Why are we doing this?
START@SPARK, March 25, 2009
When we launched Spark Capital in 2005, we were convinced that a revolution was taking place at the conflux of media, entertainment, and technology. Four years later, the pace of that revolution has exceeded even our own expectations, as the movement of people and content online has driven innovations across all segments of the value chain. A lot has happened in the past 4 years and we have been right in the middle of the action. Yes, we are in a global economic recession and yes the new media markets are being impacted. The current environment has made it difficult for entrepreneurs seeking capital to start companies. Investors, including VCs, Angels and Strategic Investors are distracted from early stage investments due to a combination of portfolio triage, concern about capital availability, and downright confusion over where to invest. The options for starting new companies have evaporated along with financial markets and market caps.
So, this must be a terrible time to fund a start-up company. Correct? Au contraire. This may be the best time in the last 8 years to start a company. While capital is scarce, the tectonic plates continue to shift creating major rifts. The walls are coming down and the barriers to entering new markets are falling along-side.
We don’t expect the economic woes to evaporate soon; however, we are long term investors. We are looking forward to what will happen in 4 years rather than in the next 4 months. We see a clear opportunity to partner with talented entrepreneurs who possessing the vision and commitment that transcend current market conditions. We have prided ourselves on being aggressive and funding disruptive, early stage companies.
