The 20-minute rule

It was nice to see L.A. County having a good quarter for venture capital funding, but its $252.8 million total for the July-September period was still nickel and dime compared with the Bay Area's $2.45 billion. (Even if you account for all of Socal the total is $710.6 million.) Silicon Valley remains home to the big venture capital action and the reason goes beyond who happens to have the next great idea or widget. The reason - at least a part of the reason - is that Socal is not in Silicon Valley. Craig Johnson, managing director of Concept2Company Ventures in Palo Alto, told the NYT that he knows a lot of venture capitalists who still adhere to the 20-minute rule. That is, if a start-up company is not within a 20-minute drive of the venture firm’s offices, it will not be funded.