What are the traditional intermediaries and the current electronice intermediaries not providing?

As can be seen by the wide variety of  VC intermediary implementations sampled in this report, it is the combination of  value added services and their breadth and depth in a particular entity that are the primary differentiators between intermediaries.

The winnig combination, and its breadth and depth is being contested by an increasing number of entrants, but the parameters of the competition may have already started to coalesce.  Standardizing , targeting and expediting the front-end information flow will definitely be one of the main attractions and benefits of the intermediary function, as will be the expansion of investment opportunities for investors and investor choices for capital seekers. Information and resource access for both the invetors and
entrepreneurs, in addition to the previously mentioned services shall become a major diffentiator - it will allow this intermediary to capture a "one stop shop" VC intermediaty mindspace that  allow both parties to interface comfortably.

One area that doesn't seem to be addressed by either type of intermediaries is the small/medium individual investor. Just as was the case with intial public offerings (IPOs) before the advent of online trading, access to the private equity finance market is limited to institutional investors,  industry professionals and wealthy investors.  The small/medium investors gained limited access via the open market at a higher price or through non-direct investment in mutual funds with the associated management fees.  This closely parallels access to the private equity market in that small/medium investors gain access through publicly traded Venture Capital firms and gain the 20% overhead of the general partner.  In essence, in order for this investor to play in this investment area, he/she must incur a high transaction penalty.

As explained earlier OffRoad.com attempts to overcome this lack of access and associated costs for wealthy investors ($1 million +) by utilizing the internet to create syndicates of individal wealthy investors that closely emulate the syndicates of venture capital firms.  By combining the financial resources and experiences of numerous investors the investment potential of a
venture syndicate can be acheived.  Using the same logic, combining the resources of more numerous smaller investors should create an investment fund capable of competing in the private equity market.  Although, more complex to handle than the OffRoad model, the potential financing available from such a structure would prove to be an impressive addition to the financial resources available for private equity financing.