Many investors have ventured into the venture capital sector, which lately has been providing higher returns than the Dow Jones Industrial Average - angel investors posted returns of 22 percent in 2008, said the Center for Venture Research.

Though deemed a more stable investment than traditional investment vehicles right now, venture capital is by no means safe - bankruptcies accounted for 26 percent of the angel exits in 2008, the center found, while mergers and acquisitions claimed 70 percent and IPOs represented 4 percent.

Though promising news, for entrepreneurs the situation is not all positive. Competition is stiff for VC funding, and it typically has strings attached - many venture capitalists have strict benchmarks, demands for transparency, and shareholding requirements, the magazine reported.

Less than 1 percent of new employer businesses created in the U.S. every year obtain venture capital financing, said the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.