National Venture Capital Association Commemorates 35th Anniversary

Market Wire, February, 2008

23. One quarter of venture-backed companies that are now public were founded by a foreign born national.

24. Venture capital investment in a company is typically five to 10 years in length -- often longer but rarely less.

25. Venture capital investment has consistently outperformed the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ for the 10 and 20 year time horizons for decades.

26. There are fewer than 800 venture capital firms in the United States.

27. Venture capital accounts for just 0.2 percent of U.S. GDP but is responsible for 10 percent of all U.S. jobs and 18 percent of U.S. revenues.

28. Since 1973, close to 3,000 venture-backed companies have gone public on the U.S. stock exchanges.

29. Since 1973, more than 4,000 venture-backed companies have been acquired for their innovations and business models.

30. In 2007, U.S. venture capitalists invested $1.4 billion in China and $1.0 billion in India.

31. The average number of company boards that venture capitalists sit on is 4.

32. One out of every five deals in 2007 had a corporate venture capital investor.

33. The NVCA has a membership of more than 4,000 venture capitalists and a staff of 12.

34. The majority of venture capitalists were once entrepreneurs, scientists or engineers themselves before they began investing.

35. Fifty-five new venture capital funds were raised in 2007.

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) represents more than 470 venture capital firms in the United States. Founded in 1973, the NVCA's mission is to foster a greater understanding of the importance of venture capital to the U.S. economy, and support entrepreneurial activity and innovation. According to a 2007 Global Insight study, venture-backed companies accounted for 10.4 million jobs and $2.3 trillion in revenue in the United States in 2006. The NVCA represents the public policy interests of the venture capital community, strives to maintain high professional standards, provides reliable industry data, sponsors professional development, and facilitates interaction among its members. For more information about the NVCA, please visit www.nvca.org .

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