Friday, December 02, 2005
To read most economic development strategies that mention venture capital, you would think that venture capital was a necessary pre-requisite to innovation-led growth. In some respects, that's true.
But here is an important point: institutional venture capital follows good deals, it does not create them.
One of my friends, a distinguished venture capitalist tells me, "The reason that there is not more venture capital deals in Cleveland is that there are not enough globally competitive business plans. The plans I see from Northeast Ohio do not stack up well against the plans we review coming out of California and Boston."
True enough. Here's an article from San Antonio that demonstrates the point. Read more.
posted by Ed Morrison |
links
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
San Antonio's venture capital pool
