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.
Writing the subject line is often the last and most hurried step before sending an email, when it should actually be the other way around. These are very much a mission-critical element of your communications strategy that you shouldn’t leave until deadlines are looming. In fact, those first few characters are the doorstep to your emailing success; since it’s all you have to catch the attention of your reader, entice them to open your message and take action.
So before we dive in, what exactly do I mean by “hurt” your business? Well, these credit and lending mistakes could do any of the following (this is not a complete list, of course):
October 24, 2011 – NorTech, a nonprofit technology-based economic development organization serving 21 counties in Northeast Ohio, today announced that Jeffrey M. Brancato has been named Vice President.
In this role, Mr. Brancato is responsible for managing multiple internal and external special projects, overseeing operations and managing the organization's government engagement program. Mr. Brancato builds and maintains relationships with business leaders in Northeast Ohio to increase university, industry and government partnerships and promote technology-based innovation and economic growth.
There are two general types of economic development efforts that state government participates in:
Those that are intended to expand or retain jobs in Wisconsin or attract jobs from outside; and Those that are intended to assist start-up companies, some with new ideas for products or services, by investing "venture capital" in them. Jobs are the ultimate goal, of course, but these venture capital efforts are about building a new economy with new jobs at companies that start from scratch. It is about helping companies that may not exist, but rather are an idea in someone's head. If we have a climate where venture capital is available, when that scientist or that engineer is ready to go, the capital will be there to help get started.
If you think you have what it takes to invest in startups, but are unsure of where to target your first seed investment, it may be worth your time to profile some other successful angel investors. By studying their strategy, the types of investments in their portfolio and the trajectory of their investments over time, you will start to develop your own strategy that works with your pace and desired investment outcome.
Don’t be discouraged if you’re unable to quickly and exactly mirror successful investors. Their strategies have most likely been developed over time; and they have learned from their own mistakes.
The managing director of Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE) life sciences portfolio, Jim Datin, has taken over management of the technology portfolio in what was described as a strategic move by the venture capital firm reflecting the acceleration of health IT and medical devices with technology components. Kevin Kemmerer, who led the firm’s technology portfolio, resigned, effective immediately according to an SEC filing dated October 24.
It was agreed that the resignation will be treated as having been for “good reason,” as defined in Kemmerer’s agreement with the company dated December 29, 2008, the statement said.
While some elements of an entrepreneurial ecosystem can be “easily” controlled (like tax credits, event organization, etc.), other elements are more difficult to create (such as culture and the right balance of fresh ideas, technical know-how, and experience). Will Montreal be the next Silicon Valley? Probably not quite as big, but here are some things that make Montreal a dynamic startup hub:
The people: An optimal place for startups requires a base of talented people. Ideally, these people will be from different age groups: young professionals are likely to be dynamic and “eager”, while the experience of more seasoned professionals can provide the foundation that an ecosystem needs. From this perspective, Montreal is one of the best cities in the world. With 4 major universities, Montreal is the number 1 city in North America for per capita
New York City is home to two of the world's most prestigious liberal arts universities. The Big Apple is rivaled by Silicon Valley, and on some levels Boston, as a home base for internet and other technology firms. However, New York lacks a major science and technology university. Big names such as Cornell University and Stanford University are competing to open a tech campus on the East River... and, well, New York needs it.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration has been vocal about their desire to bring a world-class applied science school to New York City. The media-titan-turned-mayor is accepting proposals for an applied science campus to be built on city land; submissions are due on Friday, October 28. A who's-who of local and national names are hoping NYC will give them the contract--Stanford University, Cornell University, Columbia University and New York University are all involved in the process.
Y Combinator has a brilliant franchise. It is called Startup School.
This year it is at Stanford University on October 29 and co-hosted with BASES, the Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students.
Some of Silicon Valley’s elite used to poo-poo Startup School as being too basic. I have always been in the camp supporting it. By “supporting,” I mean crashing. Remember, I only crash the best stuff. And I have been to every Startup School at Stanford University.
I don’t like when blog posts come out after an event, so I want to crystal-ball this event by examining and revealing what happened in the past. I hope this prepares you for Saturday at Dinkelspiel.
In the traditionally male world of angel investing, Ed Reitler is used to having his voice heard. A partner in Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt LLC of New York City, he’s also the founder of the ARC Angel Fund, a New York-based investing launched in 2010. So when he says that it’s “incredibly important” to develop female angel investors because “they are crucial to ensuring the funding of a more diverse group of companies,” you’d hope his male counterparts would take notice.
After all, Reitler’s got a point. A 2006 report by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation on women and angel investing concluded that “women entrepreneurs gravitate to women angels,” and that those benefactors “look at more women’s start-up businesses than some of the more traditional (male) groups do.”
The fragile economy and slumping jobs market are causing unrest in America and across the world. As a response of sorts, the U.S. government and the Young Entrepreneur Council are putting their faith into young, fresh-faced entrepreneurs with the launch of the Gen Y Fund, a startup accelerator aimed specifically at students.
The Gen Y Fund is the first private enterprise to take advantage of the government’s reforms to its Income Based Repayment (IBR) program, which will start in 2014. IBR was first introduced by President George W. Bush to help alleviate student debt repayments. The program extended the repayment period allowing students to pay back their loans in lesser amounts over a longer period of time. The White House announced IBR will take on more of an entrepreneurial spirit, helping students not just to repay their loans but also to start businesses by lowering barriers to entry. Both the fund and the IBR reforms were recently announced by the White House.
How does a new company find top talent before someone else does, and with as little cash as possible?
As a startup entrepreneur, you’re trying to find and recruit the best (and most passionate) employees to help strengthen your company. The good news is that with 14 million unemployed people competing in today’s job market, your company has lots of options.
A top-notch recruiting strategy doesn’t necessarily have to break your budget. Here are four creative ways to recruit talent, and most are free.
In 2010, women became the majority of the U.S. workforce for the first time in the country’s history. Also, 57% of college students are now women. While men continue to dominate the executive ranks and corporate board rooms, women now hold a number of lucrative careers: they make up 54% of accountants, 45% of law associates and approximately 50% of all banking and insurance jobs. These statistics, which appeared in Hanna Rosin’s Atlantic article “The End of Men,” have prompted considerable attention and debate.
Women are advancing in entrepreneurship as well. An American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses report found that between 1997 and 2011, the number of businesses in the U.S. increased by 34%, but the number of women-owned firms increased by 50%. That compares to a growth rate of just 25% for male-owned firms and has allowed businesses owned by females to reach 49% of U.S. firms — near parity with their male counterparts.
Small Business Trends writes a lot about how to grow your business, but what about those of you who either want to start a business, or who have started one but are still working your “other” 9 to 5?
Here’s why you should dive head first (assuming you’re ready financially) into starting your small business:
You’ll never be able to fully dedicate time or energy to your business if you’re working for someone else. Quitting your job says that you have faith in your company. That’s half of the formula for success! Once you take that first step, good things start to happen.
Offshore experts have given the Kiwi investment community fresh thinking on a more unified push towards innovation and global success.
Speaking at today’s Australasian Innovation and Investment Summit (Innovest) in Auckland, Fahrenheit Wellness Fund general partner Bridget Liddell said New Zealanders needed to overcome cultural barriers when preparing to do business internationally.
“Some of the culture of going it alone – which comes from the farming culture - does unfortunately carry over and I see it all the time in the businesses I deal with.
As you know, I'm very interested in how New England can retain more of the talented young whippersnappers who come here to get an education... both as workers and as company founders.
The Wall Street Journal this week covered some of the ways that New England states are trying to entice recent grads to stick around, from funding internships at private companies (MA) to simply "forking over cash" (VT). From that piece:
With census figures showing New England leads other parts of the U.S. in the decline of its under-45 age group, the Granite State and its neighbors are desperate to keep young people around.
IBM's board of directors has just announced that president and CEO Sam Palmisano is stepping down at the end of the year.
He will be replaced by Virginia "Ginni" Rommety, as expected.
Palmisano will stay on as Chairman of the Board.
Rometty is a 30-year IBM vet who who oversaw the company's $3.5 billion purchase and integration of consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers back in 2003. She's been the VP of sales, marketing, and strategy since 2009.
Three Assembly Republicans have unveiled a new venture capital plan that would once again welcome participation from certified capital companies, or CAPCOs - the controversial out-of-state firms previously entrusted with investing millions of taxpayer dollars in a poorly drafted, weakly monitored program to boost young companies and create jobs.
They are presenting their new plan with little time left in the current legislative session, and despite the fact that one of them, Rep. John Klenke (R-Green Bay), sits on a working group charged by Gov. Scott Walker with crafting a bipartisan solution. Other legislators in Walker's group have put aside their own measures to try to reach a compromise.
But Klenke and his two colleagues have the blessing of a powerful ally - Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon).
Dubai: The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) marked the launch of its new Dubai campus in Dubai Silicon Oasis on Monday with the initiation of the university's business incubation centre.
The centre, which received an initial investment of up to Dh10 million from Silicon Oasis and other companies, aims to nurture business ideas from their infancy.
"The technology incubator is a place for people with small business ideas to get the space and support," said Dr Mustafa Abushagur, president of RIT Dubai. "Anyone with a great idea is welcome."
Calgary is one of the country’s fastest growing cities but the Alberta metropolis’ real estate boom can be a tough barrier for many fledgling tech startups struggling to get their companies off the ground.
In a city where parking space fees start at $40/day and a mere office desk rents for as much as $900/month, many small IT firms that may be months away from getting their product to market hardly stand a chance.
Thankfully, startup accelerator organizations such as AcceleratorYYC offer a viable alternative to traditional office rental models that provide cash-strapped entrepreneurs with much-needed breathing space as well peer support. YYC is also the airport code for Calgary.
