Israeli Innovation

The latest issue of the City Journal includes an article on the unmatched economic and scientific accomplishments achieved by Israel in its short history. The high-tech industry dominates the Israeli economy and the author includes some interesting statistics regarding the country’s global standing in the technology sector. As of 2007, Israel houses more foreign NASDAQ-traded companies than any other country. Notably, the author writes:

Entrepreneur investors launching a $5 million investment fund for new ventures in medical devices and health care services.

Wealthy entrepreneurs who made their mark in the region's health-care sector want to seed a new wave of business growth.

Up to 20 investors, led by some of the region's most successful health care executives, are launching a $5 million investment fund for new ventures in medical devices and health care services.

U.S. Continues to Tread Water in Global R&D Tax Incentives

Although once offering the most generous R&D tax credit in the world, the United States now ranks 17th out of the 30 OECD countries.  The United States’ R&D credit has fallen so far behind compared to other nations it would have to increase the Alternative Simplified Credit from its current value of 14 percent to 47 percent to once again be the world leader in R&D tax generosity.

Read the WebMemo.

EDC Expo speaker (Richard Bendis) to discuss capital, mentorship value

An experienced hand at developing capital resources will headline the Entrepreneurial Development Center’s fourth annual Expo.

Richard Bendis, president and CEO of Innovation America, a national private/public partnership focused on entrepreneurism, will talk about capital fundraising challenges at the Sept. 1 event at Kirkwood Center for Continuing Education in southwest Cedar Rapids.

NASVF: VC Survey to Promote Increase in Venture Capital and Follow Investing Trends

Conrad Foundation Opens Registration for 2010 Spirit of Innovation ... by Doug Messier

Larta Institute Wins National Science Foundation (NSF) Contract

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) August 27, 2009 -- The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced that Larta Institute (www.larta.org), one of the best-known and largest commercialization services companies in the U.S., has been tapped to design and manage a commercialization assistance program aimed at small-company grantees across the U.S. NSF joins other U.S. agencies, specifically the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Telemedicine Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), in recognizing the Institute's work on behalf of innovation and commercialization.

A Final Ted Kennedy Innovation: A New Way To Use Twitter

Today, with Ted Kennedy in repose, his family bears responsibility for a technological advance, one that, if replicated by others, will save time, money and mental bandwidth. It seems small potatoes: instead of using e-mail to distribute information about funeral arrangements, the family has set up a Twitter account, @kennedynews. The handle will be used to provide updates about timing, logistics, even VIP arrivals to various events. This will undoubtedly prove more efficient than press releases, which must be clicked on and skimmed until the particular piece of information is communicated. The 140-character limit will force the info to be communicated quickly, unadorned with extraneous words.

FCC votes to look at innovation in wireless industry

The Federal Communications Commission decided unanimously on Thursday to review the state of "innovation" in the wireless industry, a move that could lead to greater regulation of carriers and government intervention in disputes such as one that recently erupted over Google Voice and the Apple App Store.

Corporate Venture Capital - An Alternative Route To Finance?

The buzz around the biopharma industry is that the traditional venture capital (VC) companies are withdrawing from funding new pharma and biotech start-ups in favor of supporting their existing portfolio companies. Coupling this with the lack of IPOs during 2008 and 2009, this leaves a large funding void at the early-stage part of the industry.

How To Start A Business From Your Dorm Room

These are grim days for college students looking beyond the quad and into the job market. Some students are taking a proactive approach before graduating and setting up shop while in school.

Student-run businesses have moved beyond staples like proofreading and babysitting. Instead, students are taking advantage of technology to create sophisticated dorm-room businesses, in part because they view owning a business as less risky than working for one.

SBA targets young entrepreneurs on new YouTube channel | WHYY News ...

With millions of viewers logging onto YouTube throughout the world each day, individuals like British talent contestant Susan Boyle can practically become online sensations overnight.

Who’s Driving Twitter’s Popularity? Not Teens By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER

Kristen Nagy, an 18-year-old from Sparta, N.J., sends and receives 500 text messages a day. But she never uses Twitter, even though it publishes similar snippets of conversations and observations.

“I just think it’s weird and I don’t feel like everyone needs to know what I’m doing every second of my life,” she said.

Analysis of "The Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009"

ITIF Research Fellow Richard Bennett analyzes the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009 (H.R. 3458) in an article in Internet Evolution.  The Internet's fundamental vibrancy and astounding ability to adapt to innovative new applications would be compromised by the overly prescriptive management framework the legislation proposes.  Regulators need to focus on protecting the Internet's capacity for change rather than preserving a flawed picture of its past.

Read the Report.

Four Years After Katrina, New Orleans Now A Hub Of Entrepreneurship

The Wall Street Journal reported that, thanks to entrepreneurial support centers and generous tax breaks, New Orleans has become a hub of innovation and entrepreneurial activity.

Talent, technology and tolerance key to attracting creative workers

A leading thinker on creativity believes attracting talented people is the driving force behind successful cities. In an interview with EurActiv, Richard Florida, author of 'The Rise of the Creative Class', said European countries are battling to attract and retain innovative people.

Bringing together a critical mass of creative workers, developing technology transfer infrastructure and fostering a bohemian, multicultural environment will be essential if European cities are to compete for mobile human capital, he said.

Canada needs new paradigm for research and innovation by Ron Freedman (CEO of Research Infosource Inc.)

Forget the apocalyptic statements about "deep cuts" to publicly funded research that fuelled headlines across Canada this past spring. In fact, university and hospital research funding rose last year by 5.2 per cent, to $6.1 billion, maintaining 10 years of solid growth.

Those doom and gloom warnings mask a deeper malaise over the future of research in this country. The larger problem is that policy leaders have run out of new ideas about how to tap the creative potential of the country's universities, colleges, research hospitals and, most important, companies.

Intel Capital: Economys a mess, VC is worse -- so invest!

Venture Capitals Open Secret

BURLINGAME, Calif. -- Sell a company for $50 million and you'd think the company's founders would be some very rich people.

Not necessarily. That's because conditions in the term sheets many start-ups sign in order to raise funding can quickly leave a founder's equity "sliding towards zero," says Adeo Ressi, founder of TheFunded.com, an online community for entrepreneurs looking to raise venture funding. Here's how it works. Start with a common clause called a "liquidation preference." It gives an investor the right to, say, 30% of the proceeds of a sale if they own 30% of the company. Fair enough, right? Well, many start-ups agree to terms that give investors 1.5 or even two times that amount.

Bring back private venture capital by Dr Mark Scibor-Rylski

Sir, Why is financing early-stage companies a task for the public sector? The regional development associations and the EU are not venture capitalists. Why has this sector been nationalised without protest?

We must be able to fund good new businesses as we struggle out of a recession, yet ineffective and often mirage state funding mechanisms are all we have left. We must bring back venture capital before even more new business opportunities are wasted.