Pressing on with government venture capital

After Republican legislators cut a $100 million state venture capital proposal from Gov. Tony Evers’ 2021-’23 budget, the governor now says he wants to use COVID-19 relief to achieve his goal. Bypassing the Legislature to create a so-called fund of funds with federal money could pose legal and constitutional challenges. And while some champion the idea as a way to energize a lagging startup culture in Wisconsin, others point to the track record of existing programs in Wisconsin and elsewhere that put taxpayer money at risk without producing meaningful returns. 

Read the full story here

Let private venture capital work its magic

Wisconsin has always struggled to attract venture capital. But this does not mean the solution is to involve state government, as Gov. Tony Evers has proposed.  

Government-funded venture investing is a proven bad idea. The many experiments with state-sponsored funds have shown that government, even with all of its resources, doesn’t play the venture capital game well.  

The existing data supports the conclusion that government-run funds generally make poorer investment decisions than private-sector venture funds.

Read the full story here