Despite the decline in overall investing, Donsky said a surprisingly high number of early-stage deals received funding in the latest quarter. Jibe, a Clearwater software company, received seed financing, and eight early-stage companies found investors. Among the fortunate few who attracted venture capital in the past quarter was Xtreme Energy, a St. Petersburg company that has a patent on a process that makes electric motors more efficient. Tenn. The investment includes money from wealthy individuals as well as matching funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration. But there's no question that investors are risk-averse right now.
Money is a little tighter, valuations are different, and a lot of people are gun-shy.
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