Len Jordan

Len Jordan is a general partner with Frazier Technology Ventures, a Seattle-based firm with $150 million under management.

VC cred: His firm has an operating relationship with Frazier Healthcare Ventures, with more than $1.2 billion under management, and together the two firms comprise the Pacific Northwest’s largest venture franchise. Frazier Technology Ventures has invested in mobile-technology firm SnapIn, and Web-based electronic-signature service DocuSign.

The next big thing: Internet and digital media will continue to grow. Cleantech, both on the smart-grid side and alternative-energy side, looks promising. Wireless and mobility shows promise.

Takeaways: “I think it will be sized for the market,” he says, “which probably means it will be a smaller industry. But I think it will have both elements of consolidation and diversification.” Some of the big firms will get bigger. But there will also be room for more boutique shops focused on an individual sector or location. “There will be sort of two types of firms…there will be clearly larger firms that are multistage, many stages, many geographies. Then you’ll have boutique firms focusing on geographies, stages, or sectors.”

He sees growth for both international venture capital firms and those focused on different regions of the U.S. “You have a whole series of geographies that didn’t exist 30 years ago. So much growth is happening outside the U.S. that you’re seeing growth of funds,” he says. “Within the United States, you’re seeing regional diversification. I think that will be a trend that continues. Early stage venture capital does tend to be a local business.”

Bobby R. Inman

Bobby R. Inman is managing director, Limestone Ventures of Austin, Texas.

VC cred: Investor in more than 30 early-stage companies including Dell and Oracle. Past experience as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, CEO of Westmark Systems, chairman and CEO of Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC), retired U.S. Navy admiral, director of NSA, and deputy director of the CIA.

The next big thing: “I keep looking desperately into the cleantech space…and frankly…storage and transmission are the two things to watch.”

Takeaways: Raising money will be more difficult, both for VCs and the companies they fund. “A lot of companies are scrambling.”

Those companies that do manage to stay in the game will have opportunities for new ventures. He is paying particularly close attention to areas receiving government-stimulus dollars now. “Out of all the research dollars, there will be new things coming out,” Inman says.

In addition to cleantech, there’s great promise in the emerging field of health care information technology. “I think where you come to the intersection of biology, chemistry, and physics with IT, there are going to be some very exciting breakthroughs.”

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