This excerpt originally appeared in an op-ed by Antony Davies published by CNN.com on January 13, 2012.

We praise entrepreneurs as forming the foundation of a vibrant economy but vilify venture capitalists as money-grubbing opportunists. Entrepreneurs pour, sweat, blood and tears into their businesses, and we cheer them when it pays off. But we don't see the risk venture capitalists take by investing in entrepreneurs, and so when venture capitalists strike it rich we assume the profit is ill-gotten gains.

When entrepreneurs, empowered by venture capitalists, take new ideas and turn them into new products and businesses, job creation occurs. Venture-backed businesses generate a large number of good jobs because businesses that require the financial muscle of venture capital usually require the intellectual muscle of highly skilled and educated labor.