I had the pleasure yesterday to meet Jerry Engel, an investor and business school professor from San Francisco. He gave an informal speech to some investors here in Barcelona.

Two things that really surprised me...

First one, everybody complains about the lack of money for early stage initiatives... well, he reckoned more money is always better than less money, but he said as well that at the end of the day, money's velocity is even more important than the amount of it to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. The administration should really take note of this.

Second, when asked about the "anticyclical" nature of venture capital (we know crisis will hit hard at some point), he saw VCs more off-cycle than anti-cycle, and he admitted the new postcrisis environment will call for a change in the rules of the game. He recommended specialization in interesting sectors (healthcare being one of his favourite picks), and investing with high global standards while keeping a local focus, as the keys for future success.

Amazing comments.