How Does GSV Capital Differ from CMGI or Safeguard Scientifics?

GSV Capital (NASDAQ: GSVC) founder and CEO Michael Moe explains.As one of the most outspoken tech investors, Moe pulls no punches in sharing his predictions. This week he told Benzinga that he believes that Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) could rise to $50 per share. He made a bold move in predicting the next Starbucks-sized corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX). He even spoke about the drought of IPOs and how he believes that Groupon is the starting signal for additional public offerings, not the finish line.Now the esteemed investor is telling Benzinga how his firm differs from corporations that, on the surface, may appear to be similar to GSV Capital. “The difference, and I'll take them one at a time, is that CMGI was basically a publicly traded venture fund, basically an incubator,” Moe explained. “And if you look at the companies we own, Facebook – 15% of our portfolio is in Facebook – well, Facebook is going to do $4 billion in revenue this year. And it's a private company but it's not a venture business. Chegg will do $300 million in revenue this year. Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) will do $1.5 billion in revenue. You've got these emerging growth businesses that in the good-old-days would have [gone] public already.”What about Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE)? “We're focused on investing in the premier private companies – the fastest-growing private companies in the world,” said Moe. “I think Safeguard is sort of an eclectic mix of private businesses, which – no criticism, I'm not exactly sure what their strategy is – but it certainly isn't our strategy.”While Moe expects the IPO market to pick up in the coming year, he admitted that he has benefitted from the current situation.“I think what's created this opportunity for us is the fact that we've had a dramatically slower IPO market for the past 11 years,” Moe revealed. “Private companies are staying private longer. They're much larger, they're more established. Historically, most of the companies we've invested in would already be public. So we're able to buy them on a private basis, benefit from both the growth and hopefully the arbitrage that develops over time.”Interview by Tuomo Kallio. Story by Louis Bedigian.Follow me @LouisBedigian