fundraising special - BVCA admin

Here & now
The BVCA exists to promote venture capital and its interests all of the time. There are, though,
moments when it is highly opportune to place a special emphasis on the sector and at the
loudest possible volume.
We are all aware that the dot com boom and bust has cast a long
shadow from which it has been difficult for UK venture capital to
escape entirely. However, there are now real grounds for optimism
that 2011 will be an especially significant year for the venture
capital community which will signal the start of a decade of new
commercial opportunities.
There are three particular signals which lead us to this assessment.
The first is the prospect of a series of prominent exits and
IPOs over the next 12 months which will involve well-known
companies whose roots are in the support they have received
from the venture capital sector. The second is the accumulating
evidence that the United Kingdom is entrenching its role as
12 January 2011 BVCA Briefing
2011: Year of Venture
Launching a new BVCA campaign
(Left to right) Simon Walker, CeO, BVCA; richard Anton, Vice Chairman, BVCA; Joanna Shields, vice president,
eMeA, facebook; and Simon Clark, Chairman of the BVCA’s Venture Capital Committee
the European hub for venture capital. The third is the evident
enthusiasm of the coalition government here for expanding the
venture sector. The most prominent aspect of this has been
David Cameron’s support for the enhancement of the East
London Tech City cluster but that headline policy comes with
numerous other initiatives attached. The Government is right to
want to champion venture capital and we are pleased that Boris
Johnson, the Mayor of London, is now set to play a leading part
in this enterprise as well.
In that light, the BVCA has designated 2011 as ‘The Year of
Venture’. The coming 12 months will witness a number of
high-profile events, meetings and publicity drives. The first of