The Top 100 “Most-Networked” Venture Capitalists

TechCrunch has crunched the data on a study by Yael Hochberg, Alexander Ljungqvist and Yang Lu titled “Whom You Know Matters: Venture Capital Networks and Investment Performance” and have found that better-networked VC firms experience significantly better fund performance.

A venture firm’s network in the study was defined as

being made up of all the other venture firms who co-invested with it in funding rounds. The more co-investors a venture firm has, the better its network. The better its network, the better its overall returns. The correlation between the size of a venture firm’s network and its returns may have something to do with better access to deal flow, talent, advisers, potential customers, and potential exits.

Find out who the Top 100 best networked VC firms are and read the rest of the story here.

Upcoming ANZA TechNet Events in Australia

This year’s Bridge to the US program launches in Australia 8-17 July, with a combination of events designed for our partners and allies in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. ANZA TechNet works with each partner to create a Bridge to the US program that delivers what they need to convince early stage companies with global appeal to take their first steps overseas, beginning with the US market and our Gateway to the US program.

In New South Wales we’ll be offering two teleconferences — one for Digital Media and Mobile companies and another for Security companies. We’ve assembled a panel of experts for each of these market sectors who will talk to companies about market opportunities live via video conference hookup from Silicon Valley.

In South Australia we’ll be participating in two roundtable luncheons designed to update participants on the current state of the US tech market and market entry options.

And in Melbourne, as well as Sydney and Adelaide, we’ll be hosting evening networking events. These are also excellent opportunities to meet with ANZA CEO Viki Forrest, who will speak at each event about the current state of the US market and talk with other Australian entrepreneurs who have participated in ANZA programs, like the Gateway and the Fast Track to the US.

To see the complete roster of July events, and registration details, click here.

Tips for Australian Companies on Raising Private Capital in Australia

At a recent ANZA-sponsored seminar here in Silicon Valley, we heard Tristen Langley, of Southern Cross Venture Partners tell a group of visiting Aussie start-ups to go back to Australia and “raise $400,000″ and then return to the US ready to do business.

If you’re an Aussie start-up wondering how to raise private capital at home before going global, we’ve come across an Australian Anthill story by Reuben Buchanan, “6 Tips for Raising Private Capital in Australia”. All of these tips will put you in good stead for raising more money later on in the US. (Read more)

LinkedIn vs. Facebook; Boring Underdog vs. Flashy Competitor

CIO reports that LinkedIn, the social media site for professional networking is poised for profitability and more immediate financial success than its flashy competitor Facebook. LinkedIn’s loyal 29 million user base may prove in the long run that slow and steady growth could win the social media race. And, maybe serious professionals aren’t all that into receiving virtual martinis and seeing colleagues’ vacation pictures during their work day — at least not at every social media encounter. (Read more)

It’s Not a Toy! The Rise and Necessity of Smartphones

They are no longer techie gadgets or status symbols, Blackberries, iPhones and their lesser known competitiors — or Smartphones — are fast becoming a necesarry tool of everyday American business culture. The New York Times reports:

For a growing swath of the population, the social expectation is that one is nearly always connected and reachable almost instantly via e-mail. The smartphone, analysts say, is the instrument of that connectedness — and thus worth the cost, both as a communications tool and as a status symbol.

“The social norm is that you should respond within a couple of hours, if not immediately,” said David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. “If you don’t, it is assumed you are out to lunch mentally, out of it socially, or don’t like the person who sent the e-mail.”

Hmmm. Think about it. And read more at “Smartphone Rises Fast from Gadget to Necessity” (registration may be required).