NVCA Today

Kate Mitchell Opens NVCA Annual Meeting

When many industry conferences are experiencing declines in attendance and struggling to attract sponsors, the 2009 NVCA Annual Meeting, held on April 29-30 in Boston, experienced near record attendance levels and strong sponsor support. Thank you to all our member firms that sent representatives to this important industry gathering. 

The conference served as an excellent forum for venture capitalists to catch up with peers, foster new relationships, hear the latest strategies for navigating these tough economic times, as well as hear insights on what the future holds.  NVCA also launched its new four pillar plan for helping improve liquidity for venture-backed companies at the meeting.  The feedback we received from attendees has been very useful and will be incorporated as we move forward. (click here for more information about the Four Pillar Plan).

Deviating from the past, the conference opened with a networking lunch allowing for increased networking time.  The first keynote was from the Chairman of one of the world's largest corporations and users of technology, Lee Scott of Walmart Stores.  His experience of applying technology to better serve customers, cut costs and foster growth and sustainability provided lessons for all. Next, NVCA's President Mark Heesen, interviewed by Annual Meeting Chairperson Kate Mitchell, shared his analysis of the Obama Administration's first 100 days and discussed our industry's top priority public policy issues.  Never has there been a time when Washington was so relevant to our every day business.

The latter part of the first day was spent in industry specific breakout sessions.  Our session leaders put together terrific panels on the sectors receiving the most attention from venture investors, including cleantech, enterprise and consumer technology and the lifesciences.  These breakout sessions were also a great time for industry specific networking. The day ended with our traditional buffet reception where there was lots of discussion among attendees about portfolio companies, recent and potential exits, and possible partnerships and collaboration.

The second day started off by exploring the challenges that exist within our capital markets system, potential solutions and what is being done to try and jump start liquidity for our community. The capital markets panel was followed by an extremely entertaining interview with Jonathan Bush, CEO of athenahealth.   Keeping with tradition, our last panel was the most well attended when Rebecca Buckman of Forbes Magazine interviewed three leading Limited Partners about the delicate LP/GP relationship.

The conference was sponsored by Comerica, Goodwin Procter, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, NYSE Euronext, Jefferies and Google.  We encourage members to thank them for their support as you work with them in the trenches.