I love it: facts, information, surveys and information sources. You could have read here Monday, posted by me, how venture capitalist investment was up a bit in the second quarter of this year. And you can read here today, also posted by me, how venture capital investment dropped 51 percent in the second quarter. 
Contradictory? Yes. Venture Source said $5.27 billion on 595 deals. But Bloomberg cites a PriceWaterhouseCoopers and National Venture Capital Association survey saying $3.67 billion on 612 deals.
Both sources seem to agree, however, that things were slightly up from an even-worse first quarter, although way down from last year.
And the moral of the story? There’s an old saying: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.” In 30 years of business planning, every year I trust actual sales and entrepreneurs knowing the market more than market statistics and surveys.
If you’re working your startup right now, even if you’re going for VC investment, statistics mean next to nothing. What matters is your plan, your team, your market and how well you communicate that to investors.
(image: indecision, by sporadicity on Flickr)
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