Here we highlight selected innovation related articles from around the world on a daily basis. These articles related to innovation and funding for innovative companies, and best practices for innovation based economic development.
Sparxoo Top 5: You Might Be an Entrepreneur If...
“Our focus is now on entrepreneurship and innovation as opposed to industry attraction in the old-line sectors,” said Jeff Kaczmarek, president of the Economic Development Corporation in an interview with the New York Times. “In times of economic distress, it’s small business and entrepreneurs who lead the way out of these recessionary periods.”
Next three months will decide our future, says EI chairman
DECISIONS made over the next three months will show whether or not Ireland has a blueprint for the way forward, the chairman of Enterprise Ireland (EI) has said.
Accountant Hugh Cooney said the legislation on Nama, the Lisbon Treaty referendum, and the December Budget after the deliberations of the Taxation Commission and Bord Snip Nua would all arise in the next 100 days.
New York Times On to Plan B: Starting a Business
CALL them accidental entrepreneurs, unintended entrepreneurs or forced entrepreneurs. A year and a half into the Great Recession, with the jobless rate hovering near double digits, corporate refugees like Lisa Marie Grillos of San Francisco are trying to fend for themselves.
create a gig: ENTREPRENEURIAL RESOURCE SITE
Innovation America (IA), isa national 501c3 not for profit, private/public partnership focused on accelerating the growth of the entrepreneurial innovation economy in America.
Simoleon Sense Blog Archive Lecture: On Innovation - Why Not?
Introduction (Via Academic Earth)
“Some men see things as they are and say, ‘why?’ I dream of things the way they never were and say, ‘why not?’
- Robert F. Kennedy, after George Bernard Shaw
Professor Barry Nalebuff shares the insights from his book “Why Not? How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big and Small.”
reviving innovation - 10 tips from open forum - spruiked
The Open Forum has a great article about how to revive IP programs. While the article talks specifically about patents/inventions, the ten tips apply equally to any form of innovation, whether it's a new product, business model or marketing strategy.
Posts about venture capital as of August 22, 2009 | Geekfluence
How entrepreneurs finance their company is one of the most critical decisions that they will make during the course of their startup. The structure of their financing will be one of the key drivers of the financial return from their venture.There are financing structures for companies that have small potential and structures for companies that have big potential. There is not a one-size fits all strategy for capitalizing a company.Read the entire post
Barrons Article on Tech IPOs Misses the Importance...
On Monday, August 10, Barron’s ran a story “Does the IPO Market Shun Smaller Companies?”, written by Mark Veverka, asserting that “venture capitalists want to widen the playing field for the underwriters.” The story includes quotes from former National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) chairman Dixon Doll of DCM and investment banker Paul Deninger, who is the vice-chairman of Jefferies & Co. It accurately points out that, when it comes to IPOs, many venture capitalists have mistakenly defaulted to choosing the large investment banks (such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Suisse) as lead underwriters for their portfolio companies. This practice has created “a near oligopolistic hold on tech IPOs” by these large investment banks. Such market power allows bankers to shapes the profile of those companies worthy of going public to favor the natural demand from their largest clients: short-term trading focused hedge funds and large institutional investors that demand highly liquid public securities.
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Innovation Yin and Yang by Bret Swanson
There are two key mistakes in the public policy arena that we don’t talk enough about. They are two apparently opposite sides of the same fallacious coin.
Call the first fallacy “innovation blindness.” In this case, policy makers can’t see the way new technologies or ideas might affect, say, the future cost of health care, or the environment. The result is a narrow focus on today’s problems rather than tomorrow’s opportunities. The orientation toward the problem often exacerbates it by closing off innovations that could transcend the issue altogether.
Entrepreneurship: Government funding and innovation still key by Duane Roth
Many of us remember the glory days of the late 1990’s when entrepreneurs could jot down an idea on a napkin, write some code and head to a VC for a couple of million in start up financing.
That may be an urban legend, but it is true that access to capital for an early stage company was a lot easier to acquire10 years ago than it is today.
DOE Announces $37 Million for Small Business Research and Technology by US Department of Energy
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that $37 million in funding from the Recovery Act will be made available to qualified small businesses through the Department's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Today's funding announcement emphasizes the Department's commitment to developing near-term, clean energy technologies while allowing small businesses take part in the new industrial revolution that the sustainable energy economy will bring.
Mass High Tech names 2009 All-Stars of New England Innovation Economy
Mass High Tech, The Journal of New England Technology, today announced the recipients of its 2009 All-Star Awards. Now in their 14th year, the All-Star Awards recognize 15 dynamic and influential leaders of New England’s innovation economy.
Summary of Finnish High-Tech Company Capital Raising Activity - H109
The following are the findings of the Quarterly Survey, conducted by Technopolis Online, which is at the forefront of high-tech venture capital research in Finland. This survey reviews capital raised by private Finnish high-tech companies from venture capital funds and from angel investors, both Finnish and foreign. The Survey is based on both publicly-reported and proprietary information regarding 140 Finnish and foreign investors, and 1,500 Finnish high-tech firms.
Seed fund group, Temple to study venture trends from Philadelphia Business Journal
The National Association of Seed and Venture Funds said Wednesday that it has entered into a research partnership with Temple University’s Fox School of Business that will focus on early-stage investing trends.
The partnership’s initial venture will be a survey of senior executives of early-stage funds to gather information on capital raising, investment, regional investment and technology development, and other things.
Draft-bill on Entrepreneurship and Industrial Parks
After a meeting of the Inner Cabinet at the Maximos Mansion on Wednesday, chaired by Prime-minister K. Karamanlis, Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis announced that a draft bill providing for better operation of entrepreneurship, regulations on industrial parks and actions to strengthen businesses will be soon submitted.
The case for innovation by Jason Kristufek
Sometimes things are all about timing. The last two days I’ve come across four things that I needed to read and the very moment they came around.
They all have to do with innovation, taking risks and breaking down barriers. Engaging in those and taking a critical look at the tasks I’ve been doing, has given me some of the fire back that has been absent for awhile, so I felt a need to share.
NYT: Angel Investors Become a Little Less So by James Flanigan
The recession has caused some angel groups to take a look at the cost of coaching entrepreneurs and listening to their pitches.
NYT: Sequoia Capital Reduces Its Web Site to a Search Bar
Sequoia Capital, one of the most successful Silicon Valley venture capital firms, has redesigned its Web site’s home page, reducing it to a simple search bar, VentureBeat writes.
Type in some letters, and the site makes suggestions based on the words it thinks you’re typing.
WSJ: ‘Low Points and Screw-Ups’: Start-Ups Crave Mentors’ Real Stories by Tomio Geron
Twenty four companies put their best face forward for investors at Y Combinator’s ninth Demo Day for start-ups completing its incubator program.
The program is known for launching Web start-ups on a shoestring; it takes place twice a year and provides companies with $10,000 to $20,000 in exchange for a small equity stake. Perhaps more important than the money, though, are the networking and learning opportunities - the program provides start-ups with advice, community with other founders and weekly dinners with prominent tech entrepreneurs and investors.
