The exception is that a few sharp, experienced entrepreneurs like Wil can still quickly pull in modest amounts of capital from the personal wallets of a few name investors who under “normal” conditions would typically be writing much larger checks from their funds.  The evidence of this broader reality is overwhelming and is directly contrary to Wil’s personal experience: •    Venture capitalists invested 48% less capital in Southern California during the third quarter with $458 million put into 66 deals (Dow Jones Q309) •    Dramatic move away from first time/early investments – 60%

Santa Barbara-based RightSignature , online, software-as-a-service for collecting electronic signatures, took "Best of Show" at VentureNet Wednesday, after a day of presentations by thirteen Southern California startups. VentureNet, which is put on by the Technology Council of Southern California, included keynotes by Kelly Perdew of Rotohog and Zorik Gordon of ReachLocal, plus capital presentations from Cyber-Rain, FlipGloss Media, Viewdle, Social Approach, Ad.ly, Zadspace, RightSignature, Cogi, YouMail, ExpenseBay, AffordIt.com, SharesPost, and TrueCar. socalTECH.com was a media sponsor of the event. ...Tags:

Today Jeff's with MHS Capital with a different investment strategy. But Jeff's heart is with VentureNet, he's helped run the event for the past 5 years, and since it's less than a week away it's time for you to jump! He shuttled deals between 5 networks at Tech Coast Angels; over 8 years he's seen more than 100 companies get funded. Register today at VentureNet.org .