Nasir Ali on taking risks and the need for more seed-stage funding
Donna Abbott Vlahos
Nasir Ali, executive director of the SEED Capital Fund of Central, NY during the SmartStart Venture Forum in Albany, NY
Venture capitalist Nasir Ali[5] does not part with money easily.
Ali is executive director of the Syracuse-based Seed Capital Fund of Central New York[6] and managing director of StartFast Venture Accelerator. Together, the funds total $5 million.
I ran into Ali at the SmartStart Venture forum here in Albany on May 16,[7] and I asked him about the funding climate for startups.
Ali and investors like him—financiers and private funds that take a chance on early-stage companies—are more cautious than ever now as venture capital investments continue to net low returns.
“Venture capital funds have not had a very good performance track record following the 2000 dot.com bust, and all the things that have happened in years since. Those dollars are going continue to be tough for companies to find,” Ali told me.
There’s an even bigger funding challenge, particularly for upstate. Despite a rise in the number of seed funds for very-early-stage companies, those numbers are small compared to the region’s potential.
Once companies reach a certain point, they develop a level of visibility that gives them access to venture capital around the globe, Ali says.
Getting to that level is the precarious part.
“They need a lot of financial support to get them there. That earlier stage is where we need more funding,” he says.
The Seed Capital Fund has invested in two Capital Region companies in the last few years: the Paper Battery Co., a startup up in Troy that makes paper-thin batteries, and software company Chequed.com[8] in Saratoga Springs.
Allen covers education, restaurants, transportation and nonprofits.
References
- ^ Pam Allen (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Twitter (twitter.com)
- ^ Google+ (plus.google.com)
- ^ Nasir Ali (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Seed Capital Fund of Central New York (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ at the SmartStart Venture forum here in Albany on May 16, (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Chequed.com (www.bizjournals.com)