Funds targeting $100mn or less see six consecutive years of increased fundraising, and account for 69% of all venture capital vehicles on the road

Since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) when an all-time high $9.3bn was raised in 2008, micro venture capital fundraising has seen six consecutive years of growth, increasing from $6.5bnn in 2009 to reach $8.5bn in 2015. Furthermore, over the past decade micro venture capital funds have consistently represented the majority of VC funds reaching a final close; micro-sized funds accounted for 61% of all venture capital funds to close in 2015 and more than two-thirds (67%) the previous year. So far in 2016, 169 micro venture capital funds have reached a final close raising a combined $2.4bn.

Image: http://www.valuewalk.com

There’s been no shortage of disruption in the venture industry over the last decade or so, yet someone is always trying to introduce a new way of doing things.

Among the latest is Propeller, a six-month-old outfit that’s hoping to entice family offices and sovereign wealth funds to invest in four new but distinct funds at once. One will focus on IoT investments; a second will focus on insurance-related investments; a third fund will focus on fintech more broadly; and a fourth intends to invest in women-led businesses.

‘Crowdfunding’, the concept of raising a large sum from lots of small individual contributions, has done a great deal of good in the short period of its existence to date. From helping to launch exciting new start-ups to funding critical medical operations, the term is already well-known outside of the traditional investment world. 

The use of technology to enable individuals to achieve personal dreams and smaller businesses to raise finance to fund socially beneficial projects or enable them to move to their next level of development can only be seen as a positive step in the democratisation of finance.

Being able to invest in companies - taking some share of ownership in exchange for your funding - might seem like an exciting idea to the average person.

It's the process glorified in shows like "Shark Tank;" it's what savvy and wealthy venture capitalists do, trying to find that company that'll be the next big thing.

Image: "Shark Tank"/ABC

Even the best products and solutions won’t go anywhere unless you sell them through the right channels. For example, if you watch the TV show “Shark Tank,” you will remember several entrepreneurs with specialty products doing well online who want money to move into big box retail. They usually get chastised and declined for ignoring the realities of the retail channel.

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor.

Billy Chasen can't keep track of all the apps he's made in the last two years since Turntable.fm, his once trendy social music startup, shut down for good.

There's Halfie, for sending half-selfies to people with the goal of having someone else fill in the other half with their own. And Aska, for getting verified lawyers, doctors, carpenters, whoever to answer your random questions.

Image: http://mashable.com

Last fall former investment banker and entrepreneur Carolyn Rodz, 36, founded Circular Board, a business accelerator for women who are starting companies that aim to gross at least $50 million in revenue. Based in Houston, the for-profit company operates almost exclusively online, putting women through a 12-week course where they get help from peers and from professional mentors like Donna Orender, former president of the WNBA and Sprout Pharmaceuticals cofounder Cindy Whitehead.

COVINGTON - BioLogic, the Cincinnati region's only life science incubator, is trying to turn local entrepreneurs’ ideas for improving human health into reality. Now the incubator has a new format, officially becoming a nonprofit a few weeks ago.

The incubator offers the only "wet-lab" space for lease within 100 miles, which allows startups to access expensive material and equipment typically limited to universities and hospitals.

Image: http://www.cincinnati.com

A large part of Tom Brokaw’s career was spent in one of the country’s most visible jobs, anchoring NBC’s Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. Before Facebook’s newsfeed and Twitter’s moments, before the rise of viral videos on YouTube, Brokaw was one of three network television anchors that Americans depended on to report what was happening in the world. Over the course of a career that spans more than five decades, Brokaw talked to all kinds of people, from politicians and pundits to prisoners and civil rights workers. To say he’s honed the craft of conversation would be an understatement.

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Houston—A truly innovative city takes its gifts and constantly looks to reinvent itself, fighting against complacency that can take hold of a community.

That was the gist of a recent panel discussion that brought together an assortment of Houston innovators from technology to the culinary arts. “We have these opportunities and gifts,” said Kirk Coburn, founder of the now-shuttered Surge accelerator. “Why aren’t we taking the gifts and leading the future?”

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As a student 10 years ago, Sorin Grama, SDM ’07, availed himself of the MIT entrepreneurial ecosystem to co-found a startup to help farmers in India keep milk and food from spoiling. Now that the company, Promethean Power Systems, is up and running and making inroads internationally, Grama is bringing his experience and expertise back to MIT as an entrepreneur in residence.

Grama will work with the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship and the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship to guide and support students founding startups in the developing world. This is the first such partnership between the two centers.

Knowledge@Wharton: I found it interesting that your book takes a look at both ends of the spectrum, both the personal and the professional. When it comes to resolving conflict in the office, a lot of the same types of incidents and issues arise at home and work that could be negotiated in the same kind of manner.

Shapiro: Yes, our research has shown that the underlying dynamics that make our conflicts so miserable — whether at work with a tough colleague or at home with a tough spouse — tend to be quite similar. The power of them might be more at work or at home, but the impact is just the same. It’s difficult.

The University System of Maryland plans to establish a $25 million fund to invest in startup companies created by students, faculty and recent graduates.

The system, which includes 12 of the state's public institutions, would invest $10 million in the Early Stage Investment Fund over four years. Another $15 million would come from the state, the system's foundation and other sources.

A Board of Regents committee approved the fund on Thursday. The full Board of Regents is expected to approve it on Friday.

Image: The University of Maryland, College Park, is part of the University System of Maryland, whch is establishing a $25 million fund to invest in start-up companies created by faculty, students, and recent graduates. (ANDREA F. CHUNG)

College graduation is one of those pivotal milestones in life when you stand with your entire future before you. It’s also one of those moments when anyone and everyone will bestow upon you stories of what they would have done differently, share what they wish they’d have known, and talk about what they've learned in the years since their own graduations.

The grandest platform to extoll this advice is the commencement speech. Here are bits of inspiration from this year’s batch.

Is Micro VC the New Macro Trend?

Justin Hall and Doug Paolillo take a closer look at the micro venture capital industry, including fundraising, funds in market, investors and more.

With the boom in fundraising activity and investor appetite for micro VC, several fund managers which could choose to raise larger funds are opting to keep their fund sizes in this sub-$100mn range. In this month’s feature article, we focus on the micro VC market, its position within the overall industry, investor sentiment and future outlook.

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New jobs and economic opportunities in the 21st Century are closely tied to innovation and technology. More innovation, using the power of data and American ingenuity, means more jobs and opportunities.

To achieve this goal, the government cannot be an obstacle. Outmoded rules and unpredictable regulations are the greatest impediments on the road to growth and innovation. 

Ironically, an agency first created to control the old industrial economy will play an increasingly important role in the new technological age – the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  The FTC’s role on questions like consumer protection, privacy, data security, competition and more are rapidly expanding. Yet many of the practices the agency uses to accomplish its goals are rooted in a paradigm over a hundred years old and created to help bust big monopoly trusts in 1914. 

It’s time the agency charged with regulating the innovation economy get some innovation itself. The subcommittee recently examined over a dozen bills that seek to modernize the FTC for the 21st century and put innovation first, and this week we will vote on a number of those bills to modernize the FTC.

Chris Zook of Bain explains the predictable crises of growth and how to overcome them. His new book is The Founder’s Mentality, coauthored with James Allen.

In the times when Venture Capital fund is drying up, the role of venture debt financing is extremely critical. Venture debt is a useful augmentation tool for founders which work well across bullish and bearish times.

InnoVen Capital India is all about that and more. The company started in 2008 as the first dedicated venture debt provider in India. The platform offers multiple sources of diverse debt capital including venture debt, acquisition financing, growth capital and capex financing.

Image: InnoVen Capital

You find the word “innovation” everywhere lately. It has become a buzz word that people use to describe practically anything new. While some look at innovation as describing something new, or often even something considered “better” than another product or service, these ideas fall a bit short of the mark. Being innovative implies something even more powerful - it implies there is some creation of value, and it is this value that creates economic growth.