Just a really quick follow-up on my last post regarding cleantech venture investments... Entrepreneurs need to realize that this is unlikely to change very soon.  Why? Because VCs themselves are still finding it hard to raise new funds.

Dow Jones put out their tally of VC fundraising in 1H10 today, and the headline was "US Venture Fund-Raising Up 13%".  I've seen people talking about how that's great news.  Not really.  Simply look at the very first data slide in their presentation and you'll see what I mean.  The totals are up compared to 1H09 because 1H09 was awful.  The dollar amounts remain way down from previous years, however.  

I said a while back that my guess was 2010 cleantech venture firm fundraising was going to end up being somewhere in between the 50% decline of 2009 and the "normal" level of previous years.  I may have been over-optimistic.

So entrepreneurs, just remember: If the VCs don't have dry powder, they can't spend it.  Be conservative, hoard cash, stay lean.