If you’re staring 2013 in the eyes, trying to figure out whether or not your new venture is likely to attract VC investment in the new year, you might be interested in the findings presented in the 2012 Global Venture Capital Confidence Survey.

The survey, conducted earlier this year by Deloitte & Touche LLP and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), shows which industries have attracted the most VC attention in 2012. Deloitte says that general partners with assets under management ranging from less than US$50 million to greater than US$10 billion were polled in the following regions: the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

An entrepreneur is an individual who accepts some sort of risk — usually financial — in the pursuit of new ventures. The word can apply to any person organizing a new project or opportunity, though it is most often used in a business context. A person in this role is often characterized as innovative, independent, optimistic, creative, and hard-working.

Creative Destruction

In some circles, entrepreneurs are described as “creative destructionists” of products and services. Although they may reinvigorate an existing industry by using new methods, whether of production, organization, or structure, they also work to tear down the existing companies and ways of doing business by developing entirely new products or services that make older variations obsolete or irrelevant. An example of this is the creation of the automobile, which slowly made most parts of the horse-drawn carriage industry obsolete.

I’ll be first to admit that I’m a reforming “innovation” trollop. I’ve thrown the word around too lightly, at any old sailor. I need a hot shower and a Brillo pad… What’s so bad about “innovation”? It doesn’t mean much…and maybe never did. Today, we use it to describe an iPhone newsreader app and the reinvention of space travel by SpaceX. That’s more range than Meryl Streep.  My business is about creating great products and services, so I look for great tech partners. Some are startups led by brilliant entrepreneurs, bursting with optimism and 5-Hour Energy. As they describe their app, game, or web service, their words scream Johnny Depp, but the reality is a bit more Judah Friedlander. No shame in that, but I sometimes wonder how we could get these brilliant minds to work on meatier problems. My concern isn’t for them, but for us. The US needs jobs and as I wrote in Econovation, the big numbers still come from physical, capital-intensive businesses. Here are three ways we can help make brilliant minds deliver bigger results.

Could the 1990s surge of biotech investment be happening again?

With new legislation, mergers and IPOs all helping lead the way, the biotech industry is seeing levels of investment not seen in recent years.

Earlier this year, the industry gained notice with several big-name mergers and acquisitions, such as GlaxoSmithkline's acquisition of Human Genome Sciences for $3 billion in August, and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s $206 million purchase of Allos Therapeutics in April. There also has been a surge of new FDA approvals that have attracted investor attention--including a drug from Onyx Pharmaceuticals to treat a rare blood cancer and an obesity drug from VIVUS Inc.

Ray Kurzweil, one of the most wide-eyed futurists around, is going to work at Google.

Kurzweil is one of the foremost authors responsible for the popularity of the notion of technological singularity, the idea that artificial intelligence will someday (soon) reach a crescendo of self-improvement, kicking off an endlessly growing planetary intelligence and allowing us to transcend our limited humanity.

He's written multiple books about artificial intelligence, the singularity and transhumanism. He's also intensely interested in human life extension and has written extensively about health and biology. On top of all that, he's an inventor of musical instruments, and he's worked on optical character recognition, text-to-speech and speech recognition technology.

Each year, Speakers Platform recognizes five speakers within ten popular topic areas. Excellence in speaking is based on: expertise, professionalism, innovation within the topic area, client testimonials & references, presentation skills, original contribution to the field and votes. The only substantive requirement is that the candidates' keynote presentation fee must be under $30,000USD. Please use the form below to vote for your favorite speakers in any number of the topic areas. You can also add "write-in" candidates.

Each winner will receive a distinctive crystal award, be highlighted at the Speaking.com Web site and can use the prestigious Top5 award designation and graphics in their marketing. Here are the 2012 honorees.

View the list and vote here by clicking here.

It’s no surprise that people want to be their own boss. Starting your own business gives you the freedom to call the shots and not have some overzealous manager — or art director — peering over your shoulder all day, telling you how your job should be done. But, starting your own business is a daunting task. Entrepreneurs face a myriad of challenges today in trying to get their business off the ground.

The wisest of entrepreneurs has laid in bed at night, wondering if they’ll ever see the fruits of their labor — or if they’ll have to leverage their home as collateral to realize their dreams. But, getting advice from people who’ve walked in their shoes before can have a remarkable impact on overcoming startup struggles.

I have the privilege to travel the world in order to meet with corporate innovation teams and work with them on their issues. This gives me a pretty good understanding on what is happening with open innovation globally so here comes a list of countries that in my view do well.

1. United States. No surprise here. This is where it happens. We have the companies, intermediaries/service providers, top academics and all the best conferences. There are simply too many to mention here.

2. The Netherlands. I have had the opportunity to engage with several Dutch companies including Philips, which I believe can turn into a great case on open innovation in the near future. I really look forward to seeing them start sharing their experiences in the innovation community : – ) Other interesting companies include AkzoNobel, DSM and Unilever. The Netherlands also has several workshops and events on open innovation.

It’s no secret that “career” doesn’t mean the same thing today that it did a generation ago. Generous pensions, retirement parties and company watches are a thing of the past and job-hopping every few years has become the norm. But what does the shifting economy and tightening job market really mean for the success prospects of Millennials?

According to Mark Hopkins, VC and author of Shortcut to Prosperity: 10 Entrepreneurial Habits and a Roadmap for an Exceptional Career which hit shelves January 1, the changing employment landscape means that every one of us—from the mailroom to the mid-level managers–  needs an entrepreneurship reality check.

Innovation and entrepreneurship make the United Arab Emirates the number one economic leader among Gulf States, according to a new ranking announced on Tuesday (December 11th).

The UAE ranked first among Gulf States on the 2012 Arabia Fast Growth 500, officials announced during the Arabia 500 awards ceremony. The ranking was based on the number of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) listed in the gulf country.

The New York Times continued its excellent iEconomy series with an article on the job prospects for app developers. The lengthy piece gives a few snippets of labor market data for software developers and touches on the work of economist Michael Mandel in measuring the “App Economy.”

The gist of the NYT piece, and something that Mandel doesn’t go along with, is that the majority of entrepreneurs in the app writing realm have a difficult time making a living — despite all the buzz that surrounds the growing field.

Have you heard of GrowFL?  If you are interested in economic gardening, you almost certainly have.

The Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University o f Central Florida (www.growfl.com) has become an integral part of the State of Florida’s economic development strategy.  Created in 2009, it became one of the earliest and most prominent organizations in the post-recessionary movement toward economic gardening.  GrowFL has helped more than 400 companies create 1,400 new jobs statewide.

GrowFL is Very Good at Marketing   It is worth emulating as a promoter of its own services, an evangelist for economic gardening and an example of how to infuse EG into economic development as a whole.

Success hinges on finding great people, but killer candidates can be nightmare employees, and duds can morph into your biggest stars. Here are the 3 biggest hiring mistakes to avoid.

Ask any executive to give you a list of his or her greatest business challenges, and most will put finding talented people right at the top. After three years spent running my own startup, I can tell you it’s one of the things that keep my cofounders and me up at night.

Yes, it’s already that transitional time when our current year ends and another begins, and today and tomorrow are quickly changing hands. Rather than look back at significant trends of the past 366 days (2012 was a leap year, remember?), we asked a wide variety of technologists, designers, and strategists across Frog’s studios around the world to take a look to the future. The near future, that is. “Near” in that 2013 is not only upon us, but also “near” in that these technologies are highly feasible, commercially viable, and are bubbling up to the surface of the global zeitgeist. We believe you’ll be hearing a lot more about these trends within the next 12 months, and possibly be experiencing them in some form, too.

The economy is on an upswing for three cities in America, and today marks our last visit with a city the Brookings Institution has deemed recovered from the recession.

The third stop on our road to recovery is in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has officially reached pre-2007 levels for both GDP per capita and employment, and its most recent unemployment levels come in just under the national average.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl discusses his city's road to prosperity.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Innovate Washington, the statewide public-private partnership that is the catalyst for economic growth in Washington’s innovation economy, has launched its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant-writing program. 

Innovate Washington connects innovators and researchers across the State with the entrepreneurial and financial capital needed to produce world-class companies and high-value jobs that will form the backbone of our region’s future economy. 

We’ve all seen that stereotypical movie scene where two long-lost lovers reunite–most likely by running toward each other in a verdant field filled with wildflowers beneath an improbably beautiful blue sky. That’s how I felt this morning sitting on my couch downloading the new, free Google Maps iOS app onto my iPhone, minus the kisses and tumbling through grass.

It’s been a long few months navigating the streets of the Bay Area without Google Maps. When Apple replaced Google’s app with its own Maps application in September as part of an iOS update, I was intrigued, and then annoyed. Things were mis-marked on Apple’s maps, and it was just not as good-looking or easy to use as Google Maps, which had been the default on the iPhone since it was first released in 2007. I tried to chalk it up to my general resistance to forced change, but it really came down to the simple fact that Apple Maps was released before it was ready. Apple’s subsequent apology and the departure of iOS senior vice president Scott Forstall made this clearer.

Summary

CrowdFunding & CrowdInvesting guides is a series published by CrowdFunding & CrowdInvesting platform BankToTheFuture.com

Description

Whether you are seeking angel funding, venture capital, CrowdFunding, bank funding or CrowdInvesting, this guide will make sure you avaoid the 7 dumbest mistakes when raising finance for your company.

At the Next Economy Partnership Project, we're advocates of building an economy fueld by locally led innovation.

However, when it comes to transitioning into the next economy, some states are further along than others.

A fantastic new report by our friends at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation ranks states by their adoption of an innovation fueled economy.

I am often faced with whining articles about the lack of women entrepreneurs in our industry. Well, my response has always been to show examples of what is really happening. Let me introduce you to three interesting women in diverse industries from educational technology to online music.

Melanie Kusmik:  Cubert’s Cube

Any teacher will tell you how hard it to teach elementary school kids to write. Because these students vary in cognitive and motor skill development, writing can be frustrating for many to learn such important skills. Entrepreneur, Melanie Kusmik, hopes to solve that problem by teaching kids to write through social web technology.