At its annual meeting, the National Venture Capital Association is expected to announce Wednesday morning an initiative designed to help reinvigorate the exit market amidst the most challenging environment VCs have faced in years.
Exits are the number one concern for venture capitalists, NVCA president Mark Heesen tells The Deal in Part 1 of our Behind the Money video conversation. Only seven venture-backed companies have gone public in the last five quarters, according to Heesen.
"At the end of the day, venture capital is all about returns," says Heesen. "VCs haven't been able to deliver returns to their LPs."
The latest numbers coming from the NVCA show that the closed IPO market wreaked havoc on VC performance in the fourth quarter of last year, when returns declined across most time horizons. The trade group's data on the first quarter has also been disappointing: VC investment plunged to a 12-year low, and fewer VC funds were raised in the quarter than in any quarter over the last five-plus years.
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