Most Connected Capitalists ~ Über-Dealmakers

Maureen Farrell writes in Forbes about the Most Connected Capitalists, the über-linked who Ted Zoller, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of North Carolina, searched for within the infotech and healthcare sectors. Net result? A list of 15 of the...

"...most well-connected entrepreneurs, financiers and advisors in U.S. -- the very people America's fragile economy depends on to take risks and create jobs. "There's an important class of people who are really market makers and help early stage entrepreneurs make their deals successful," says Zoller, 45, who also runs CommonWeal Ventures, a venture and private equity firm, and serves on the board of three private firms. "They build the bridges needed to get new high-growth companies off the ground." [...] The most connected capitalists -- or "dealmakers," as Zoller calls them -- have at least three current connections with three of these companies. Meaning: Each relationship must involve an equity stake, as well as an operational position (say, as a chief financial officer), an advisory role or a seat on the board of directors. Zoller then weighted those players based on their absolute number of connections."