Two years ago, the limited partnerships and unlisted incubators that make up the majority of the venture capital houses (VCs) dotted in and around Silicon Valley and Massachusetts in the US, and London and Cambridge in the UK, were approached daily by entrepreneurs with investment opportunities looking to tap into the potential Klondike offered by the internet.
Because investors were fearful of being the hi-tech equivalent of the Decca talent spotter who turned down The Beatles, certain speculations were a tad over-optimistic.
