Mark Boslet

Plenty of news from abroad today. The Australian government decided to pony up $80 million for four venture funds that invest in startups down under. On the other side of the world, Apax Partners sold its interest in 16 portfolio companies to secondary market investor Azini Capital as U.K.-based Apax continues its exit from venture […]

We wrote this morning about John Doerr’s prediction of a Netscape moment next year in the cleantech IPO market. Doerr, forever the optimist and a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, could be right. Perhaps the first-day run up of an offering from BrightSource Energy, Silver Spring Networks or Bloom Energy sparks public enthusiasm […]

The IPO that captures the public imagination and sets off a stampede for freshly issued cleantech stock could arrive next year, says cleantech investor John Doerr. The so-called Netscape moment is on its way, Doerr said Thursday at the GreenBeat 2010 conference. “I think we’re very likely to see that next year,” said the Kleiner […]

Suvi Sharma wrestled $65 million from venture capitalists for Solaria Corp. in the third quarter to claim the largest solar financing of this year’s lethargic summer months. Even so, the president of Solaria is the first to admit the funding environment is tough and that the reticence of general partners may signal the end of […]

The venture-backed IPO market limps along and the venture returns follow it. According to the latest batch of numbers from the National Venture Capital Association and Cambridge Associates, venture returns fell in the second quarter pretty much across the board. Only the 20-year return notched a very modest gain. (See link at bottom for full […]

Forty-five U.S. VC firms raised nearly $3B in the third quarter of 2010, an increase over Q3 2009 but down from Q3 2008

For newly public companies considering follow-on stock offerings, life ain’t what it used to be. For the past three months, Nasdaq has been scrutinizing such offerings. Regulators have been attempting to make sure any company doing a follow-on offering markets its stock to both retail and institutional investors. That is particularly challenging for small, newly […]

Want to get the attention of a VC? Push aside the facts and figures explaining your business plan for a second. Think personal connection. I stopped by Microsoft’s BizSpark One Summit yesterday afternoon for an unexpected discussion on how to pitch a VC. My first reaction was to run for the door – how could it […]

There is no such thing as free money. But this might come close. A group of Australian angels and startup execs hope to jump-start entrepreneurialism in the land down under. So they’re kicking off StartMate, a Sydney-based mentorship program with a twist – $25,000 of capital to get started. The three-month program began accepting applications […]