Venture Capital Investing on the Rise in the United States

A venture capitalist based in Denver, John McKowen draws on over two decades of experience. John McKowen provided venture capital to the Internet startup Navidec, which went on to become a billion-dollar listing on the NASDAQ National Market.

It is through venture capital investments that many startups and small businesses have managed to get off the ground and scale to become profitable companies. The sums invested by venture capitalists have been rising since 2014.

A venture capitalist is an investor who provides equity capital to companies that demonstrate a likelihood of long-term growth and profitability. In return for their investment, the venture capitalist is given a stake in the company. In 2000, venture capitalism reached its peak, with $119.2 billion being channeled into investments. This was attributed to the dot-com bubble, which occurred between 1995 to 2004. However, the number of investment dollars dropped the following year to $50.4 billion in 2001, and remained low for over a decade.

In 2014, the investments picked up again, hitting $60.7 billion. This investment approached the 2000 peak in 2018, reaching $118.3 billion. In 2019, venture capitalists invested $107.8 billion into startups and emerging firms.