CARLSBAD, California -- Silicon Valley venture capitalists are ready and willing to invest in Hollywood startups, the money men said at the EnterTech conference Tuesday.
But they expressed frustration at the way much of Hollywood flies in the face of traditional VC business plans. It's all about big studios vs. tiny companies; freelance producers vs. loyal employees; gross-points stars vs. equity-holding secretaries; and, most important, one-punch hits vs. evolutionary products.
"Convergence," snorted Geoffrey Yang of Institutional Venture Partners in Menlo Park. "I'm going to be dead by the time it happens, and I'm not even that old."
For all his frustration, Yang says he flies frequently down to the Los Angeles area for business. Venture capitalist Tim Draper from Menlo Park has established the Zone Club and affiliated ventures to boost the area's high-tech profile.
Taking calls: Hummer Winblad queen bee Ann Winblad said she's often taking calls from entertainment execs on cell phones eager to set up four-hour meetings in the Bay Area.
She wishes they'd learn to use email. At the same time, she expressed a healthy respect for what Hollywood does, and a certainty that digital interactivity won't replace the craft of storytelling. "I certainly don't want to be writing my own end to Star Wars."
