Tuesday, November 19, 2002

The Valley of In-Q-Tel

"Over the past year, Louie has emerged as a kind of valley kingmaker. In-Q-Tel has the goods. It offers something to start-ups that few others do these days: a steady source of contracts, solid financial backing and the chance to ally with other In-Q-Tel portfolio companies...In fact, it's been easier than Louie thought. He isn't even pounding the pavement. Rather, big-name venture capitalists like John Doerr at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers are coming to him...``We've become a port of call for top-tier funds,'' Louie says, sitting in his small corner office, a stone's throw from other VC firms."

"In-Q-Tel ``is like a baby with a beard,'' A.B. Buzzy Krongard, executive director of the CIA, told Government Executive magazine earlier this year. ``Everyone is rushing to see it.''"

"Another advantage of investing alongside In-Q-Tel is its reputation for rigorous scrutiny before investing. Todd Wakefield, the founder of Attensity, an In-Q-Tel start-up, says Louie's team took his software to CIA engineers and let them play with it for six months."

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4540623.htm

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