Venture capital—cash in search of a product: getting the librarian involved

About 99% of the articles that appear in The Electronic Library are actively solicited. I see it as part of my task as Editor to invite contributions that discuss and describe new ideas, issues, trends, events, developments and experience — the object being at least three‐fold: one, to draw such new topics, systems, products or happenings to the attention of readers; two, to enable them to be actively used; and three, to stimulate discussion and the generation of more new ideas. Take the article by Wilson on ‘Library venturing’ in this issue. Venture capital stems from the meeting between a penniless man with a vision, an idea, a technology but no cash to develop it and a rich man — an entrepreneurial financier — who has the money but nothing worthwhile to spend it on. Springing to attention in the USA in the late 1970s venture capital is now sweeping across Europe and the rest of the world. The European Venture Capital Association, created in 1983 as a result of a CEC initiative, recently published a booklet on raising venture capital in Europe. It considers the role of venture capital; starting up your own business and how to plan, market and finance it; and how to select, approach and negotiate with venture capital firms.