Venture capital is beginning to recover in Australia, according to Richard Llewellyn, CEO of investment company Nextec. Addressing a group of IT-focused company representatives in Sydney Wednsday night, Llewelyn, accompanied by Nextec director Michael Coomer and senior vice president John Curtis, called for calm in the wake of poor economic figures.
"Despite the crash, the best tech stocks are outperforming blue chip investments such as AMP and Lend Lease," Llewelyn said. "Seed capital is hard to raise anywhere at the moment, many investors are playing wait and see, but there are indications the market is about to thaw."
This is good news for IT companies with infrastructure, looking to expand into new markets and new technologies, and bad news for companies attempting to raise initial investments.
"The amount of venture capital is growing exponentially in Australia, with sectors such as network infrastructure and IT-based business solutions receiving the most attention," Llewelyn said.
Curtis identified what he terms as "the old economy's graceful migration into the new economy", a phase he believes will see IT business solutions providers come in to relative prosperity.
"There are many new opportunities emerging for technological and Web integration as the old economy pushes its way into the new economy," Curtis said. "The big companies will get bigger, but there will be opportunities along the way for other players to grow with them."
Curtis also tackled the notion that Australia is a poor seedbed for IT innovations due to our small population.
"Australia has the benefit of a very responsive market, you don't have to wait until after the Superbowl to sell, and you don't have to struggle to make yourself heard over the scramble of other voices," Curtis said. "Australia is a fantastic base to test the technology behind a business model, rather than attempt to make money from the business model itself."
Courtesy Australian Reseller News: http://www.arnnet.com.au