互聯(lián)網(wǎng)無泡沫？你錯了！
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???? ????蕾茜對這類擔心嗤之以鼻，她表示：“估價理應反映其未來前景，但這種前景有可能永遠無法變成現(xiàn)實。風險資本家的本職工作就是冒險根據(jù)這樣的估價下賭注?！?/p> ????此言不假，但并非一向如此。過去兩年里，投資行為已經(jīng)發(fā)生了改變。難道帕特里科夫投資的公司在過去半年里“未來前景”翻了2.5倍？或者由于市場形勢一片大好，風險資本家欣喜若狂，被沖昏了頭腦，而一頭栽了進去而不能自拔？至少，根據(jù)以上數(shù)據(jù)，如果還說風險資本家是在依照估價進行投資就很難站得住腳了。 ????我們再來看看蕾茜更為鋒芒畢露的觀點：即使風險資本家被沖昏了頭腦（她并不相信存在這種可能性），也不等于就會形成泡沫，因為受到影響的只有“局內人”。不會出現(xiàn)大量美國人因此迅速破產、失業(yè)，需要向政府申請食物券的情形。 ????她的看法忽略了一點：事實上，風險資本家并未將絕大多數(shù)風險資本用于投資。風投公司凱鵬華盈（Kleiner Perkins）和紅杉資本公司（Sequoia Capital）等機構的投資活動基本上都是代表其他公司或個人進行的。這些機構或個人包括學校教師、非營利性基金會、大學捐款、以及公共養(yǎng)老金領取者等等。 ????風險資本導致的投資泡沫殃及最深的是這些個人或者組織，而不是貝寶（PayPal）黑手黨成員，后者具備較強的能力承受這類損失。風險資本中可能包括一小部分這類組織的投資組合，但是表現(xiàn)理應好于公共股票和債券的正是這部分投資組合。當預期中的最佳投資表現(xiàn)差強人意，投資人就得冒險承擔巨大的未來債務。當然，這種泡沫造成的破壞力之深、范圍之廣尚無法與住房危機相提并論，但誰說泡沫一定得像海嘯一樣可怕？ ????但我也不說互聯(lián)網(wǎng)泡沫已經(jīng)萎縮了，盡管有人這么說。公共市場一直以來過于動蕩不安，因而難以對之做出長期性總結。而且，上周的首次公開募股大災難基本上還是限于不太知名的股票發(fā)行商（讓我們拭目以待，看下個月團購網(wǎng)站Groupon和社交游戲公司Zynga公開上市的情形會怎樣）。此外，據(jù)報道，就在上周四，另外一家團購網(wǎng)站也以7億美元的估價融到了資金（指專門面向兒童的團購網(wǎng)站Zulily——譯注）。 ????因此，或許此輪互聯(lián)網(wǎng)泡沫已然宣告終結，或者它也可能仍然在持續(xù)中。無論是哪種情形，它都切實確在，而且不容忽視。 ????譯者：大海 |
???? ?? Lacy basically shrugs off such concerns, saying that "it's the job of a VC to make risky bets at valuations which are supposed to reflect future promise and may never materialize."such concerns, saying that "it's the job of a VC to make risky bets at valuations which are supposed to reflect future promise and may never materialize." ????True, but that's always been the case. What we've seen over the past couple of years is a change in investment behavior. Did the companies in Patricof's queue gain 2.5x in "future promise" over the past six months? Or have VCs gotten caught up in a market euphoria that has clouded their judgment? At the very least, the data makes it impossible to plausibly say that it's just been VC business as usual. ????So we move onto Lacy's more salient point: Even if venture capitalists have lost their heads (which she doesn't believe they have), it doesn't constitute a bubble because only "insiders" will be felled. No rash of Average Joe bankruptcies or mass layoffs or food stamp applications. ????What this ignores, however, is that venture capitalists don't actually invest the vast majority of venture capital. When firms like Kleiner Perkins or Sequoia Capital invest, they are mostly doing it on behalf of others. School teachers. Non-profit foundations. University endowments. Public pensioners. ????These are the people and groups who get most burned by a VC-fueled investment bubble. Not a few members of the PayPal mafia who can better afford to take the loss. Venture capital may only comprise a small part of such groups' investment portfolios, but it is the part that is supposed to outperform public equities and bonds. When expected alpha goes rotten, future obligations get put at risk. It's not as broadly-devastating as the housing crisis, but since when did a bubble have to be of the same mass as a tsunami? ????I also am not yet ready to say that the bubble has deflated, although others are beginning to make that case. The public markets have been too volatile to reach long-term conclusions, and the week's IPO debacle mostly was limited to low-profile issuers (let's wait until next month, when Groupon and Zynga are expected to price). Plus, just today another daily deals site raised money at a reported $700 million valuation. ????So maybe this Internet bubble is already over. Or perhaps it has a bit more runway. Either way, it is real. And it matters. |
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