From ventureeconomics

1. Generate deal flow. You can’t invest in companies you don’t see. Having a reliable source of investment opportunities is crucial to the success of any venture capitalist. There are many different ways to create deal flow, and it’s wise to use all of them. Among the more prolific are an individual’s network of entrepreneurs, former work associates, law firms, patent attorneys, consultants and other venture capitalists.

2. Keep an open mind. Many venture capitalists have declined an investment opportunity that earned a great return for those who invested in the company. One reason for rejecting companies is the belief that the technology will not work or cannot be developed. After doing this early in my career, I devised a question that I ask myself each time I see a company with a challenging product development problem: "What if it works?" Big money can be made investing in products that many believe cannot be developed. When evaluating a company I use the Ben Franklin technique of listing the plusses and minuses, with a third category for "unknowns" to guide my due diligence.

3. Follow the money. It’s easier to build a company investing in products that will be sold to customers who are making a profit and have discretionary spending. In the health care industry, hospitals have money to spend for medical devices, pharmaceuticals and equipment used by their medical staffs, and for medical information systems. Physician practices can sometimes be difficult customers - many don’t reserve a lot of capital for reinvesting. Selling capital equipment to university researchers is often problematic because of budget limitations.

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From ebizq.net

IBM today announced a new solution to help banks renovate their back-office systems and compete more effectively in the emerging “on demand” world.

The new Core Systems Transformation solution (CST) represents a $140 million investment by IBM. It is a comprehensive portfolio of transaction processing platforms and services from IBM, which allow banks to migrate their back-office systems to modern Internet architectures in a phased, risk-minimizing manner.

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From Forbes

US-based Blackstone confirms 1 bln usd investment in India

NEW DELHI (AFX) - Peter Peterson, senior chairman of the New-York based Blackstone Group, said the private equity fund company will launch operations and invest 1.0 bln usd in the booming Indian economy.

Peterson met Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambarm here to discuss the group’s investment plans.

‘We are impressed with India’s reforms. We have decided to give the highest priority in Asia to investing in India,’ Peterson told reporters after the meeting.

‘We have done an exhaustive study of India with McKinsey, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. India presents a very good opportunity for foreign direct investment. We know there are reforms in the financial system and that is one of the reasons we decided to come here.’

Earlier, the Asian Wall Street Journal quoted Blackstone chairman and chief executive Stephen Schwarzman as saying ‘we have allocated up to 1 bln usd for investment in India and will in due course be raising a dedicated fund for investment in the region.’

The Blackstone Group manages 14 bln usd globally and invests in real estate and corporate debt, as well as advises firms on restructuring.

Agence France-Presse reported that Finance Minister Chidambaram pledged comprehensive financial sector reforms yesterday to attract badly-needed foreign investment as the Congress government neared its one-year anniversary.

Chidambaram said the government plans to unveil a comprehensive policy for the banking and financial services sector by September, despite strong opposition from leftist allies.

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From bloomberg.com

China and India hold the most investment interest for U.S.-based venture capital companies, 20 percent of which plan to increase their global activity, a survey found.

India, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Israel and the U.K. round out the top eight target countries, according to a survey released today by Deloitte & Touche LLP and the National Venture Capital Association. The survey covered 222 U.S. venture capital firms.

“Most U.S. VC firms have an international strategy in place,” Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association, said in a statement.

A survey of 545 venture capital companies globally found the U.S. remains the most attractive investment destination, Deloitte and the association said. Of the U.S. venture capital firms that plan to invest abroad, 42 percent intend to do so with other investors that have a presence in that country and 39 percent plan to develop strategic alliances with non-U.S. firms.

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