WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Nation’s venture capitalists like what they see in Washington

Once again putting the lie to the worn-out talking point that Washington’s business climate is less than friendly, the nation’s venture capitalists poured more than $170 million into startups in the Evergreen State during the first three months of this year.

 That’s almost twice the amount brought in during the same period in 2013, and brings to a cool $1.1 billion the total VC investments in new Washington businesses in the last five quarters.  Software and biotech companies continue to be the targets for most of the venture capital, strengthening the state’s reputation as a fertile incubator of 21st-century businesses.

Analysis of the investment data contained in new reports by Dow Jones and PriceWaterhouseCoopers also gives weight to efforts of legislators to raise the profile of STEM education in public schools, colleges, and universities.  For those who question just how important science, technology, engineering and math courses are, here are the categories of Washington startups receiving the most VC attention recently, in descending order:

  • Software
  • Biotechnology
  • Media/Entertainment
  • Medical Devices/Equipment
  • Industrial/Energy
  • Electronics/Instrumentation
  • Financial Services
  • IT Services

According to a study done a few years ago by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire, the average venture-capital investor thinks long and hard before writing a check, ultimately rejecting 99 out of every 100 opportunities considered.  These are clearly not people who carelessly fling money around, and for Washington to be the home of so many cutting-edge businesses who survived the VC vetting process is a great sign for the state’s economy, today and tomorrow.

Oh, but there’s bad news for the voices – and they know who they are – who love to lament that Washington businesses are trampling one another in a race to relocate to neighboring states.  Of the 30 major VC investments made in this neck of the U.S. so far this year, 26 were for Washington businesses.  Four were for Oregon startups.  The total for Idaho, the business-magnet on our eastern border, was . . . well, you don’t need to be a STEM graduate to figure this one out.