2006年3月2日,在清华大学主楼报告厅,KPCB 的合伙人,曾在早期投资 Google、亚马逊、康柏、网景等一系列著名公司的风险投资大师——约翰·多尔一出现,便被慕名而来的年轻的中国创业者们迅速层层包围。虽然在包围圈中约翰·多尔听到的英语良莠不齐甚至乱七八糟,但他至少听明白了这些年轻人都希望自己的创业计划得到大师的指点。“即使拿不到投资,我也希望能得到投资人的建议,哪怕是打击也好。”一位创业者这样说道。今天,即使是还没毕业的大学生,也开始娴熟地写起商业计划书,并不失时机地寻找和风险投资(VC)接近的机会。因为他们知道有了 VC 的帮助, 自己的商业梦想就有可能瞬间变为现实。但在10多年前,这种情况是令人难以想像的。1993年,中国的证券市场才刚刚启动。风险基金更是天外来物,没人知道是干什么用的。在1998 年之前,IDG、华登国际和汉鼎亚太等 VC 先行者,投资中国的方式竟然主要是成立合资公司,“1992年到 1995年。国内的合资公司大多都失败了,太难管理了。”汉鼎亚太创始人徐大麟如此感慨,北京燕莎百货便是汉鼎亚太以合资方式投资的,现在尚未实现退出。当时国内并不具备高科技投资的条件,不少基金在与政府合作投资基础设施建设。赛富基金的首席合伙人阎焱当初就代表 AlG 基金投资国内的高速公路等基础建设,他回忆说：“当时就像是在过一条黝黑的隧道,前面一片漆黑,什么也看不见。只能凭着感觉往前摸索。” 1998年,互联网神奇的火种在美国硅谷点燃,并迅速而疯狂地蔓延到中国。1999年前后的 VC 圈如同在一片漆黑中看到了一丝阳光,随即便陷入了集体的非理性状态：“每天都有新的 idea 去融资,就像站在树下摇钱一样。”凯雷投资董事总经理何欣至今仍清楚地记得当时在硅谷火爆的一本书《The new new thing》。于是在每个人都标榜自己“超新”的时候,VC 们也生怕自己不够新潮,以至于“当时都是穿牛仔裤上班”。 VC 们从1998年前的冻土期迎来了第一个发芽的春天,但是好时光似乎转瞬即逝。呼啸而来的纳斯达克崩盘,让还沉浸在狂欢中的 VC 们集体跌入冰冻期。当时包括高盛投资、J．H．Whitney、微软的风险投资部门等都纷纷撤出中国,留在中国的 VC 也纷纷要求所投公司改变商业模式或削减开支。2001-2003 年间,VC 在中国开始进入蛰伏期, “当时我们办会的时候。VC 们的上座率非常高,因为只有在冰冻的时间,大家才又开始聚在一起互相取暖。”某杂志的主编回忆说。从2003年底携程上市开始。随着盛大、百度、分众等一浪高过一浪的纳斯达克上市热潮,VC 似乎又迎来了新的春天。2004年6月．以硅谷银行率领30家 VC 访华为转折点,随后包括 Sequoia 在内的硅谷顶级 VC 终于在中国落地生根,让投资中国的热度在今年达到10多年来的最高点。对于中国经济,VC 过去10多年的跌宕起伏在绝对数量上带来的影响非常有限。但 VC 就如同是在窗户纸上捅破的一个小孔,透过它,窗外的新鲜空气涌入,彻底打破了屋子里面原本沉闷的气氛。于是一批有史以来最阳光的创业者成功了,而更多的人也开始相信创业不是少数人的游戏。这些“社会贡献”虽然令人感慨, 但毕竟是 VC 这门生意的副产品。对 VC 自己来说,过去的10年究竟意味着什么?在无数财富的蒸发和变现背后,又沉淀了哪些在中国做生意的“真理”? On March 2, 2006, at the lecture hall of the main building of Tsinghua University, KPCB’s partner John Dole, a venture capital guru who had previously invested in a series of well-known companies such as Google, Amazon, Compaq, and Netscape, Young Chinese entrepreneurs who have been attracted by it are quickly surrounded. Although John Dole heard English in the encirclement mixed or even messy, but he at least understand that these young people want their business plans get the master’s advice. “Even if I can not get the investment, I also hope to get advice from the investors, even if it is a blow,” said one entrepreneur. Today, even college graduates who are not yet graduating are beginning to write business plans adeptly and are not losing sight of opportunities to approach venture capital (VC). Because they know that with the help of VC, their business dreams may instantly become a reality. But more than 10 years ago, this situation was unimaginable. In 1993, China’s securities market was just started. Risk funds are more exotic, no one knows what to do with it. Prior to 1998, VC pioneers such as IDG, Walden International and H & Q Asia Pacific actually invested in China mainly through the establishment of joint ventures. “Most of the domestic joint ventures failed and were too difficult to manage from 1992 to 1995. Hudson Asia Pacific founder Xu Dailin so emotionally, Beijing Lufthansa Department Store is Asia-Pacific joint venture way to invest, and now has not yet achieved exit. At that time, China did not have the conditions for high-tech investment. Many funds worked with the government to invest in infrastructure construction. Yan Fu, the chief partner of Saifu Fund, once invested in the infrastructure such as the expressway in China on behalf of AlG Fund. He recalled: ”It was like being in a dark tunnel, the front was dark and could not see anything. With the feeling groping forward. “In 1998, the magic of the Internet fire lit in the United States in Silicon Valley, and quickly and crazy spread to China. The VC circle around 1999 was like a glimmer of sunlight in darkness, and then fell into a collective, irrational state: ”Every day there’s a new idea to finance, just like shaking money while standing under a tree.“ Carlyle’s investment Managing Director He Xin still remembers the hot new book ”The new new thing“ in Silicon Valley. So when everyone flaunts his ”super new“, VC also fear that they are not trendy enough, ”At that time are wearing jeans to work.“ VCs ushered in the first spring of germination from the frozen earth before 1998, but good times seem fleeting. The roaring Nasdaq crash, let the immersion in the carnival of VC collective fell into the freezing period. At that time, including Goldman Sachs Investment, H. Whitney, Microsoft’s venture capital department, etc. have all been withdrawn from China. The VCs who remain in China also have to ask the companies they cast to change business models or cut spending. During 2001-2003, VC started to enter dormancy in China, ”At the time when we got there, VCs had a very low attendance rate, because only in the freezing time did people start to get together and warm each other.“ The editor recalled. Ctrip from the beginning of 2003 listed. With the grand, Baidu, Focus and other wave after wave of Nasdaq listed boom, VC seems to usher in a new spring. June 2004. With Silicon Valley Bank led 30 VC visit to China turning point, followed by top VCs including Sequoia, Silicon Valley finally settled in China, so that investment in China hit its highest point in more than 10 years this year. For the Chinese economy, VC’s ups and downs over the past 10 years have had only a limited impact in absolute terms. But VC is like a small hole punctured in the window paper, through it, the influx of fresh air outside the window, completely broke the original dull atmosphere inside the house. So a group of the most sunshine entrepreneurs ever succeeded, and more and more people began to believe that entrepreneurship is not a minority game. Although these ”social contribution“ is impressive, it is a by-product of VC’s business. For VC itself, what has it meant in the past 10 years? What ”truths" of doing business in China are precipitated behind the evaporation and realization of numerous wealth?