Early Adaptor

The Web Offers Best Venture Capital Returns

If you want to make money as a venture capitalist, the consumer Web offers the highest, most consistent returns, according to Steve Jurvetson. The low costs required to start these companies is a big part of the appeal, Jurvetson, a partner in Draper Fisher Jurvetson, said in an interview at the Nordic Green conference here this week. By contrast, biodiesel start-ups need millions to get through the experimental stage and then tens of millions to go into pre-production. Networking also works well with Web companies. A successful word-of-mouth campaign that costs almost nothing can propel growth rates. Skype in a few years collected more than 309 million members. Again, this is something a solar company can’t do. If Facebook had to climb on your roof for three days, erect several panels of solar-sensitive glass, and hand you a bill for $20,000 before you could use their product, it wouldn’t be that big.
Investor: Consumer Web best bet for high returns