The credit crunch could help venture capitalists

The credit crunch could help venture capitalists

The current credit crunch caused by the subprime loaning crisis may help venture capital returns, and therefore start-ups.

That’s the argument of venture capitalist Keith Benjamin, of San Francisco’s Levensohn Venture Partners, as posted on his blog a few days ago, and which has been picked up by several publications, including this morning’s New York Times (the Times runs a cute graphic of a detour road sign in its story.)

Coincidentally, we asked Benjamin to write… Continue Reading

The private equity bubble

The private equity bubble

Forget the Web 2.0 bubble, which is in the process of bursting.

Start worrying about the private equity bubble instead.

Our capitalist system has a habit of swinging between fear and greed (see Stu Phillips’ column today), and right now we’re seeing it lean toward greed • at least in private equity. Wealth has accrued, and investors — many of them public pension plans — are searching for places to put their excess capital. So they’re parking… Continue Reading