Central Florida remains in venture capital freeze

B usinesses in the Orlando, Florida, area are still struggling to attain venture capital funding, according to the Orlando Sentinel. New data revealed that available VC funds dropped by 60 percent to $43.2 million between Q2 and Q3 2010, the paper reports.

Meanwhile, 43 percent of small business owners in the area reported having cash flow issues in the last 90 days, though cash flow concerns have fallen to their lowest point in 17 months.

Problems may continue for area startups though. Currently, no venture capital deals have been announced, leaving entrepreneurs and lenders alike skeptical as to when business may pick up again.

"We certainly see some interesting opportunities in Orlando and the surrounding area," he said. "We'd like to be back actively in the market early next year," Jim Boyle, a partner at Inflexion Partners, a local VC firm, told the paper.

Overall, nationwide venture capital has taken a hit. VC funding fell by 31 percent to $4.8 billion during Q3 2010 – a 20 percent plunge compared to the second quarter, MoneyTree reported. However, one positive was that first-time investing remained steady at $1.2 billion between the second and third quarters of 2010.