According to The New York Times, big corporations step in to recruit some of the top businesses students when they graduate. How can we expect small business to keep up?

A serial entrepreneur, Andrew Yang, thinks he has the answer. Venture for America, a nonprofit he founded this summer, recruits college seniors to spend two years after graduation at start-ups in struggling cities. For the inaugural class of 2012, he expects to place about 50 fellows at renewable energy, biotech and Internet ventures in Detroit, New Orleans and Providence, R.I.

Venture for America is inspired by Teach for America, the staggeringly popular initiative that places top college grads in low-income schools. Nearly 48,000 applicants, including 12 percent of Ivy League seniors, vied for that program’s 5,200 slots this year, according to its administrators. “They have become one of the most singularly successful talent recruiting organizations in the world,” Mr. Yang said admiringly.

Entrepreneurs are eager to understand the implications of the America Invents Act, which was signed into law by President Obama on September 16, 2011. The new rules substantially change America’s patent system, but many provisions will not take effect for a year or more. The Act, which achieved bipartisan support in Congress, was signed into law with broad language and a stipulation that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) create rules to fill in the gaps.

Although the specific details of the reforms to our nation’s patent laws are not yet set in stone (the USPTO is expected to publish them by the beginning of the year), the American Invents Act provides increased certainty around patent awards and solves for a portion of the costly delays caused by an inefficient patent process. Over the past decade patent applications have nearly tripled and, currently, it takes an average of three years to attain a patent because of a backlog of more than 750,000 applications. Policymakers hope this legislation will improve the system, helping innovators bring their inventions to market sooner.

QUEBEC is a city of delightfully stark, yet virtually seamless contrasts; centuries-old fortification walls lead to chic open-kitchen restaurants, and cobblestone streets give way to bike paths and innovative art institutions. The enchanting Francophone capital of Quebec province, and one of the oldest cities in North America, Quebec City received a major face lift before its 400th anniversary in 2008. Perhaps more significant than the new boutique hotels, revitalized parks and gleaming cultural centers was the overdue attention the city finally received, which continues to propel it forward. Quebec City, a historic, cultural and culinary center beside the St. Lawrence River, has emerged from the long shadow cast by its ever popular neighbor, Montreal.

Steve Jobs turned around Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and in so doing, revolutionized how millions use technology in their lives. So is there a Steve Jobs for healthcare or the life sciences?

The short answer is “no.” High tech and life sciences thrive on innovation but they are different animals running on different cycles. A new drug can take 15 years in development and testing before it reaches the market. Medical devices can be developed faster, but they still require years of research. Beyond the R&D, drugs and devices still need to go through regulators looking out for patient safety, which adds to the time between discovery and commercialization. High tech doesn’t have the Food and Drug Administration evaluating its products for approval and in the world of IT, a year can feel like a lifetime.

Market Size

The angel investor market in Q1,2 2011 showed signs of stabilization since the 30% market correction in the second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009. Total investments in Q1,2 2011 were $8.9 billion, an increase of 4.7% over Q1,2 2010, according to the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire.

A total of 26,300 entrepreneurial ventures received angel funding in Q1,2 2011, a 4.4% increase from Q1,2 2010, and the number of active investors in Q1,2 2011 was 124,900 individuals, virtually unchanged from Q1,2 2010. The increase in total dollars and the matching increase in total investments resulted in a deal size of $338,400 in Q1,2 2011, comparable to the deal size in Q1,2 2010 of $337,300.

This post originally appeared on TechCrunch. Dilution. Or as industry insiders call it, “taking a haircut.”

Everybody knows that when you raise money at a startup your ownership percentage of the company goes down. The goal is to have the value of the startup go up by enough that you own a smaller percentage of a much larger business and therefore your total personal value goes up.

The simplest way to think about this is: If you own 20% of a $2 million company your stake is worth $400,000. If you raise a new round venture capital (say $2.5 million at a $7.5 million pre-money valuation, which is a $10 million post-money) you get diluted by 25% (2.5m / 10m). So you own 15% of the new company but that 15% is now worth $1.5 million or a gain of $1.1 million.

Hannover, Germany. Unitectra, the technology transfer unit of the universities of Basel, Bern and Zürich, has won the EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD in 2011. The company received the award in Hannover during Tuesday evening’s opening ceremony of BIOTECHNICA. It was presented by Jörg Bode, Lower Saxony’s Minister of Economics, Professor Dr. Heinz Riesenhuber, former German Minister for Research and Technology, and Dr. Andreas Gruchow, member of the Board at Deutsche Messe AG. The award – which was being presented for the ninth time – this year honours the contribution of European transfer organizations within academic biotech and life science institutes to successful technology transfer between business and industry.

“Unitectra has made an exceptional contribution to the initiation and promotion of cooperation between the publicly funded research community and business”, stressed Dr. Karsten Henco, chairman of the international jury. “This organization fulfils the criteria of this year’s award in an exemplary fashion, and the services it provides have proven immensely valuable.” Unitectra offers researchers and university management a broad spectrum of services in the field of research collaborations and in the commercialization of research findings, and also plays a special role in assisting spin-off companies and start-ups.

Last week, I discussed how the nations of the world stack up in terms of innovation, the Creative Class, and a new overall measure of creativity and competitiveness, the Global Creativity Index (GCI). Today, I look at the bigger picture of economic prosperity, examining the connections (or lack of connections) between competitiveness and happiness, socioeconomic inequality and overall social and economic progress.

Let’s start with a basic question: Do more creative and innovative economies gain an edge in economic development and competitiveness? The short answer is yes.

Silicon Valley startups fueled growth of the technology industry, and it would be unfair to say that day is over. However, a Wall Street Journal report has touched off a debate about the latest spate of startups, many of which are reportedly running out of money.

The Journal reported yesterday that startups are having a hard time securing follow-up funding. Although most of these companies are centered in and around Silicon Valley, it's important to note most of these are specifically Web-based startups. The problem, says one venture investor, is too many startups seeking a limited amount of capital.

Even though this news adds to the general malaise around the economy, it could help avert a disaster like we saw in 2000/2001, when the last over-hyped tech bubble burst and the closure of dotcom companies rebounded on the hardware supply chain.

800-CEO-READ, a leading direct supplier of book-based resources, compiles a monthly list of best-selling business books based on purchases by its corporate customers nationwide. Here are the best sellers for September 2011, plus descriptions of the top 10.

1. "Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses" by Eric Ries; Crown, 336 pages ($26)

2. "What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential" by Robert Steven Kaplan; Harvard Business Press, 288 pages ($26.95)

3. "From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership" by Harry M. Jansen Kraemer; Jossey-Bass, 224 pages ($27.95)

WHEN the architect Peter Bohlin arrived for his first meeting with Steve Jobs, he wore a tie. “Steve laughed, and I never wore a tie again,” Mr. Bohlin recalled.

Thus began a collaboration that has extended from Pixar’s headquarters, completed in 2001, to more than 30 Apple Stores (and counting) around the globe, all with design work by Mr. Bohlin and his firm, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson — and Mr. Jobs himself.

“The best clients, to my mind, don’t say that whatever you do is fine,” Mr. Bohlin said last week, a few days after Mr. Jobs’s death. “They’re intertwined in the process. When I look back, it’s hard to remember who had what thought when. That’s the best, most satisfying work, whether a large building or a house.”

Entrepreneurship is a big word in this era. There is Facebook, Google or the local Breadtalk. There are old stories of how Apple made it big or how HP started out in the garage. Everyone is fascinated with making big bucks by embarking on the journey of being your own boss and selling your great idea.

With the promotion of entrepreneurship by the Singapore Government, people are motivated to strike it big even while they’re young graduates from schools. But in the midst of doing so, has everyone forgotten that behind every boss there is a large number of unsung heros operating in the back, as the backbone of the everyday operation of a company? From the baker slogging early in the morning to have his bread baked in time for the morning crowd, to the technician who ensures that the lines are pulled and connected as the IT engineer requested, who will be the people from our next generation to fill these jobs that are essential to the running of businesses?

Now here’s something that’s out of this world.

A group of guys affiliated to The Seasteading Institute are starting a tech startup incubator called Blueseed, 12 miles off the coast of the San Francisco Bay Area, which is not too far away from Silicon Valley.

Stopping short of reclaiming an island, they’re doing it on a ship. They’ve already closed two investor rounds and have opened applications for entrepreneurs from around the world who are interested. They estimate a launch of Q3 2013 or later.

The Seasteading Intitute is a global initiative that aims to build floating cities that will experiment with new ideas of running society. If you think this is run by a bunch of crackpots, well, you’re half right.

How to Avoid a “No” from a VC: People

The old saying in the VC business is investors invest in three things: people, people and people. There’s more than a little truth to that. We’ve seen great teams dig themselves out of some deep holes, and weak teams dig themselves into the ground.

But how do you know you have a great team, at least in the eye of the beholder (us)?

First, ask yourself this question: “What is the probability that there is a team with more domain expertise, more horsepower, and more high-level industry connections located somewhere along the Silicon Valley, Seattle, Austin, Boston, London, Zurich, Haifa, Mumbai, Shenzhen, Tokyo, Seoul corridor?” Really – ask yourself that! Because we are asking ourselves that as you speak.

The Googleplex, Google’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View California, is legendary for its perks. Employees have access to unlimited free meals, haircuts, dry cleaning, massages, and even onsite medical care.

Yet earlier this year, when Google interviewed its employees about what they valued most at work, none of these extravagant benefits made the top of the list. Neither did salary. Instead, employees cited access to “even-keeled bosses who made time for one-on-one meetings, who helped people puzzle through problems by asking questions, not dictating answers, and who took an interest in employees’ lives and careers.”

Whenever I invest in a new company, I send the CEO my customary email with advice on how to work with his or her new board. I’ve spent 24 years in the software industry—including holding operating roles at three early-stage software companies and board seats at 12 startups—so I thought my “Top 10″ list on the care and feeding of board members might be helpful to other CEOs and executive as well.

So, without further ado, here it is:

1. Have a plan, and get your entire company and board to understand and support it.

A company’s business plan and strategy is the map of where we are going. The plan almost certainly will change, but the best CEOs keep everyone informed about where we said we are going, where we are currently going, and why we changed plans if we did.

Hit 'em young and hit 'em often.

It's one of the recipes for creating tomorrow's tech leaders and creating a critical mass of technology and science enterprises in this part of the province, says Doug Robertson, president and CEO of Tech South East.

The not-for-profit group partners with the region's tech companies to grow the sector in the southeast of the province - including ensuring that today's students realize the fun and possibly lucrative careers that the sector provides those who emerge on graduation day with the skill sets the sector so badly craves.

"These are exciting technology jobs," Robertson says.

"They are high-paying jobs."

Researchers have created artificial muscles that can twist 1,000 times more than any suitable material made in the past—a development that could prove useful in robots and prosthetic limbs.

Artificial muscles are typically made from polymers and metals that change size and shape. But to be truly useful, these materials need to twist or rotate when an electric current is applied, and very few such materials created so far can do this.

The Wall Street Journal has a story out today that says "Web Startups Hit Cash Crunch." There has been a fair bit of reaction in the tech blogs and I thought I'd toss into the discussion some things we are seeing:

1) There are so many startups out there raising money. I don't think this is a bad thing. It's a good thing. Entrepreneurship is in vogue. Innovators are innovating. Makers are making. But I cannot remember a time when we have gotten more inbound traffic. It is not just coming from entrepreneurs. It is coming from angels, seed investors, VCs, lawyers, accountants, friends, aunts, uncles, you name it. I'm waiting for the guy who sits at the front desk in our building to pass me a business plan on my way into the office.

2) There are a lot of "me too" investments out there. And the delineation between startups is getting narrower. Almost every investment that comes our way these days causes us to ask ourselves "is this too close to xyz?" with xyz being one of our exisiting portfolio companies. The startup market is hypercompetitive. The user base is finite at some level. The capital markets are finite at some level. And the number of startups chasing these markets seems to have doubled or tripled in the past couple years.

TechAmerica Foundation’s 14th annual Cyberstates report details national and state trends in high-tech employment, wages, and other key economic factors. The report, Cyberstates 2011: The Definitive State-by-State Analysis of the U.S. High-Tech Industry covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

The U.S. high-tech industry lost 115,800 net jobs in 2010, for a total of 5.75 million workers.  This two percent decline in tech industry employment was less than half of the 249,500 jobs lost in 2009, which followed several years of sustained growth.  Over the longer term of 2007 to 2010 – the span of the economic downturn – the tech industry fared better then the private sector as a whole, with a four percent decline in employment versus a seven percent decline in the private sector.