5 Disastrous Moves That Will Botch Your Pitch
Entrepreneurs are passionate about their business. Sometimes overly so. Read this terrific article on how to avoid several common mistakes that will ruin an otherwise successful pitch meeting. From FastCompany, by FC Expert Blogger Josh Linkner, 12/6/11

Short Term Performance Drove Up Venture Returns in Early ’11
Venture capital performance continued an upward trajectory as of the first quarter of 2011, the improvements were seen across all time horizons, with the exception of the 15-year numbers, and were driven by the strong one-year venture capital return of 18.5 percent.

Venture Financing was up in 2010
Overall, Cooley’s data pointed to a year marked by slow but steady improvement in the financing environment. In 2010, deal volumes reached a level not seen in the last five years. Median pre-money valuations increased across all deal stages and saw a significant increase in “up rounds” versus flat/down rounds. Up rounds represented 60% of all financings in 2010, a level not seen since 2008. Additionally, the percentage of recapitalization transactions fell in 2010, though the number of tranched deals remained flat from prior years.

New England Venture Capital Activity up 23%
There were 90 venture capital fundings in New England in Q1 2010, according to the PwC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report based on data from Thomson Reuters. That represents a 23% increase over the same quarter in 2009. The recently published report details venture capital activity nationally for Q1 2010, as well as 2009 and prior years.

Cooley LLP Presents Report on Venture Financings in Q1 2010
In their most recent survey of venture capital financing transactions, the law firm of Cooley LLP notes that pre-money valuations were up in Q1, and there was a material increase in the number of financings with pre-money valuations north of $100 million.

Venture Capital Trends 2006-2009
Fewer Series A financings were completed in 2009 than in 2006, 2007, or 2008. Pre-Money valuations on Series A financings dipped dramatically in early 2009, but rebounded in Q4. These are just a few statistics from the annual Venture Financing Report issued earlier this year by the law firm of Cooley Godward Kronish LLP.

SBICs in New England
A complete list of the licensed SBICs in New England, updated in April 2010, including contact information, web address and a description of the types of investments made by the firm.
