Times are tough out there across the globe, and the turmoil certainly doesn't stop short of the startup sector, which, reports say, will be hit especially hard by this hot financial crisis everyone's hootin' and hollerin' about in 2009.
If a survey by the National Venture Capital Association is any indication, VC funding in 2009 is projected to be 10 percent lower than it was in 2008, which, on its own, was not a good year, investment wise, with funding falling 21 percent from 2007. Dow Jones Venture Source further cites IT investing in the fourth quarter of 2008 as "the slowest since 1998."
Silicon Valley, despite its interesting array of widgets, social nets, and flip flops, certainly felt the heat of the crisis during the last quarter of 2008, seeing VC funding drop 26 percent from the previous quarter, according to data from Thomson Reuters.
Oh, and forget you ever even learned the term "IPO." (Go ahead and retire that one when you're filing away "free market" and "credit.")
This news, on top of the fact that the phrase "online business model" still remains a bit of an enigma, doesn't exactly spell "good times" for budding entrepreneurs, or struggling startups, for the year ahead.
But a new Internet Evolution BIG (GIANT!) report suggests things aren't all bad, as VC funding hasn't disappeared altogether. It's still there (if you can finnnnd it!).
The report examines various industries that are still catching the eye of investors, including mobility; advertising and marketing; social networking; and "other 'odds and ends' of Internet software," citing some specific startups that have each managed to get their hands on at least $10 million during these times of economic turmoil, crisis, and overall badness.
But despite the silver lining (you'll see it... just rub your eyes and squint a little), report co-author Chris Poley suggests that, much like everyone else, the most today's Internet startups can realistically hope for is survival.
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