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Silicon Valley Angel Investors Provide Great Insight on the Economy and Hot Markets in Software
Great panel at TechCrunch50 led by Mahalo’s Jason Calcanis. I picked out some comments which I thought our candidate and client base might find most interesting and valuable. Look for Ron Conway’s comments about the hot segments in our marketplace, which according to him are still very much wide-open in terms of innovation and opportunity. If you are considering changing employers, making a move into one of these segments could make you very valuable in the years to come.
Ron: I look for sectors: Video gaming, search, social networks, UGC (user-generated content), cloud computing – these are billion dollar sectors – so you try to find the best companies in those sectors and interviews and pick the top 5 out of the top ten.
On the topic of the downturn in our market, I agree 100% that things are definitely tightening up and people are starting to get scared of making decisions. Mark my words that those who don’t get bogged down in the paralysis and make moves will be the big winners at the end of the game. This is a great time to jump on those “go-big” opportunities when others are waiting on the sidelines.
Q: What will be the impact of the downturn in the economy on investing? Answered by Ron Conway and Yossi Vardi
Yossi: It’s beginning to remind me of 2001-2004. The money is getting scarce and the industry is afraid to take decisions. This is the best time for angels to invest. We van invest at the top of the deal flow. We don’t have the pressure to release money or show performance like a VC fund. You can use sober opinion. It will be more difficult to raise money now, but the opportunities are still there. There is still a desire to conquer the world.
Ron: I invest in Silicon Valley companies. In 2001-2004 there was a nuclear winter for deal flow dried up almost 100%. Lots of people going back to business school. I haven’t seen that to date. The environment has not changed at all. Innovation in SV is alive and thriving and the deal flow is wide open. It won’t be as bad as the Winter.
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