What do VCs want ?

by Mark Prisk - Thursday, 24th April 2008 -

In a Dragons' Den-style series of pitches, 20 UK businesses flew out to Silicon Valey to confront an audience of VCs and local tech leaders. Were they up to Stateside standards? Mark Prisk, Shadow Minister for Business and Enterprise, gives us the lowdown in his third blog from the US.

Wednesday 23 April, 17:00

I was impressed by the general standard of presentation and so were the VCs.

Afterwards I asked some VCs for their overall impressions. They told me that while some of the ideas weren't new, what they were looking for was experience, the opportunity for monetisation and how they might oversee the venture.

That's because they expect to be hands-on as VCs, using both their business experience directly and more importantly their own network to leverage their investment. So when they want the potential business to have a presence in the Valley, it's a practical need, not a parochial mindset.

So if you are interested in VC support here their priorities are: how viable is this idea, how savvy are the team, and is this venture going to have a strong Valley presence?

I'll keep you posted.

Keep your eye on Real Business over the next few days to read more about Mark Prisk's Web Mission.

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