London Dotcom scene, Web 3i style.....

...article yesterday in the Torygraph (I don't read it, so thanks to Anthony Mayfield for link). Intereresting that its the Torygraph and not the Grauniad, which has been more New-media-ey so far, that has covered it.

Anyway, fairly standard Ode to the Scene, but there was this interesting line:

But for every success story, there will be hundreds of also-rans in the web race, warns Mike Reid, director of venture capital at 3i.

"Everybody wants to sell for Bebo-style multiples, but there are not many companies with that kind of scale," he says. "The numbers do the talking and there are not many businesses around that could do another Bebo - but there are a lot of wannabes."

Interesting that 3i was quoted, given that last week they officially announced they were pulling out of funding the sector. He went on to say:

"In the US you have Silicon Valley with all the techies, and all the ad agencies in New York," he says. "In London, you have a very good blend of advertisers, techies and online marketeers all in the same place, so London, in terms of an ecosystem, has been a tremendous place for dotcoms second time around."

But clearly not an ecosystem that 3i thinks is worth funding anymore...... so has the Torygraph come in at that delicious point where shark slides back into the water, or are 3i just reflecting the reality here?