Demonstrating consistent revenue growth and profits takes most such companies five to eight years, says Stephan Dolezalek, a managing director at VantagePoint Venture Partners.

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Mark Van Den Berg, managing director at VantagePoint, says Bridgelux has been able to reduce costs ten-fold and improve performance (on a lumens per watt basis) at least three-fold since 2006.

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Also realizing Tesla IPO windfalls are the elite of Silicon Valley venture capital: the Westly Group (whose principal, Steve Westly, is an Obama campaign bundler), Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and VantagePoint Venture Partners.

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