The Valley of Death Funding Gap

Most of us are familiar with the ‘Valley of Death’ concept as it applies to the funding gap between government backed research and private sources of growth capital. For those of you new to this idea, the valley is a time period which a government funded R&D company goes through as it transitions to a product company. It’s that time when government funding is not available for commercial activities and the company has not yet progressed to the point where it is fundable by the private sector. Many companies never make it through this stage. Its surprising that this gap persists and is even widening. It’s a ‘Mexican Standoff’ between the government and the private sector as to who will deal with the issue. And while the standoff continues, entrepreneurs and innovation commercialization suffers.

Gary Bloomer

Full Story: http://www.techranch.org/blog/2009/08/the-valley-of-death-funding-ga.php