Despite the rising pressures of inflation, the challenges of strained supply chains and the ongoing uncertainties of COVID, willingness to invest in businesses and the entrepreneurial spirit appear to be quite healthy. In 2021, global venture funding reached a record $621 billion, more than double the amounts of each of the last three years, according to Anand Sanwal, CEO and founder of CB Insights. U.S. venture funding also doubled to hit a record $311 billion in 2021, half the global total, with a record high for yearly deals at more than 12,200, reported CB Insights. “Early-stage deals were a key driver, accounting for 55 percent of total deals and signaling an even more robust U.S. venture market in 2022,” said a CB Insights report. The bears in the room quickly make comparisons to the dot-com bust of ‘99-’00. Sanwal is certainly not one of them. “It’s a facile argument they’ve been making for eight to 10 years,” he recently posted. Sanwal points to an expanding global map as one reason for optimism. Most venture funding deals still take place in Asia and the U.S. “But technology-driven innovation is coming from everywhere — Latin America, Africa, SE Asia, Europe, India, China, etc.” Activity also has been healthy across most, if not all, industries, he continued. “No industry is immune from digitization. From financial services to healthcare to industrials to retail, there are new technologies and new business models enhancing or upending these industries,” Sanwal argued. “Yes, there is certainly some exuberance and funding could pull back a bit, but the reality is that venture and private markets are big, growing fast, and here to stay,” said Sanwal. No doubt investors smell the money to be made. CB Insights global unicorn count hit 959 in 2021, up 69 percent from 2020, with a “staggering” 517 new companies hitting the “tres comas” valuation mark in 2021. All the while, Americans seem to be more enthusiastic than ever about starting up their own businesses. A recent survey of more than 1,200 adults by Digital.com, an independent review site for small business products and services, found that 43 percent of respondents plan to start a business in 2022. Fifty-five percent of aspiring new business owners said they will leave their current jobs within the next 12 months. Findings indicate that retail, business and finance, and computer and IT are the most popular industries for aspiring new business owners. Some of that, no doubt, could be “side hustle” fever driven by the flexibility of remote working, and most of those “new businesses” will never be large enough to require substantial investments in communications technology. But considering the rather tough conditions businesses are facing right now and have endured during the past two years, any indication of a willingness to invest, grow and launch is welcomed news to providers of business services. Showing the Money LETTER Martin Vilaboy Editor-in-Chief martin@bekabusinessmedia.com Bruce Christian Senior Editor bruce@bekabusinessmedia.com Brady Hicks Contributing Editor brady@bekabusinessmedia.com Percy Zamora Art Director percy@bekabusinessmedia.com Rob Schubel Digital Manager rob@bekabusinessmedia.com Jen Vilaboy Ad Production Director jen@bekabusinessmedia.com Berge Kaprelian Group Publisher berge@bekabusinessmedia.com (480) 503-0770 Anthony Graffeo Publisher anthony@bekabusinessmedia.com (203) 304-8547 Nazal Parvin Associate Publisher nazal@bekabusinessmedia.com (415) 516-7053 Beka Business Media Berge Kaprelian President and CEO Corporate Headquarters 10115 E Bell Road, Suite 107 - #517 Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 Voice: 480.503.0770 Email: berge@bekabusinessmedia.com © 2022 Beka Business Media, All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in any form or medium without express written permission of Beka Business Media is prohibited. ChannelVision and the ChannelVision logo are trademarks of Beka Business Media 6 CHANNELV ISION | JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2022
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