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Forbes has just released its annual Midas List, its ranking of the top 100 deal-makers.
The list is controversial, because these mighty venture capitalists don’t like being ranked, and every year we hear from some complaining about the methods used.
So we’ve decided to pitch in. We at VentureBeat have talked with Erika Brown, the venture capital reporter who helps put the list together, and we believe that, while any ranking system can never be perfect, she and Forbes have created a great jumping off point — one for people to grapple with and use to come to their own conclusions. It will spark our conversation here at VentureBeat, too. Check out the Forbes methodology (see second to last paragraph), so at least you know what they’re measuring.
VentureBeat has partnered with Forbes. With VentureBeat People, we give readers more information about the dealmakers, let them add comments about the investors and thoughts about their ranking — all for purposes of stirring debate and thus more enlightenment for entrepreneurs seeking funding or advice. Further, you’ll find information about their investments, and get a glimpse of their networks. This information, which we’ve pulled in from partners LinkSV and Groupscope may not be complete in some cases, but with your comments and help, we can make it more so.
So once you look at the Forbes List, check out the individual profiles (see the one for #1 ranked Michael Moritz, for example), and you’ll see links back to VentureBeat for further comment & info on our own page for Moritz. For further sampling, check out the pages we’ve made for the top ten on the list (click on links below). Our main starting page is here, or you can click on the “Midas List” tab from our front-page. We’ve put this together quickly over the past few days, and there are some bugs we will iron out over the next day or two. For example, the comments feature will only be working later today, and more investment info will be added. Feedback welcome.
Note that this year’s ranking looks very similar to last year’s, because of the Google effect.
1. Michael Moritz, Sequoia Capital (pictured here)
2. John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins
3. Andreas Bechtolsheim, Sun Microsystems
4. Ram Shriram, Sherpalo Ventures
5. David Cheriton, Stanford Univ.
6. Ron Conway, Angel Investors
7. Michael Grimes, Morgan Stanley
8. Larry Sonsini, Wilson Sonsini
9. Jay Hoag, Technology Crossover Ventures
10. Thomas Ng, Granite Global Ventures
2 Comments
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Yuri Ammosov said:
What’s the methodology?
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Matt Marshall said:
Yuri, I’ve pasted it below, in case it wasn’t obvious how to find it. If you’re asking about “methodology” in a scientific science, i’m not sure there’s an equation available. Forbes basically looks at all the IPOs and acquisitions done in the past five years, and then looks which dealmakers played a role in getting them done. As you can expect, this requires some reporting about “soft” factors, including an assessment of how much an investor really helped a company, versus basing it on pure data (which often isn’t available):
“The Forbes Midas List seeks to identify individuals who deploy venture capital to create wealth for their investors and build valuable, long-lasting companies. Only tech and life sciences companies that have gone public or been acquired within the past five years are considered. Our ranking formula ignores the original amount invested in a deal (as it is often undisclosed), instead weighing most heavily the market capitalization of a venture-backed company on the close of the first day of trading or the final closing price of an acquisition. A lesser weight is given to the change in value of each investment since going public or being sold. Ranking also depends on a candidate’s length of involvement in and depth of influence on a company.
Our results are based on extensive reporting and surveys sent to thousands of professionals, including angel investors, bankers, lawyers and venture capitalists. Please note that the bios for this year’s Midas List may include references to deals that are not counted in the Midas ranking.”
