I had lunch with one of my favorite Internet entrepreneurs today, Mark Sawyier, the CEO of Off Campus Media. The company provides college students with apartment listings near their schools, and what started out as an idea five years ago is now a multi-million dollar business. Sawyier came to this business without any formal training in computer science, business, management, or other technology training, yet he is a natural when it comes to running a modern-day Internet business. In the short time we spent today, he came up with a few bon mots and wise thoughts that I want to share with those of you that are thinking about starting your own businesses.

As you load up your smartphone with apps and buy peripherals for your tablet, consider that the future might be devices that do less -- or rather, they do one thing, do it well, and possibly while intimately attached to your body or your clothes. That's the idea behind a new technology by WIMM Labs, which they say can be embedded into everything from a wristwatch-sized screen that sends visual medication reminders, to a clip-on pedometer that can act as a total fitness companion.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Back in 2008, Sequoia Capital -- one of Silicon Valley's venture-capital kingmakers -- held an emergency, all-hands meeting for the 100-plus startups in its portfolio. Its purpose: To outline the grim times Sequoia saw coming. "It's always darkest before it's pitch black," Sequoia partner Eric Upin told the gathered troops. He underlined the point with a now-famous PowerPoint deck that tech wags dubbed the "ultimate panic memo." The 56-slide presentation opens with a gravestone labeled "RIP Good Times" -- and gets worse from there.

Clean water, in short supply for almost 1 billion people around the world, will be the focus of investment for Frog Capital Ltd. as the U.K. venture capital firm sees rising demand from a burgeoning global population.

“There’s a lot of innovation and effort going into how the water supply is treated and managed,” Iyad Omari, a partner at the London-based Frog Capital Cleantech Fund, said in an interview. “I’ve seen hundreds of small companies that are doing innovative things in this area.”

Almost half the world’s population will be living in areas affected by “high water stress” by 2030, according to the United Nations. As growing numbers of people put pressure on limited supplies of drinking water, there’s increasing demand for technology that can make water treatment cheaper, cleaner, more widespread and more efficient.

After losing their London-based publisher, co-editors Ruby Russell and Katherine Hunt of the grassroots art magazine Teller were forced to look in a new direction for their second issue. Self-funding was out of the question, so the editors launched a campaign on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to ask the public for help.

“It allowed us to pre-sell copies of our magazine and put the full cover price toward production costs, with some people donating larger sums,” says Russell. “It’s very easy to set up and use, and people responded very generously.” With an original funding goal of $4,000, they actually received a few hundred dollars more by the time they reached their deadline.

Recently I wrote a blog post on things to think about when starting a startup accelerator. I pointed out that most accelerator programs take between 5-12% or thereabouts for a fairly standard amount of money and time. Year One Labs is a bit different (more money and more time = more equity taken); our belief being that early stage startups need more time to bake. But even Year One Labs only takes 20%, and we only invested in 5 companies, and we don’t follow-on, so we get diluted just like founders do as they take on more financing.

In thinking about alternative models for startup acceleration or incubation, I can’t help but ask the question, “What if the incubator owned 80% instead of 20% and the people working on the startup owned 20% instead of 80%? How could that work? And does it make sense?”

The second batch of new companies seeking financial backing at 500 Startups, Dave McClure's well-regarded incubator, had a certain commonality. They were nearly all about the consumer.

In all, about 30 companies made their first pitch to the media and potential investors Tuesday at 500 Startups headquarters in Mountain View, California. They'll repeat themselves in a second session later today.

Eric Ries, creator of the Lean Startup methodology and the author of the entrepreneurship blog Startup Lessons Learned, says that Silicon Valley’s celebrated entrepreneurial culture isn’t necessarily a result of the research universities and venture capital dollars in the area, since similar resources are available elsewhere.

Instead, he gave a lot of credit to California’s legal system in a recent interview. While the state may have more than its share of budget issues and crushing tax burdens, the entrepreneurial spirit is allowed to flourish without teams of lawyers putting a damper on things:

Building on the trend toward remote work, two companies started shipping wheeled telepresence robots to customers this year, and other versions are launching soon. While prices are steep and sales tepid, some early adopters find that the robots offer advantages over technologies such as videoconferencing.

Telepresence robots are wheeled machines steered by a person sitting at a remote computer; the bots take the person's place around the conference table or, say, on a facility inspection. They are equipped with cameras, microphones, screens, and speakers so the human controller can interact with real people.

And the winner is: Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., which has just received patent number 8,000,000 for a device to help people with a certain type of vision impairment see better.

Patent No. 8,000,000 is not actually the 8,000,000th patent granted in the United States. Patent No. 1 wasn't issued until 1836; the approximately 10,000 earlier patents used a different indexing system. About 8,000 of those early patents were destroyed in a fire.

Venture capitalist and entrepreneur Mark Suster shares insights on how startups can connect with investors. He explains the best method is to access investors through other entrepreneurs. Suster speaks to the need for a startup to find their first anchor investor, whose presence can often cause additional funding sources to come forward.

It seems like Facebook is everywhere these days. With more than 750 million active users the site is a juggernaut. Facebook is an unstoppable social force that when used for good has been the catalyst for a 7 year social media revolution. Higher education has adopted and adapted Facebook for a variety of reasons including: marketing/communications, course participation, academic advising information, roommate matching, and retention/community building, alumni development, and commencement live-streaming.

No one wants to invest time in something only to be mediocre at it. We want to be great. But before you can be great you have to understand what being great looks like. What are you trying to achieve and what are you aiming for? What do people who are great at X look like? Because before you can be better than them, you at least have to be equal. And that takes some understanding on your part.

Do you want to be great at social media? Well, below are 23 things that great businesses do in social media. Maybe you can help me and add to my list in the comments.

The goal of Appropriate Technology (AT) is to increase the standard of living for the developing world without requiring excessive resources and to use sustainable materials appropriate to the cultural aspects of the local community.  Appropriate Technology is one step beyond the basic concept of sustainable development because it is culturally sensitive and does not impose western technology ideology on developing nations; rather it works within the native concepts and resources to achieve economic development.

Some of the best examples of appropriate technology include addressing basic human needs such as access to clean drinking water and making daily tasks simpler to allow for time and energy to pursue other economic ventures.

If you expect to succeed in the thrill-a-minute, roller coaster ride of a startup, let me assure you it takes more than a good idea, a rich uncle, and luck. In fact, the idea is often the least important part of the equation. Investors tell me that they look at the people first, the business plan second, and only then at the idea.

If you want some tips to beat the insurmountable odds, take a look at the following concepts, adapted from Richard C. Levy’s book, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cashing in On Your Inventions.” He was talking about inventions, but I think his concepts apply perfectly to any entrepreneur starting a business:

In a not too distant California future, students experience classrooms as a rich, multimedia virtual concept instead of a physical space. They graduate into a workforce and marketplace that thrives on the seamless, constant conversion of intellectual ability into economic power. Part of that workforce successfully applies the latest technology solutions to ensure water quality, restore watersheds, repair habitats and develop new products and services that address California's water challenges.

California is back, having recaptured its role as global leader in innovation. A lofty goal in a California presently defined by budget challenges and economic morass, but entirely within the state's reach if it follows a detailed plan, such as one outlined in a report to the California Legislature released today by the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST).

"Innovate 2 Innovation," or "i2i," presents an action plan that would restore California's magnetic attraction for talent and unparalleled reputation for scientific research and high technology.

A few days ago The New York Times reported that new organizations are sprouting up “to encourage scientists and engineers to speak out in public debates and even run for public office.” There are many good reasons for science to be put on the front burner of our public agenda. More than fifty percent of our economic growth since World War II is attributable to science and technology; this is the best investment our country has made. And our scientists and engineers are the best possible advocates for reinvestment in innovation, especially considering the state of our economy.

But the very fact that American scientists feel the need to aggressively advocate for science conceal a bitter irony that the Times article failed to note: We once had a group of brilliant, influential and politically engaged leaders who were fascinated by science, wanted the country to be the world leader in the pursuit of new knowledge about the natural world, and in some cases even made original contributions.

Many people believe that good entrepreneurs are naturally born, rather than trained or experienced in the art of business. I believe there is a natural born component required, but often I tend to agree with Peter Drucker, who said “It’s not magic, it’s not mysterious, and it has nothing to do with genes. It’s a discipline, and like any discipline, it can be learned.”

On the natural born side, some entrepreneurs seem to have a strong vision and the ability to inspirationally lead others. It is this vision that is the beacon to drive the right people behavior, leading to the success of the business. If you don’t feel a vision in your heart, or if you don’t have the strength to inspire people, entrepreneurship is probably the wrong road for you.

At $20, it may not seem like a light bulb worth buying. However, when you consider its solar-powered abilities, it’s hard to believe no one thought of it before!

The solar-powered light bulb by Nokero holds roughly enough energy to power the bulb for 4 hours. According to The Washington Post, the bulb is perfect for emergencies, and for people in third world countries living without any electricity for light.

NASVF, the Federal Laboratory Consortium (www.FLC.org) and selected technical and economic development organizations from the Washington Metro region are please to announce the Commercializing Innovation:  Attracting Investors and Entrepreneur's Conference on September 13, 2011, at Marymount University (Ballston Campus), Arlington, VA.

Experts from the Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia will be featured presenting on effective business strategies in technology development, technology development/transfer lessons learned, challenges, and the opportunities in this economically vibrant region. A financial seminar featuring Jim Jaffe and Richard Miller from NASVF will host the morning session addressing the key areas in attracting investors to tech-based companies.