1.   Anya Sacharow, an analyst with Jupiter Research, said she was disappointed to see a promising company cease operations.

2.   Arizonans willing to do their homework thus have an opportunity to identify promising small companies before they grow big enough to draw notice from the institutions.

3.   But having a last name that has become a leading brand name, associates say, cannot account for his own ability to find and nurture promising companies.

4.   But he said he will start a venture-capital business, so he can continue to exploit his skill at spotting promising young companies.

5.   Called Private Investments in Public Enterprises, or PIPES, these investmentes enable venture firms to get an equity stake in a promising company at a discount price.

6.   DeVillars said the growing finding for the environment plays into the hands of New England industry, which has spawned a vast number of promising companies.

7.   Other VCs say they are spending their days trying to raise follow-on financing for their most promising companies, leaving little time to look at new opportunities.

8.   Over the years from his catbird seat as a sales executive at EMC Corp., Randy Seidl saw plenty of promising young companies stumble at the starting gate.

9.   So Khosla, who typically concentrates on investing in promising companies, set out to find a team of entrepreneurs to create the next generation of computer networking.

10.   Still, having a last name that has become a leading brand name, associates say, cannot account for his own ability to find and nurture promising companies.