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.
Nationwide, the venture capital industry saw a steady increase in venture-backed exits in 2013. A new report from the National Venture Capital Association said that for the fourth quarter of 2013, there was a 91 percent increase in exits with a deal value of $5.3 billion, and a total of 82 venture-backed exits for the year.
Image: http://www.bizjournals.com
Who knew elephant sharks held potential answers for health problems such as osteoporosis and poor immune systems?
An international team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Germany discovered new insights into human health by sequencing the elephant-shark genome
Less than five years ago, VCs were the only game in town for backing a startup (short of a rich relative). This is no longer the case. Crowdfunding platforms, organized "super angels" and quasi incubator-funding programs like Y Combinator and Techstars have created viable alternatives to spending a year pitching your dream to VC after VC.
I find it poetic that my industry, which has long touted the fact that we invest in disruptive companies, is dealing with a bit of disruption ourselves. Our incessant nagging of our portfolio companies to out-innovate is being turned back on us. And for you, dear founder, this means VCs are battling to find and fund you. Below, I've outlined two ways we're going about it.
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The American economy is being reshaped by the booming industries of technology and energy, according to new rankings by the Milken Institute. In the 2013 rankings of America's best performing cities, 13 cities defined by Milken as tech hubs made it into the top 25, while nine could attribute their impressive growth to the energy industry, notably the shale and natural gas renaissance. Milken's ranking is based on data from both long- and short-term growth in jobs, wages, salaries, and technological output.
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SLEEP seems like a perfectly fine waste of time. Why would our bodies evolve to spend close to one-third of our lives completely out of it, when we could instead be doing something useful or exciting? Something that would, as an added bonus, be less likely to get us killed back when we were sleeping on the savanna?
Image: http://www.nytimes.com
A place to meditate on freedom, and the creative life that followed. When Nelson Mandela was incarcerated at Robben Island prison, he found inspiration in Cape Town. “We often looked across Table Bay at the magnificent silhouette of Table Mountain,” he said in a speech. “To us on Robben Island, Table Mountain was a beacon of hope. It represented the mainland to which we knew we would one day return.”
Image: Table Mountain and Cape Town. Samantha Reinders for The New York Times
The San Diego Venture Group hosts Bobby Franklin of the National Venture Capital Association, Scott Tierney of Google Capital, and Carol Gallagher of Frazier Healthcare to talk about their perspectives on VC activity in the coming year.
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Venture capital and private equity funding offers enormous scope for small units and start-ups to scale up operations, said Krishna Meka, Senior Principal Investment Manager, Ventureast Life Fund.
Meka was speaking at a session on “How to scale up your enterprise”, organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Business Line here on Saturday, as part of a road show to promote CII emerging entrepreneur awards in the southern region. The event was sponsored by the Indian Overseas Bank.
Image: Krishna Meka of Ventureast Life Fund in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. — A. Manikanta Kumar - http://www.thehindubusinessline.com
To encourage an entrepreneurial spirit, you must create a culture that accepts failure. Unfortunately, most companies don’t do that. And in the absence of managerial support and proper incentives, employees are less willing to try new things. One way that companies can prevent this from happening is to reward efforts, not just outcomes. By providing rewards — both financial and non-financial — for exhibiting entrepreneurial behaviors, companies will encourage employees to take risks without the fear of failure.
Image Courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I write about innovation, leadership and the humanities.
Our body is a machine for living. It is organized for that, it is its nature. Let life go on in it unhindered and let it defend itself, it will do more than if you paralyze it bey encumbering it with remedies. — Leo Tolstoy
Image: http://innovationrainforest.com
The more parochial a place, the more ineffective the talent.
Last Wednesday, I mentioned that the Orkney Islands were a hot spot of innovation many moons ago. This weekend, the Financial Times picks up on the same story: ”But why such a remote spot became Britain’s hotbed of cultural innovation 5,000 years ago remains a mystery.” On Thursday, Richard Florida pre-emptively solved the mystery:
Image: Illustrated map of Milwaukee in 1872. (Photo: Public Domain)
I pulled back the curtain, ready to meet the next patient on my hospital rounds. “Why are you standing there?” she asked me. “Come, have a seat, let’s talk.” Lenore could have been my grandmother. She was 77 years old, and all of 93 pounds. What she lacked in girth, she more than made up for in chutzpah. She was one of the patients from intern year who I’ll never forget.
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Think your smartphone is smart? You ain't seen nuthin' yet. The technology that powers mobile is in the process of spreading, well, everywhere—and the world around us is going to be radically transformed as a result.
Think of it as the next big phase in the evolution of mobile computing. Cars, televisions, factories, clothes and other wearable items ... you name it, and the innovations that were developed for smartphones are going to help define the new things they'll do and how you'll use them.
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Nationally, startups seeking venture capital at an early stage saw another great year in 2013 with an abundance of active seed investments being made. And according to data released by CB Insights last week, of the seed investors making deals with young companies in 2013, three D.C.-based VCs were some of the most active. Among the likes of West Coast seed powerhouses 500 Startups and Andreessen Horowitz, Washington-area CIT GAP Funds, New Enterprise Associates and Fortify.vc were ranked in the top 60 venture capital funds for most active nationally.
LAS VEGAS - Sin City is a crazy place. It's full of bright lights, gambling, lots of booze and a host of extracurricular activities that some would definitely deem morally degrading. But it's also a lot of fun. Especially when the International Consumer Electronics Show rolls into town. It's kind of like a microcosm of Las Vegas -- all shiny new things, large crowds, big money being spent and the occasional scantily clad marketing woman.
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Every so often, innovation has the ability to affect an entire industry, and even popular culture. Horse and buggy travel was made obsolete by the invention of the internal combustion engine and the mass production of the automobile. Passenger train travel was influenced by the airplane and the jet engine.
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There is a fundamentally new class of individuals entering and circulating in the job market. They tend to be adaptable and mobile, East-Coast-educated but West Coast-bound, willing to take risks, technically sophisticated, and social adept. They also are more interested in learning than in their salary. Most importantly, however, they don’t want to work in the traditional workplace environment.
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I’m really impatient. I mean really impatient. Maybe even a dose of hyperactivity disorder. I need stuff done now. I hate waiting. One of my Kris Kringle presents was a stamp that says “F-cking Urgent.” I am into efficiency.
Why? I like getting stuff done, so I can do more stuff and achieve more, learn more, grow more and then have more choice to do more fun things when I want.
Image: http://blog.eonetwork.org
Entrepreneurs are serial offenders when it comes to living unbalanced lives.
While the tools have never been more accessible for building massive personal wealth, if you race towards accumulating millions of dollars before you start focusing on your emotional well being then you might arrive at your finish line completely burned out.
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Venture capital fundraising slowed in 2013 as a handful of firms continued to rule the market.
The $19.66 billion raised was 10% less than the $21.86 billion committed in 2012, according to DJX LP Source. Last year’s take was closer to 2011′s $20.37 billion.
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