Illinois Senate Bill 107 will authorize the Illinois State Treasurer to invest an additional 1 percent of the state’s portfolio into venture capital funds, bringing the total authorized to 2 percent. The funds will then invest the additional money into Illinois based technology companies. The original bill asked to increase the limit to 3 percent total, but was reduced to 2 percent overall during the bill’s first reading.

“It is actually legislation that we’ve been trying to get passed for the past three years and we’re thrilled that Treasurer Dan Rutherford has come out so strongly in support of it” said Maura O’Hara, Executive Director of the Illinois Venture Capital Association, which represents about 120 venture capital and private equity firms.

It’s scary being unsure. It’s a lot different from being sure. Instead of the safety net of knowledge, there’s the daunting chasm of uncertainty. It’s not easy to step from the warmth of the old to the chill of the new.

The same goes for commitment.

It takes a lot to commit. Especially if you’re someone that needs certain guarantees before you make the leap. Otherwise the check book is staying in your pocket until the next discussion.

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Now, with open source software components, and low-cost development tools, the same job can be done by one good hacker for a few thousand dollars.

The early 1990s, especially before the launch of Windows 95, were a time of big changes in tech land: the continuously shifting market share of operating systems — Apple versus Windows, IBM and its OS efforts — the jostling for top position, the fallen heroes and new stars. From a writer’s perspective, it was a glorious time.

Then came the late 1990s: the dawn of the Internet era. Once again, there was a battle for market share, as thousands of web companies of all hues vied for consumer attention: Netscape versus Internet Explores, AOL versus CompuServe, Internet versus everything. For a few years, Silicon Valley was a land of greed, glamor and confusing change.

The Social Entrepreneurs Action Learning Project initiated at Babson College is among the six winners of Ashoka U Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship Education competition.

The question is often asked: can entrepreneurship really be taught? The inaugural cohort of Ashoka U Innovation Award Winners in Social Entrepreneurship Education would give us many reasons to believe that not only can entrepreneurship be taught, but young social entrepreneurs can be inspired and supported through applied learning opportunities to help them reach their goals.

Thousands of people are descending on San Francisco this week to check out the latest in computer security at the RSA Conference, and among them will be angel investors and venture capitalists looking for their next deal.

Despite years of work by security vendors, companies and the government, our computers are far from secure, and some VCs think security is finally being taken seriously enough that the opportunity to make money has arrived.

In the airport on the way back from this conference, I picked up a copy of the current issue of Inc. magazine for the cover story on "How Great Entrepreneurs Think." The article relates the results of a study by UVA Darden School professor Saras Sarsvathy of 45 top entrepreneurs. All were presented with a case study of a hypothetical start-up and then quizzed about how they would run it. Interestingly, she later conducted the same exercise with managers at large corporations.

Now that Valentine’s Day is but a distant memory, may I suggest that we think about love not just in our personal lives but in our professional lives too?

Here’s what I mean. In his inspiring and instructive book Rules of Thumb, my friend and Fast Company cofounder Alan Webber identifies two questions that demand the attention of leaders. The first is familiar: What keeps you up at night? What are the problems that nag at you? The second is less familiar, but even more important: What gets you up in the morning? What keeps you and your people more committed than ever, more engaged than ever, more excited than ever, particularly as the environment around you gets tougher and more demanding than ever?

You've heard of the free massages, the rock-climbing wall and the sushi lunches at Google. But believe it or not, employees have as good an experience working at some traditional corporations.

We looked up ratings for the Fortune 500 on Glassdoor, a website that compiles anonymous employer reviews. This list gives the highest rated big companies, with CEO approval as a tiebreaker (We considered companies with over 25 reviews).

February 15, London & Hong Kong – ‘Virtual Silicon Valley’ platform creator Grow VC marks its one year anniversary of launching the platform. Over the past year the online venture community and crowd-funding network has grown to over 7000 members, from over 100 different countries and includes entrepreneurs, startup experts and investors. Being the first global crowd-funding platform with a focus on efficiency and transparency in angel funding and the early-phase startups segment, Grow VC has had a very active start from the day it launched its platform and declared it open to people one year ago.

The first year has been full of activities and growth. Grow VC has been recognized as the global leader in crowd-funding. Grow VC offers an international service for international investments and also launched the first local services in India and China. Further local services for other key markets are coming in this year.

Several years ago we started highlighting the green movement as a trend among small businesses. Over 5 years later, green business practices continue on the radar screens of small business owners and entrepreneurs. There are several aspects to having a commitment to sustainability.

Some business owners are interested in sustainable business practices because it can save them money in operating the business.

In my debut post earlier this month on Small Business Trends, “Why Networking in Person Still Matters,” so many people commented their agreement and successes about networking in person, face to face. As a followup to this, I wanted to talk about relationships from the virtual entry point, and how powerful this has been for me, too.

Recently I read a networking article in a business publication that posed the question:

“Are virtual relationships real relationships?”

So you’ve decided to leave the work force and go out on your own. This is a transition that can be difficult, especially if we’ve never tried to take the self-employed route before now. However, that does not mean it is impossible.

FeedFront recently took a look at some of the difficulties that comes with making this transition, and what can help you make it a smooth one.

Don’t Burn Bridges
Being unhappy with your job can be a great catalyst for change; and more than one entrepreneur has started their business for this very reason. But it’s always best to give your soon-to-be former employer the respect they deserve, and depart on the best possible terms.

I'm often asked by first time entrepreneurs what's involved with setting up a business. Do I need to incorporate? What do I need to know about hiring? Payroll? Do I need a CPA? How do I register my business? Why do I need to bother with any of this at all?

The fact of the matter is that for most entrepreneurs non-core activities like filing DE-1 forms and negotiating insurance rates are at best a necessary distraction to the value added tasks of creating product, finding customers, and building a team. At worst, they can be a confusing labyrinth of rules, regulations, and risks which if ignored or mismanaged can hurt your business. Unfortunately, business does involve some non-core, administrative overhead that cannot be ignored. And what you don’t know can bite you.

U.S. Economic Development Administration Applauds President Obama for Making Tough Choices & Smart Investments in FY 2012 Budget Proposal

Budget Invests $40 Million in EDA to Strengthen Economic 'Growth Zones' in America's Regions

WASHINGTON, DC (MMD Newswire) February 14, 2011 -- The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) today applauds President Obama's fiscal year (FY) 2012 Budget proposal for investing in what makes America stronger and cutting what we cannot afford. The President's proposal invests $40 million in EDA to develop a new Regional Innovation Program targeting 'Growth Zones' to foster collaboration across the federal government to build regional innovation clusters based upon the inherent strengths of local communities. EDA is the only agency in the federal government with the exclusive mission to help create and retain jobs and leverage private investment in the nation's regions.

Corkfashion, Ltd, the company that owns the brand Pelcor® joined the Portuguese Association COTEC - Network of Innovative SME COTEC on the 9th of December 2009, for being an innovative company. Its founder, Mrs. Sandra Correia, received the award from the President of the Portuguese Republic, Dr. Cavaco Silva.

COTEC Portugal – the Business Association for Innovation was established in April 2003, following an initiative of the then President of the Republic, Dr. Jorge Sampaio. With the mission to "promote increased competitiveness of firms located in Portugal, through the development and dissemination of a culture and practice of innovation and knowledge resident in the country" to Portugal is a non-profit organization that has the support of its associated companies and institutions of the National Innovation System (NIS) to achieve their objectives through the implementation of initiatives in several areas.

Are we only at the beginning of an era of IT-driven productivity gains? Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the MIT Center for Digital Business, says there’s still enormous potential for businesses to use information technology to test new processes and improve operations rapidly—and very cheaply.

People with a victim mentality should never be entrepreneurs. We all know the role of starting and running a business is unpredictable, and has a high risk of failure. For people with a victim mentality, this fear of failure alone will almost certainly make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I’m sure you all know someone who is the perennial victim. The problem is that most of these people aren’t likely to accept your assessment, so it’s hard to help them. They don’t see themselves as others see them, and many simply refuse to accept the reality of the world in general.

Calgary, Canada and Barcelona, Spain (PRWEB) February 14, 2011

The App marketplace has become a competitive stage for developers, content producers and App store market place operators. Closing the gap on the App ecosystem are three Canadian companies who are leading the way in building sustainable business models in pursuit of creating a “Best in Breed” App experiences for a growing customer base. Poynt, Mob4hire and Momentem all based in Calgary, Canada are a driving force in Canada's Emerging Technology landscape.

Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes. There is no single formula for determining what type of entrepeneur will succeed. But one of my favorite stories about entrepreneurs comes from Don Valentine, the founder of Sequoia, which is one of the best venture capital firms in the business.

When one of the younger partners in the firm started, Don took him aside and drew a four square quadrant. Along one axis, he put "easy to get along with" on one end and "hard to get along with" on the other end. One the other axis, he put "normal" on one end and "brilliant" on the other end.