????總的來說，恩頤投資現(xiàn)有285家活躍的組合公司，每家公司的投資額從不到100萬美元至5,000萬美元以上不等。公司共有13支基金，其中8支的成立時(shí)間要追溯到1994年。研究公司Preqin的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，這8支基金中有6只基金（2009基金的表現(xiàn)尚未評估）的內(nèi)部回報(bào)率位列所有風(fēng)投公司的前25%。恩頤投資長期投資者、雅培資本公司（Abbott Capital）的總裁喬納森?羅斯表示，“（內(nèi)部回報(bào)率）對外界來說只是一個(gè)指數(shù)而已。現(xiàn)在同一支基金會(huì)從事很多種不同的業(yè)務(wù)。但如果看看投資者獲得的回報(bào)就會(huì)知道（恩頤投資）的表現(xiàn)要比這些基金好太多了?！?/p>

????恩頤投資每一項(xiàng)投資決定遵循的流程都是一樣的，由深入了解該行業(yè)的員工小組牽頭。如果該小組想投資，會(huì)把項(xiàng)目提交給恩頤投資所有的合伙人；全體合伙人每周一都會(huì)在一間無窗的會(huì)議室中開會(huì)，經(jīng)過認(rèn)真的討論，然后進(jìn)行兩輪投票。第一次投票，行業(yè)專家合伙人可以投YE（積極支持）、YS （有保留的支持）或NO （反對）。如果一項(xiàng)新投資獲得YE或YS多數(shù)票，或一項(xiàng)后續(xù)投資獲得YE或YS的超多數(shù)票，就會(huì)把相關(guān)投資計(jì)劃進(jìn)而交給公司18位最高級別的合伙人進(jìn)行最終投票。

????2008年恩頤投資決定投資后來成為Groupon的小型芝加哥創(chuàng)投公司，當(dāng)時(shí)走得也是這樣的流程。當(dāng)初這個(gè)項(xiàng)目得到了1999年以來一直執(zhí)掌恩頤投資的執(zhí)行合伙人彼得?巴利斯的支持，當(dāng)時(shí)Groupon的名字還是The Point，“讓一群人在限定的時(shí)間內(nèi)完成同一件事情”的定位也有些模糊；比如，加入用戶對電話公司的附加費(fèi)心存不滿，他們就可以登陸網(wǎng)站，聯(lián)合起來向電話公司施加壓力。

????之前已有兩家風(fēng)投公司拒絕了The Point公司，一部分原因是它希望獲得高估值，但仍然缺乏能創(chuàng)造收入的真正戰(zhàn)略?！爱?dāng)初（我們討論時(shí)）合伙人們非常擔(dān)心，”巴利斯回憶稱?！坝行┤藫?dān)心群體行動(dòng)可能會(huì)有負(fù)面影響。而且，就算我們能降低這個(gè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，我們怎么才從這個(gè)項(xiàng)目上掙到錢呢？”

????巴利斯提出：群體行動(dòng)的理念會(huì)產(chǎn)生很大的影響力，而且The Point的創(chuàng)始人之前的一家印刷科技公司InnerWorkings也曾給恩頤投資帶來過回報(bào)。

????進(jìn)入投票程序時(shí)，巴利斯的所有合伙人都投了YE。第二天，恩頤投資就開出了480萬美元的支票，并開始幫助其打造業(yè)務(wù)。 “我們曾支持展開各種實(shí)驗(yàn)，包括讓公司大樓里的人通過報(bào)名獲得一樓漢堡包店內(nèi)的折扣等等，”巴利斯解釋說?！斑@種模式一發(fā)展起來，我就催著【首席執(zhí)行官】安德魯?梅森，讓他們加快發(fā)展。我告訴他們，他們的擴(kuò)張速度應(yīng)該達(dá)到每個(gè)月4個(gè)城市，他們確實(shí)做到了。直到他們的擴(kuò)張速度開始提高至10個(gè)城市。”

????自從今年6月申請上市以來，Groupon并不順利，有人認(rèn)為它的會(huì)計(jì)方法過于雄心勃勃。但上周四晚，它仍成功籌得了7億美元的IPO資金，首日上市截至收盤，市值已接近170億美元。這意味著恩頤投資回報(bào)豐厚，其所持14.6%股權(quán)當(dāng)初投資額僅1,480萬美元，而且通過分紅和非公開轉(zhuǎn)售，早已收回了7,500萬美元。

????除了嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)臎Q策流程，恩頤投資的成功關(guān)鍵還在于公司一直保持資金充足，并能投資不同行業(yè)、不同階段的項(xiàng)目。本世紀(jì)初， Benchmark Capital投資公司、紅杉資本（Sequoia Capital）等競爭對手紛紛縮減基金規(guī)模，恩頤投資卻依然維持了大規(guī)模。此外，恩以資本還是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)泡沫破滅迄今唯一一家成功發(fā)行逾20億美元基金的公司，而且它已經(jīng)發(fā)行了兩支這樣的基金，分別是在2006年和2009年。相比之下，2009年發(fā)行的風(fēng)投基金平均籌資規(guī)模僅1.05億美元。

????當(dāng)醫(yī)藥業(yè)投資者不再重點(diǎn)投資新藥開發(fā)項(xiàng)目，恩頤投資卻繼續(xù)在醫(yī)院實(shí)驗(yàn)室中仔細(xì)搜尋?！拔覀冋谶M(jìn)入一個(gè)規(guī)模為王的時(shí)代，”恩頤投資的一位合伙人戴維?莫特稱。“還能整個(gè)項(xiàng)目從頭跟到尾的風(fēng)投公司已經(jīng)不多了?！?/p>

????Overall, NEA has 285 active portfolio companies, and its investments range from less than $1 million to more than $50 million. It has 13 funds in total, eight of which have been raised since 1994. Of those eight, research firm Preqin says, six have performed in the top quartile of venture capital firms, based on an industry metric called internal rate of return (the 2009 fund hasn't been assessed yet). Says Jonathan Roth, president of longtime NEA investor Abbott Capital: "To the outside it's an index, because they've got a single fund doing all sorts of different things. But when you look at the returns to investors, you realize that it's much, much better than that."

????In every investment decision at NEA, the process is the same, led by small teams of staffers with detailed knowledge of a particular sector. If that team wants to invest, it will bring it to the full NEA partnership, which meets every Monday in a windowless conference room. After intense discussions, there are two votes. In the first, the industry expert partners vote either YE (yes enthusiastic), YS (yes with reservations), or NO (no). If a majority votes YE or YS for a new deal, or a supermajority does so for a follow-on investment, the deal then moves to a final vote by the firm's 18 highest-ranking partners.

????That's what happened with NEA's 2008 decision to invest in the small Chicago startup that would become Groupon (GRPN). Championed by NEA's managing general partner Peter Barris, who has led NEA since 1999, it was called The Point, with a vague focus on collective activism; phone company customers, say, upset about a surcharge, could connect online and exert pressure.

????Two previous VC firms had turned The Point down, in part because it wanted a high valuation without any real strategy for generating revenue. "There was a lot of heartburn around the table," recalls Barris. "Some people worried there would be negative ramifications from collective action. And even if we could mitigate that risk, how would we monetize it?"

????Barris pushed forward: The idea of collective action was powerful, and The Point's founder had previously made money for NEA with a company called InnerWorkings (INWK), a print-technology company.

????When it came time to vote, all of Barris's partners said YE. NEA cut a $4.8 million check the next day and got to work helping shape the business. "We were supporting different experiments, including a feature where people in the building could sign up to get a discount at a burger place on the first floor," Barris explains. "Once that model got traction, I became a pain in the ass, pushing [CEO] Andrew Mason to grow quickly. I told them they should be expanding to four cities a month, which they did. Until they began expanding to 10."

????Groupon has stumbled since filing to go public this past June, using accounting methods some found overambitious. But it still managed to raised $700 million in its IPO last Thursday night, and close its first day of trading at a valuation of nearly $17 billion. That represents a massive return for NEA, which invested just $14.8 million for a 14.6% ownership stake and already has received $75 million via a dividend and private share sale.

????The key to NEA's success is not only its decision-making process but also its commitment to maintaining very deep pockets and its ability to invest across both sector and stage. When rivals like Benchmark Capital and Sequoia Capital cut back on fund sizes in the early 2000s, NEA stayed big. It is the only firm to have raised more than $2 billion for a fund since the dotcom bust, and it's done it twice, in 2006 and 2009. For context, the average VC fund raised just $105 million in 2009.

????When health care investors began de-emphasizing costly drug development deals, NEA kept scouring hospital labs. "We're entering an era where scale matters," says David Mott, an NEA partner. "There aren't many other firms left out there that can do it from beginning to end."