The surge of entrepreneurialism in this decade has spawned the era of venture capitalism like never before. Venture capital is the key to America’s technological lead in the world marketplace. According to The Capital Network, a non-profit economic development group, venture-backed companies have created 80 percent of the new jobs in the United States over the last 20 years. Venture capital-backed investments soared to a record-breaking level of $7.67 billion in the second quarter of 1999, an increase of 104 percent over Q2 of 1998 and 78 percent higher than Q1 of 1999.