When National Venture Capital Association president Mark Heesen and next year’s chairman elect Dixon Doll both talked about possible public policy challenges facing the industry due to the changing political climate, each urged active participation by VCs in promoting industry interests in areas such as immigration, corporate governance and tax policy.
Both encouraged education of policy makers on the history of venture capital in promoting job growth and economic expansion, and warned of the dangers of the industry being lumped into new regulation and disincentives aimed at private equity firms and hedge funds. To their credit, each claimed confidently that if venture capitalists could make their case heard, their interests would carry the day based on the merits.
But Doll hedged a bit, declaring that if Democrats win the White House next year, it may be harder.
Soon after, without aiming the barb at anyone in particular, conference Special Achievement Award honoree Reid Dennis - a venture capitalist of 55-year standing and founder of Institutional Venture Partners, pointed to the event that revived the venture capital industry after a strong start and virtual death in the mid 1970s. That was when after being told the Democratic Congress would not even address capital gains in 1977, an exhaustive survey conducted by the American Electronics Association showing the overall tax return on venture capital investment convinced Jimmy Carter, prompted by California Democratic senator Alan Cranston, to reversed disastrous policies instituted by the Nixon administration that were killing investment.
Soon after, came the electronics and biotechnology revolutions fueled by professional venture capital firms. - Clifford Carlsen
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