Venky Ganeson, managing director of Menlo Ventures and future chairman of the National Venture Capital Association, told Inc. that 2015 has been the third-strongest year for venture capital investment since the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. Only 1999 and 2000 were stronger years. The LA Times reported there was $98 billion in worldwide venture capital investment in the first three quarters of 2015 alone. That's 11 percent higher than the investments for all of 2014.