That's the message Chris Shipley delivered Monday as the latest edition of kicked off with 39 promising new technologies -- far fewer than the 77 companies that launched at DEMO .

But Shipley, the executive producer of Network World's DEMO 09 conference in Palm Desert, Calif., says the start-ups that do survive the recession will be uniquely positioned to deliver value to consumers and business customers.

"You can look at these numbers and you can decide that the glass is half empty," Shipley said in her opening remarks. "And if you did that, you'd be missing the big picture both in the contents of the glass and the open space there is. There is nothing like a recession to clear out the clutter. ... [Companies] that are a little bit faster, a little bit more courageous are winning the day."

When money is plentiful, the market sees too many start-ups that lack the resources and vision to achieve long-term success, Shipley said. The venture capital business will undergo major changes over the next two years, Shipley predicted. On one side there will be investors looking to minimize risk, and on the other side entrepreneurs who are creating more "capital-efficient" businesses, she said..