Market as a start

World venture market ends year on an optimistic note. Despite the fact that for the III quarter of 2010, venture capitalists invested U.S. $ 5.5 billion, up 5% from a year earlier, the total number of transactions increases. Overall, three quarters of the situation is quite positive: 2016 total volume of transactions in the $ 18 billion, an increase of 10%. Particularly increasing activity in trades together business angels and venture companies: if the first nine months of 2009, these transactions was only 59 at $ 236 million, but this year there were already 68, and the amount increased to $ 282 million noticeably increasing proportion of transactions early and seed stage - they had 20 and 34% of invested capital, whereas previously accounted for 15 and 31% respectively. "The positive trend shows the restoration of market liquidity and fundraising," - said the director of global research Dow Jones Venture Source Jessica Canning. True, there are also unexpected losses. Thus, investments in health care fell by 11% to $ 1.7 billion, and in the energy sector, although seen twice as many transactions, but the sum of their decreased by 28% to $ 359 million, however, health care still remains the most promising segment, and this decrease - a temporary market correction, says board member of the RVC Evgeny Kuznetsov. At the same time in the U.S. marked a serious increase in investment in business and financial services (121 transaction for $ 841 million against 103 deals for $ 708 million), while investments in business and financial web projects grew by 59% to $ 667 million Among the favorites, as predicted, IT-sector ($ 1.8 billion, an increase of 35%), and the volume of transactions in the software industry has grown by two-thirds to $ 1 billion issue of selection. Russian venture capital community, too, finishing the year with optimism, but rather restrained. Last week, the first 14 companies received the status of residents of a major project "innovative programs" - Skolkovo Science City, although a formal decision to run it was just a year. The total volume of Russian venture market, according to a single estimate of its members, has already reached 60 billion rubles. With the participation of major players, "Russian venture company" formed 10 funds totaling 22 billion rubles, in which the public funds accounted for about 12 billion rubles. Until the end of the year, according to a RVC, should result in the formation of two additional funds, bringing the total volume reached 25.5 billion rubles, or 0.5 billion exceeded the target. Of these funds invested 50 companies. This is slightly below the targets: it was assumed that by the end of 2010, the number of these companies will reach 65. In the RVC also gleaning money to their own ends 9% by investing in venture capital projects 6 billion. Despite this, the total investment has almost doubled in 2010 compared to the previous year, amounting to 2.7 billion rubles-lei. As "very good" estimate in the company entry into Western markets - the U.S. draft BrightSource Energy to develop solar thermal power plants. "It became a kind of" opening doors ": entering into this transaction, we have partnered with global venture capital firms, and then got a lot of new proposals for joint activities", - says Eugene Kuznetsov. However, almost two-thirds of the portfolio accounted for MER funds, formed in 2008. It is also clear that the real money invested so far account for only 20% of the total budget allocated to the company. "In Russia, the venture capital market has been a lack of professional institutional investors and venture capitalists, who can significantly improve the" climate "of venture capital industry in the country - said General Director of RMC and member of the presidential commission on modernization Igor Agamirzyan. Last week, President Dmitry Medvedev has promised that the state and in the future will not give up their money "in the most current system, the most important programs," but made it clear that he considers the activity of private investors in the venture capital market in Russia is clearly insufficient. "I hope that none of our business - public and private - not a feeling that this will occur only on the basis of state, because otherwise it will be a vicious circle. We never normal business innovation do not create "- he said. Public funds must be invested, but it can not last indefinitely, the goal is "absolutely private, freely functioning, independent of the state system", - stated the President. This year has clearly demonstrated the key problem of the market, "bare" financing was not created. Enough money, but the venture team, capable of a good find, evaluate deals, develop startups - small, and "funds without a crew" are brake industry, says CEO Serguei Beloussov Parallels. "Even the bad investments still generate at least some benefit, given the motion field, but with that many funds do not cope as well as their teams are not capable of this" - he said. "We are also experiencing the problem: the money to fund RunaCapital found quite easily, although the expected difficulties, and the team collected with great effort and continue to seek, - says the businessman. - As a result, people have 20-30 times more projects than a conventional foundation of our profile in Silicon Valley. " Angels and myths. The problem of seed investments - central to the industry: there is a gap between investors, accustomed to working with businesses and developers are often perceived as little money grant. "Exactly in the middle of an abyss, and hang the entire industry: the market has no konsalterov or packers, and for the seed stage to many specialized players, as an investor appears only at the end of the chain," - said Kuznetsov. However, professional venture capitalists do not prepare business schools and universities: to become a real business angel, you need the most to lose a lot of time and money by participating in start-ups, and their in Russia so far has been very little, he said. This is a chicken and egg problem: the same RMC seeks pro-angels, but they ought to have come from successful startups, and the successful startups do not have, because there was no one to invest in them, I agree Belousov. Market "angel" investments in Russia, there is little: the money with which to start a startup, usually come either from an already existing among the founders of the business, or be provided with separate private non-venture entrepreneurs, says adviser on innovation and high-tech leader Ernst & Young in Russia Yuri Ammosov. Almost all truly successful Russian startups have priority access to significant funding, he said. Talk about investments and launches projects in short supply, but the real deal on business angels can recall very rarely, I am sure Ammosov. Fund managers, in turn, complain of the excessive demands of the job seeker. Most of the startups now offered at best worked out at the "cheat and sell" the monetization does not think practically no one, says the director of venture capital funds of the Criminal Code, "Troika Dialog" Andrey Vakulenko. Priority - to make creating projects, in the sense of venture deals, profitability of the project - the second question, objected to the RVC board member Yevgeny Kuznetsov, "to capitalize and sell - it's an understandable problem, and not worth thinking about how to use each project to enslave the world: Google has in its time, too, was not all clear monetization that does not stop him from becoming a successful project, "- he said. "In California startups are relatively easily collect hundreds of thousands, sometimes without a prototype technology. In Russia, money in these circumstances is very difficult to get "- wonders Ammosov. The opposite side of the example also leads famous American project - Twitter Inc., Is now estimated to have $ 3.7 billion "Even Twitter, we consider a very dangerous investment: a coherent model of monetization is not, then there is no one yet knows how these billions of return, not to mention the majority of the proposals on the Russian market? "- says the manager," Troika Dialog ". Whose market bumps. As a result, despite the apparent positive developments, the Russian venture capital industry is now at a critical point: if in the near future will not be able to create an infrastructure "package" of startups and funds will not be able to form a professional team, the pressure of excess weight in the industry sent the money sooner or later to projects, invested "in order to plan" or the desire for "time to catch a wave," assured the participants of the market. The Russian market is overheated: so many schools and seminars "do it your start-up" is just due to a lack of good projects, and the message "must invest" the state is. But the concept of "boom" is always associated with the term "muddy water", and later the inevitable market failure of such projects only discourage new investors, I am sure Andrey Vakulenko. The risk of problems bad investments due to the availability of money to be invested "on schedule" for the market as a whole is, although it is not so great, said Serguei Beloussov. "I have never seen a venture fund that would set itself the task is to invest" - objects to the representative of the RVC Kuznetsov. However, according to the creator of Parallels, in part, "Investing for the sake of performance" is characterized as a time for public funds - and in Israel, Singapore and the United States. Yevgeny Kuznetsov, in turn, marks yet another aspect of the new branch is inevitable bad projects, but are more likely to lose the one who will go into it later. And such fears may well influence the decisions of investors. At the same time the risk of bad investments - "not a problem but a problem", says Eugene Kuznetsov: "It is not full of lumps, for 2-3 times are not passed crises, raising money for the first fund, not all care about the reputation and think that will be with them in these funds - this is the usual step of forming a mature market, - he said. - So the industry - both government and private sector - should be ready for decades, not very successful projects. " Aware of this problem and the country's leadership: Last week, Dmitry Medvedev supported the idea that the system "should be able to forgive the defeat," and recommended that legislators, regulatory bodies and the judiciary "to learn how to react to such things is more flexible than it was before." "Russia's integration into the global innovation process - this is two-way street. This should be a two-way movement of both capital and technology, - the general part-ner Helix Ventures Evgeny Zaytsev - Building innovative technology - a very lengthy process, and all participants must have patience. " Director general of the state corporation "RUSNANO" Anatoly Chubais, speaking at last week held the forum "Russia!" In Skolkovo, said he does not need to wait for a breakthrough year: "Other countries with better weather did it: Finland - 20 years, Taiwan - 25 years, Singapore - 30 years, Israel - 25 years "- he said. At the same time, he said, "RUSNANO" begins with the question "Is there a general nanotechnology?" By the end of the fourth year of existence will come on line in a hundred projects a total budget of 320 billion rubles.