这几天为汉理资本客户、在和红杉资本(Sequoia
Capital)打交道,今天还去了它们北京办公室,于是就想起今天在飞机上读到的有关当年红杉资本创立初期、鲜为人知的一段故事
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红杉资本以投资雅虎、思科、谷歌、Sun
Micro等500多家高科技公司,而成为全球/美国顶级的风险投资基金,被誉为“创业者背后的创业者”,而投资该基金也是“难上加难”(by
allocation), 要成为红杉的LP,
就好比要成为其投资公司那样难!红杉中国基金,则有沈南鹏、张帆领衔,近两年已投资近40家国内企业。
然而,
就在上世纪70年代初,一家颇具规模的投资上市公司的基金“资本集团”(Capital
Group)欲进入风险投资,他们在1971年,在硅谷与Don
Valatine一起吃了晚饭,就决定和他合作开展新的业务。
然而,资本集团两次董事会,均未全体董事同意进入新的领域,
其中资本集团创始人Jonathan Bell
Lovelace(JBL)表示赞成,还有另外两位董事:Shanahan和Newton,而有一位坚决反对、一位弃权(创始人儿子)。
三位董事并未气馁,既然不能从资本集团的机构客户融到第一笔资金、而他们又想小试牛刀,他们几个人自己掏出一百万美元,起初投资了三个项目;
后来,这三个项目当中,一个失败了,一个打平,另外一个就是投资AMD,大获成功。
于此同时,资本集团把风险投资交给由Valentine带队的团队,更名为“红杉资本”。此时,基金的投资人从最早的福特基金会投资三百万美元(差点撤出),到几个月后,又有GE退休金投资三百万美元、到Alcoa、Armco、耶鲁大学头批投资红杉资本。
回头看看当年红杉资本创立时最初的投资、最初的融资以及现在的成功、辉煌,也让我感到,中国的风险投资和股权私募投资领域,好比像美国上世纪的七、八十年代,刚刚起步、方兴未艾。
待到明年创业板的推出,国内高科技、创新类企业的崛起和成长,将有更多的环境、体制保证,这也将给中国的创投、股权私募投资基金,带来前所未有的新的机遇!
2007/12/3 于北京
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Source Link>>Blog:
Feed>>Publish Date: 12/4/2007 7:14:03 AM
>>Keywords: capital
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