Biotechnology firms are coming around to a harsh reality: The gravy days are over.

These small, innovative drug companies were once an investment darling, able to secure millions of dollars from venture capitalists and even more later through public offerings. But in recent years, venture financing for biotech has been in decline, due to the tough economic environment and poor returns from stock offerings.

Venture capitalists invested a total of $3.92 billion last year in biotechs of all stages, well below the $6.17 billion peak in 2007, according to VentureSource.

Tomorrow the Senate will vote on one of those rare bills that that has vast bipartisan support. It passed through the House with 390 yeas to only 23 nays, and Barack Obama supports it, too. How could this possibly be controversial?

The bill is called the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, and includes several measures of the President’s Startup America agenda, which aims to boost hiring by unleashing the entrepreneurial animal spirits of small businesses.

Investors are protesting against some of the bill's provisions that roll back securities regulations designed to protect investors from fraud.

Crowdfunding if it passes the Seante tomorrow, will be the catalyst for needed innovation and jobs growth in this country.  Small business represents 65% of our Country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is the leading employer of onshore US employees. You are probable wondering, what is Crowdfunding? Crowdfunding is a new concept. Basically it would allow start up entrepreneurs to solicit funds from individuals without having to adhere to existing Securities and Exchange (SEC) regulations. Presently, new start ups must register with the SEC and follow a complex set or regulations that include an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of shares and disclosure of their financial status through periodic filings with the SEC.

Crowdfunding is intended to simplify and eliminate some of these requirements. It would make it easier for entrepreneurs to solicit funds directly from individuals. Advocates argue that Crowdfunding would produce 1.5 million jobs in 5 years.

European accelerator Startupbootcamp is launching in Berlin this week. Although there is no lack of startup activity in Berlin right now, Startupbootcamp thinks it can bring some special sauce to the scene, and let’s face it, the more the merrier right? They join other pan European programmes like Seedcamp, Springboard and Le Camping, to name just a few of the many now operating.

Adding to its locations in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Dublin, Startupbootcamp in Berlin will be headed by CEO and Co-Founder, Alex Farcet and run for the usual three-month program providing seed funding, co-working space with other startups and a mentorship program.

Last week at our Yesware board meeting, we talked about the idea of “the monastic startup.” This was a phrase that Matthew Bellows, Yesware’s CEO, came up with, and it characterizes the culture they are creating at Yesware. It embodies two concepts:

The monastic startup is a place where engineers do the best work of their lives. This place involves work with long stretches of uninterrupted time.

This idea sung to me. As I sit here in front of my 30″ monitor, working away in the peacefulness of my office in Boulder, surrounded by 10 of my favorite people (the gang I work with), listening to Lady Gaga, and connected to thousands of others via the computer in front of me, I realize that I long for more “monastic startup” time.

Join me on my journey to find the algorithm that identifies the “innovative” companies of tomorrow (2025 and beyond). “That’s impossible!” you say. I hear you―and while I certainly don’t have a reliable crystal ball, I am still determined to give this a try.

Who among researchers, business gurus, policy institutes and think-tanks is defining and weighing “innovation” and the success of companies today and tomorrow? There are many suspects and each have their own assessment criteria and methodology. I have chosen a few that make sense for this exercise and provided my critique on whether it is a sufficient measure of a corporation’s long-term success and “innovative” behaviour.

I don’t want to puncture conventional wisdom, but Mark Zuckerbergs are a dime a dozen. Okay, not a dime a dozen per se, but certainly more common than you might think. In fact, he or she could be sitting in the office right next to you.

I’m talking, of course, about Mark Zuckerberg the innovator. Mark Zuckerberg the entrepreneur…well, now, that’s a different story. There aren’t that many of him. But it’s the innovation that’s more important, and arguably the thing we give the least amount of weight to. Try to think of a famous innovator you’re aware of who hasn’t started a company and made a billion dollars. I bet you’d be hard-pressed to come up with a single name.

For Jacob Arriola, a business development manager for a Spanish media company in Los Angeles, learning to program wasn't a necessity. But figuring it might help with his job, he started using an online code-tutorial service called Treehouse in January.

After three months with the paid service, he's earned several dozen badges for completing programming quizzes and challenges, and watching coding-related video lessons. More importantly, he's built his own website from scratch and made some simple changes to websites that his company runs. "I'm able to do it myself, which is pretty cool," he says.

Arriola is one of a growing number of non-techies turning to Web-based sites to learn how to code, either for fun or in hopes of advancing their job prospects. And while the basic concept isn't new, the execution is. The addition of video-game elements like badges and points is helping startups such as Treehouse take off.

Lewis A. Litteral held up two bottles of water and asked a series of questions of a room full of faculty members and administrators here Monday.

"Where does it come from?" asked Mr. Litteral, and associate professor and chair of the management department at the University of Richmond's Robins School of Business. "How much does it cost? Is it better than tap water? Why is it here?"

Curly-haired provoker-of-thought Malcolm Gladwell had some interesting stuff to say while delivering his closing talk at the Association of American Publishers' annual meeting in New York City earlier this week, reports Gayle Feldman at The Bookseller.

One quote from his talk is particularly insightful and applicable beyond the publishing industry.

Amazon just bought Kiva Systems for $775 million. The company makes robots that automate warehouse fulfillment.

Here's a video of the robots at work.

This year’s Innovation Union Scoreboard shows that most Member States have improved their innovation performance. This allows the European Union to maintain a clear lead over the emerging economies of China, Brazil, India, Russia, and South Africa, but not to close the existing gap with innovation leaders such as the United States, Japan and South Korea. More efforts are therefore needed so as to address the EU’s weaknesses. One area in the spotlight is related to firms’ innovation activities.

As entrepreneurs, we typically face more questions than answers. Then, we reach that first moment of glory: We confirm that a) our product does indeed work, and b) there is a demand for it.

Surely, one of the most pressing questions is determining the optimal market path, and specifically, whether partnering with an established distribution platform, portal or brand can add transformative value to your company.

Entrepreneurs don’t think enough about this issue, but rather, can sometimes be consumed by the moment of glory. But in doing so, we limit the potential of our companies and our investors.

Small businesses can compete for talent without breaking the bank. Yes, you still need to pay competitive wages to get people in the door, but it’s the perks that will help you retain them. Here are 30 low-cost ideas for small businesses who want to show employees that they are highly valued.

1. Flex time.  Some organizations require employees to be at work during core hours, and employee can set their schedule around this. Others allow employees to put in hours at their own discretion. Most require employees to have a set schedule so managers can plan for coverage. The schedule may be adjusted to accommodate personal matters like doctor's appointments.

It’s well-known that employers in the U.S. plow a significant portion of their budgets into paying for employees’ healthcare.

A recent survey of more than 500 employers showed that responding companies spent on average $10,982 per employee annually on healthcare, according to employee benefits company Towers Watson.

To be sure, employers face plenty of challenges associated with healthcare — such as improving employee engagement and complying with federal health reform regulations — but rapidly escalating costs are likely to remain their biggest problem for the near future.

John Harthorne and Akhil Nigam make their living by giving things away; things like office space, mentorship and millions of dollars. As the founders of MassChallenge, a Boston-based startup competition and accelerator, Harthorne and Nigam nurture 125 young companies and dole out $1 million in grants each year. They do not take any equity in return.

Crowdfunding may soon be a reality in the United States, giving entrepreneurs and would-be mom-and-pop startup investors reason for celebration.

And make no mistake about it: crowdfunding could be one of the most significant changes to hit the startup world in a long time, providing entrepreneurs with a much larger market in which to raise capital for their companies.

As Tim Rowe, CEO of Cambridge Innovation Center, sees it, crowdfunding will "turn the start-up world upside down."

"This is Kickstarter on jet fuel," he writes.

But if and when the ink dries on crowdfunding legislation that is awaiting approval in the U.S. Senate, entrepreneurs will have to grapple with the reality that while crowdfunding gives them a potentially powerful new way to raise funds, it isn't a perfect funding solution.

The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity is a leading indicator of new business creation in the United States. Capturing new business owners in their first month of significant business activity, this measure provides the earliest documentation of new business development across the country. Analysis of matched monthly data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) allows for comparisons of the percentage of the adult, non-business owner population that starts a business over time. In addition to this overall rate of entrepreneurial activity, separate estimates for specific demographic groups, states, and select metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) are presented. The Index provides the only national measure of business creation by specific demographic groups.

Heardable, the real-time data and publishing platform measuring online brand performance, just released a new benchmark report titled, "The Top 50 Leading Brands in Venture Capital," and Fred Wilson (http://avc.com) outscored 49 other venture capital firms to be crowned the most effective VC brand online.

Fred Wilson outscored such brands as Venrock Associates and Mayfield Fund to secure the top position, which was calculated by a thorough examination of over 200 VC brands and 779+ data variables per brand. Fred Wilson's score of 627 out of 1,000 beat its nearest competitor, Andreessen Horowitz, by 16 points (2.6%).

The College of Technology at Purdue University has launched Tech Ventures, a proof of concept center that will accelerate the process of moving faculty and student innovations from idea to the marketplace.

Tech Ventures is led by Matt McKillip, executive director, and Lonnie Bentley, faculty director.

Both Bentley, a professor of computer and information technology, and McKillip have prior academic, industry, and start-up experience. They have worked with teams across Purdue, other institutions, government and industry to create Tech Ventures, where they say faculty and students can “plug in, start up and take off.”

When he was appointed dean of the College of Technology, Gary Bertoline identified innovation and commercialization as areas with natural growth potential and set a goal to increase both. Tech Ventures addresses that goal as it also offers its services to the rest of the campus.