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The Current State of Venture Capital

December 10, 2011 - Sanjay Subhedar, Founding Partner of Storm Ventures discusses current trends in Venture Capital with Alan Olsen and Nadine Camara.

Summary:

All of the technology that has been implemented in the last 30 years in terms of computer storage, processing and bandwidth has made starting a business very easy. Within a short window of time a website can be built advertising products and services and instantly you have access to millions of customers. Apps for smart phones are creating the way we live our lives- Think for a second if there were a billion people walking around with these devices in their pockets. If a $1 app is made and sold to just a small percentage of the owners- 20 million dollars can easily be made over night.

Even though Venture firms can be found all over the world the bulk of the activity can still be found in Silicon Valley due to the unique environment that nurtures the industry. Some of the best educational institutions such as Stanford and Berkley can be found there. Many PhD’s are employed doing research funded by large sums of money provided by the department of defense. These technologies are then implemented in companies such as HP and Cisco.

About the Guest:

Prior to founding Storm Ventures in October 2000, Sanjay Subhedar was at E-TEK Dynamics, Inc. (fiber optic component manufacturer) since December 1997, serving most recently as its Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer. Sanjay played a key role in E-TEK’s growth from 400 employees to over 5000 employees in less than three years, E-TEK’s Initial Public Offering in 1998 as well as E-TEK’s merger with JDS Uniphase in July 2000.

Prior to ETEK Sanjay was the Chief Financial Officer for StrataCom, Inc. from its inception in January 1986 until its merger with Cisco Systems in July 1996.

Following StrataCom’s merger with Cisco Systems, in July 1996 he served as Vice President of Cisco’s WAN business unit until October 1997.

Sanjay also serves on the Board of Trustees of Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Board of Directors of The Indiana University Foundation and the Governing Board of the Indian School of Business.

Sanjay earned a B.S. from the University of Bombay, India and an M.B.A. from Indiana University. He was born in Mumbai, India.