With the solid economic base of state government as a foundation, the attraction of venture capital in larger sums than now occurring would be of huge benefit regionally.
This happening will, as the editorial notes, depend to some degree on developing the capacity of our universities to become larger players in venture business through the generation of solid research, and creativity.
It will also happen through the preservation and enhancement of our natural resources to ensure our regional parkways, parks, riverways, trails, and greenways, are congruent with a increasingly urbanized environment, providing the natural sanctuary the human spirit depends on for refreshment, contemplation, and creativity.
Editorial: Ventures of success
Region's future depends on private investors
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, March 24, 2007
There's a reason that California is arguably the best place on the planet to convert an idea into a thriving business.
All the ingredients for success are here. We have the minds with the ideas. And we have the deep, private pockets of investors willing to take a chance on them.
Venture capital isn't on the fringe of the California economy. It's at its very foundation.
A new national study by the research firm Global Insight found that nearly 17 percent of the nation's domestic product has resulted from firms funded by venture capital. The state that attracts the venture capital wins. The region in the state that lures the capital wins even more.
At the moment, the Sacramento region has a ways to go to become the kind of place where big dreams are the talk at power breakfasts. If the region wants to continue evolving from a government town to a resilient, diverse economy, it better pay attention to attracting private capital along with the big-name companies that are household names.
Global Insight reviewed companies that have received venture capital since 1970 and compared their performance against the economy as a whole. In California, venture capital fueled nearly 8,000 businesses to the tune of $161.4 billion. That, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, is about 42 percent of all venture capital investment for the nation.
The numbers seem solid, even if extrapolating the jobs and benefits gets into taller weeds of methodology. The funder of Global Insight's study is a venture capitalist association with political agendas, such as promoting immigration policies that allow highly skilled workers to come to the United States. Even so, it's important to follow this money in California and consider why venture capital is invested more in some communities than others.
