Entrepreneurs were the big winners in 2007, receiving more than $7 billion in venture capital a quarter for four straight quarters--a phenomenon not seen since 2001. Venture capitalists invested $29.4 billion in 3,813 deals in 2007, a 10.8 percent increase in dollars and a 5 percent increase in deal volume over 2006.
Every year we take the pulse of the VC industry to help you determine if now is the right time to seek funding. Our listing ranks VC firms by the number of early-stage deals made in 2007. We've also included a listing of later-stage funding firms.
by Top Firms for Early Stage Companies
byTop Firms for Later Stage Companies
About the Top 100 VC Listing »
What Is Venture Capital?
What It Is: Institutional venture capital comes from professionally managed funds that have $25 million to $1 billion to invest in emerging growth companies.
Appropriate for: High-growth companies that are capable of reaching at least $25 million in sales in five years.
Best Use: Varied. From financing product development to expansion of a proven and profitable product or service.
Cost and Funds Typically Available: Expensive. Institutional venture capitalists demand significant equity in a business. The earlier the investment stage, the more equity is required to convince an institutional venture capitalist to invest. The range of funds typically available is $500,000 to $10 million.
Ease of Acquisition: Difficult. Institutional venture capitalists are choosy. Compounding the degree of difficulty is the fact that institutional venture capital is an appropriate source of funding for a limited number of companies.
More on Venture Capital
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Doing the Numbers
Our VC 100 ranking is based on the number of first-time fundings to companies in the startup and early stages of development made by VC firms and similar entities in calendar year 2007 as measured by the "MoneyTree Report" from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data from Thomson Reuters.
Companies in the startup stage of development may have been in business for only a few months. Companies in the early stage of development have generally been in operation less than 24 months. These fundings represent the first time a company receives financing from a professional VC firm in exchange for equity. More mature companies--those in the expansion or late stages of development--are not included in the analysis, even though they may have received venture capital for the first time in 2007.
