21-Nov-07 4:00 PM CST

2007 Annual Forum on Venture Capital Trends

Thursday, November 8, 2007 -- Leading Australian and American venture capitalists provided the platform for an in depth discussion at Advance’s Second Annual Forum on Venture Capital Trends at Stanford University.

Members and guests were treated to a lively discussion on the current issues and trends relating to venture capital in Australia and, by extension, the United States. It is widely agreed that the US is the major world market for new media, communications and technology ventures.

The panel, which included Roger Buckeridge, John Scull, Brigitte Smith and Simon Anderson as moderator, shared insights on fundraising and the availability of institutional funds for Australian and cross over VCs and where VC firms are active in the market and their sector and stage focus. The discussion also looked at current cultural and management issues in taking products to market in the US and the strength of the venture ecosystem and areas for improvement.

"Recent market trends have affected the way entrepreneurs and managers work and subsequently the state and demand of the global market place for talent has been altered. What we are seeing more and more is shorter timelines to hit milestones and an increased velocity of business," said Simon Anderson.

Australia has been enjoying a much more sophisticated approach and higher quality of deals being made out of Australia than what we were seeing a year ago. Australian companies seem to be better targeting the right markets and using stronger management experience, product strength, defensibility and better measurement of costs to scale.

"Life science deals out of Australia have had the benefit of a stronger ecosystem for growth than software and Internet industries - perhaps in part due to the easier integration of life science entrepreneurs into the international research community," said Anderson.

The 2007 Annual Forum was sponsored by Wolf Blass and Dateline and Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. The panel discussion was held in an interactive format, allowing opportunities for questions and discussion.

View the webcast of this event below: