Deja Vu All Over Again? Not So Fast.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the economic slowdown is affecting VC funding for Web 2.0 companies, but attempts to cushion the blow by stating:

No one expects startups to suffer the wave of troubles that steamrolled the industry starting in mid-2000.      

Still, even that sounds too pessimistic to me. I saw a lot of enthusiasm at the Web Mission Brunch hosted by Jim Buckmaster this past Sunday. Twenty U.K. Web 2.0 companies met to explore new opportunities for growth with key people (investors, media, analysts, partners, etc) in Silicon Valley. If the Europeans are meeting with potential U.S. investors, there must be enough money to go around for compelling U.S. Web 2.0 companies.

Additionally, two Sterling Communications clients, Clickability and Reality Digital, just got second rounds of funding in Q1 2008. Investors liked the fact each had positive cash flow, a solid and growing base of customers, and a viable value proposition. Far from being all "doom and gloom," the economy still has plenty of room to welcome smart startups, which is why we'll be at the Web 2.0 Expo through Friday.