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CED RELEASES EMERGING COMPANY SURVEY
Findings reaffirm VCs increased focus on building profitability
CED based its results on responses from 25 investors from North Carolina-based VC firms who fund a variety of companies spanning life science and related technologies, information technology and telecommunication industries. Findings showed the following trends:
- 68 percent of those surveyed said their most important priority for portfolio companies in the current environment is achieving profitability, whereas only 44 percent said that this was their priority 18 months ago.
- 64 percent of VCs surveyed agreed that opportunities to grow businesses in the Triangle today are strong or very strong and 78 percent of those surveyed agreed that opportunities to grow businesses in the region will be strong or somewhat strong 18 months from now.
- When asked, "What is the key attribute in the Research Triangle that attracts you to making investments here?" respondents communicated the various anchors of Triangle entrepreneurship - 30 percent of VCs surveyed agreed that diversity in the types of companies is what attracts them, 36 percent said the key attribute is knowledge capital and 32 percent said the key attribute is innovation grounded in research.
"The results of this survey indicate investors' renewed commitment to sound business fundamentals including a concentration on achieving long-term profitability," said Monica Doss, CED president. "Although entrepreneurship by nature presents its own unique business challenges, entrepreneurs have always been an optimistic bunch. And our survey results indicate that the Triangle's knowledge capital and commitment to innovation continue to make the region a very favorable environment for high-growth start-ups."
Today's results reinforce findings from last week's CED survey of entrepreneurs, which indicated the perception among emerging companies that VCs are putting less emphasis on achieving a quick IPO and are instead focusing on building profitability. CED examined the perceptions of its membership and regional VCs in advance of Venture 2002 to take a pulse of the current investing atmosphere and create a platform for discussion at the conference.
Venture 2002 will include presentations by 30 emerging companies from an array of industries seeking either initial or subsequent stages of professional equity capital. The conference will include extensive networking opportunities and exclusive investor-only events.
Doss added, "Venture 2002 provides an excellent forum to showcase regional companies already demonstrating effective strategies for building profitability, and the survey results allow us to delve deeper into the growth potential of the Research Triangle region as an investment opportunity."
About Venture 2002: CED's 19th annual Venture 2002 Conference - where great minds meet smart money - is scheduled for April 30-May 1, 2002 at The Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC. Last year's conference, Venture 2001 drew a crowd of more than 1,100 investors, service professionals, entrepreneurs and others involved in the entrepreneurial funding process from throughout the United States. Interested parties should visit the conference Web site at www.cednc.org/venture/2002.
About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 5,000 members representing 1,200 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. www.cednc.org