Tom Still, President of the Wisconsin Technology Council penned an article urging his state to embrace the lessons learned by Connecticut's Venture Capital Quasi-State Agency, Connecticut Innovations.
Read the full article here: Creating a state venture capital program should be a legislative goal
By Tom Still
Connecticut launched the nation’s first state-leveraged venture capital program 35 years ago. Today, more than 30 states have similar funds, including many of Wisconsin’s neighbors and peers.
The story of Connecticut’s success in building its supply of venture capital is among the reasons why Wisconsin should also embrace a bipartisan approach to developing sources of capital for its high-growth, early stage companies.
Connecticut has nearly 3.6 million people versus Wisconsin’s 5.7 million, but it routinely outperforms Wisconsin when it comes to landing its proportional share of venture capital. Since roughly the time Connecticut created the “Connecticut Product Development Corp.” to leverage private investments, about $6.6 billion has been invested in 502 in-state companies. Over that same period, $1.2 billion in venture capital has been invested in 166 Wisconsin companies. Full article online at: http://bizopinion.wisbusiness.com/2011/09/creating-state-venture-capital-program.html
Comments