) was 1999, which happens to have been the second-best VC fundraising year on record.

We're psyched to announce that the next peHUB Shindig will take place in Atlanta on Thursday, August 5. Pretty sure this is our first trip to the Southeast, so we’re hoping to see a bunch of area PE pros, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, bankers and assorted hangers-on. The venue is Engine 11 Firehouse Tavern, and tickets are limited. Per usual, they cost just $10 a piece, with proceeds going to a local nonprofit that will be selected by event attendees. Be sure to nominate one upon registration. To get your ticket, go to: http://pehubatlanta.eventbrite.com BIG thanks to sponsors Grant Thornton, Navigation Capital Partners and Womble Carlyle. Without sponsors, there are no Shindigs... I look forward to seeing you there!

Great video of how Mac designs have changed over the past thirty years, compiled by Gary Katz of Mac MD (h/t @scottmaustin):

Maven Research today will announce that it has raised $1 million in seed funding, in order to keep building out a micro-consulting platform that lets individuals market their expertise on just about anything. The company is particularly popular with venture captial and private equity firms, which use Maven to better understand both potential investments and market perception of existing portfolio companies. "We have 15,000 total members right now, with the network growing in excess of 30% per month," says Wyatt Nordstrom, Maven's co-founder and CEO. "A lot of that is in the asset management space, although we also have law firms and corporate product management groups and individual professionals."

Edison Venture Fund is raising upwards of $300 million for its seventh fund, according to a regulatory filing. The Lawrenceville, N.J.-based firm makes multi-stage investments in the IT sector, and raised nearly $260 million for its sixth fund in 2006. At the end of 2008, the fund was around 66% called with an IRR of -6.77%, according to […]

Venrock has closed its sixth venture capital fund with $350 million in capital commitments, peHUB has learned. Expect a formal announcement later this morning. At first blush, it's tempting to say that Venrock's fund-raising success was no big deal. After all, the firm was only targeting 58% of the $600 million it raised for its fifth fund in 2005. But I've got to give some major kudos here. First, Venrock reached its modest target very quickly -- something that many rival firms have struggled to do. Second, it somehow managed to maintain its 25% carried interest structure. Third, and perhaps most important, it succeeded despite some major personnel changes and investment strategy tweaks.