10 ideas worth millions

Tough times don't last--but tough companies do. Even with venture funding falling off a cliff, a handful of companies with great ideas, money-saving products or ideas just too great (or cheap) not to fund can attract enough loot to keep their doors open and their servers warm.

In 2008, venture capitalists poured $28.3 billion into more than 3,800 companies. That was lower than in years past--about 8 per cent less in dollars and 4 per cent fewer deals, according to the National Venture Capital Association, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Thomson Reuters. Money got much tighter at the end of the year too, with investments down to a mere $5.4 billion, a 26 per cent decline from the third quarter.

When money is scarce, what a smart venture capitalist will pay for says plenty--the pressure is on for products and services that can get to market quick with either a relatively solid revenue stream or something a big acquirer just can't live without.

Venture capitalists are in the business of placing money, so they have to bet on something, even in scary times. With a mandate like that, the occasional cheap enough speculation has its place too.

So what grabbed people's attention? Some deals, of course, are big number investments that are continuations of efforts started several years earlier. For instance, Nanosolar, which is developing novel techniques for making thin-film photovoltaic cells, announced in August it had swept up $300 million in additional funding, bringing its six-year start-up kitty to more than $500 million.

Smaller solar companies, such as Xunlight, which has a rollable film of solar cells, also won additional funding. (Last year Xunlight added about $15 million to its funding, bringing its resources to $40 million).

Other energy-saving ideas also gained momentum. Project Frog, based in San Francisco, has designed modular, snap-together structures for classrooms or offices, a nice improvement over trailers or "portables." Better than just cheap, however, the structures aim for energy efficiency and use non-toxic building materials--two features that make this a good "green tech" fit. Project Frog won $8 million in funding from investors, including Rockport Capital Partners.

Saving money is on everyone's minds--including venture investors. YouLicense created a Web-based marketplace for contract music that gets used in ads, movies, Web backgrounds and any place where a tune will help. The company gets a 9 per cent commission on deals, which typically run $20 to $150 apiece. YouLicense won $1 million in support.

Others are trying to mix the popularity of social networking with the desire to save a few bucks. Start-up iList lets people post and search classified ads on the Web for free--and add them to whatever communications stream you like best--such as Twitter, Gmail, Facebook and so on. Investors, including Draper Fisher Jurvetson, figured this was worth a $1.5 million bet.

This year probably will not start out much better for funding, but take heart: This is still the 21st century, with more opportunity for great ideas in more places than any other time. Tough times do not last forever. While they are here, think cheap, think convenient, and keep your chin up.