Picky Technology VCs: Been There, Heard That

By KAREN KAPLAN

Dec. 6, 1999 12 AM PT

Some of the Tech Coast’s most prominent venture capitalists had some advice for entrepreneurs at a meeting of the Southern California Software Council: Assume we’ve heard your pitch before.

Carrie Stone, a partner with La Jolla-based Enterprise Partners, said her firm receives 5,000 business plans a year but decides to fund only about two dozen. Other venture capitalists said they are just as picky.

With so many pitches coming in, the venture capitalists said they usually know a company’s industry better than the entrepreneurs themselves.

Curious about the most over-pitched business ideas? Web sites that sell pet food and online greeting cards, or catering to Generation Y.

Technology and the Internet Business

Karen Kaplan

Karen Kaplan covers science and medical research for the Los Angeles Times. She has been a member of the science team since 2005, including 13 years as an editor. Her first decade at The Times was spent covering technology in the Business section as both a reporter and editor. She grew up in San Diego and is a graduate of MIT and Columbia University.

Picky Technology VCs: Been There, Heard That

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