WASHINGTON, DC – With the entrepreneurial ecosystem expanding from coast to coast, venture investors deployed capital to 3,662 companies located in 133 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in 2015, according to the MoneyTree™ Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), based on data from Thomson Reuters.

“Contrary to popular belief you don’t have to be an entrepreneur living in San Francisco, New York or Boston to receive venture capital funding.  There are pockets of innovation all across the United States, and as long as you have a groundbreaking idea with high-growth potential you are well positioned to attract venture capital funding to help grow your business,” said Bobby Franklin, President & CEO of NVCA.  “As more cities, states and municipalities dedicate greater resources to foster the growth of their local ecosystems, venture investors are taking notice and deploying capital across much larger areas of the country.  This not only helps the entrepreneurs themselves but local economies as well through job creation and sustained economic growth.”

Intel Corp is looking to sell part of its venture capital portfolio, assets that could be worth as much as $1 billion, Bloomberg reported.

The world's biggest chipmaker was working with UBS Group AG to look for potential buyers, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The portfolio comprises companies across the globe and is part of the company's corporate venture unit, Intel Capital, according to the report.

Image: Shadows are cast near the Intel logo at the 2015 Computex exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan, June 3, 2015. REUTERS/PICHI CHUANG

For the fifth year in a row, biz school professors Yael Hochberg of Rice University and Susan Cohen of the University of Richmond have ranked the many accelerator programs now up and running in the U.S. as a way of helping making sense of which are worth the time, effort, and, often, equity that founders give them.

It’s no small undertaking. According to their findings, there are currently 160 accelerators in operation, representing year-over-year growth of around 50 percent dating back to 2005, when pioneer Y Combinator first came on the scene.

Image: http://techcrunch.com

After he received his bachelor's degree from Indiana University in 1981, 22-year-old Mark Cuban followed some friends to Dallas.

He remembers that when he first moved into their apartment, things were so cramped that he'd come in at night after bartending and have to sleep on the couch — or, if that was occupied, the floor. He kept his belongings in a heap.

Image: "Shark Tank"/ABC Mark Cuban.

We need to talk.

Entrepreneurship as a vague philosophical concept is really trendy right now.

You're going to see a lot of posts on social media talking about how it's the only thing to truly set you free. That if you can't do it, you're not hustling. How working for yourself is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Blah blah blah... freedom, passion, money.

NASA technologies have helped send rockets to space, but they have also helped improve daily life here on earth. NASA is now hoping to help a new generation of entrepreneurs.

The Dust buster, memory foam mattresses, and Olympic swimsuits were all developed from technology originally designed at NASA. Daniel Lockney, a Technology Transfer Program Executive at NASA says most people use some NASA technology everyday.

Boston’s tech scene should shake off its inferiority complex: The “Boston Tech Party” revolution is starting to unfold.

After many years of under-the-radar growth and profitable companies, the arrival of General Electric to the Seaport District brings Boston the high-profile “anchor tenant” we’ve been seeking. It is one great step forward for Boston.

Image: http://techcrunch.com

Some economists argue that America's economic outlook is not great, in light of weak growth abroad and weak US demographics. A notable example of this pessimistic outlook is Larry Summer's secular stagnation hypothesis.

However, Deutsche Bank's Torsten Sløk remains optimistic.

Regarding weakness abroad, Sløk argues that so far there's little evidence that anything happening in America's trading partners is hitting the US economy significantly given that the US steadily continues to add jobs every month.

Without immigrants and the influx of knowledge brought by them to our country’s shores, American innovation and the overall economy would look nothing like it does today. Simply put, foreign immigration fuels American innovation. Immigrants often have science and engineering degrees, or they attend U.S. universities to further their educational dreams, and immigrants obtain patents at twice the rate of native Americans, according to the 2003 National Survey of College Graduates.

While the exact future state of health care can be argued, there is little debate that the field is undergoing an unprecedented degree of change. There is an increased focus on value within the health-care system and physicians are being pushed to meet challenging benchmarks. The definitions for quality and cost-effectiveness are both being reconsidered, and the standard for value is a moving target. Innovators—both from inside health care and many from outside traditional health-care fields—are focused on providing new tools and systems of care that will support the health-care delivery system of the future.

Three years ago, at the age of 24, I set out on the biggest adventure of my life: building a company from the ground up. The result of that leap into the unknown is Move Loot, a marketplace for buying and selling furniture and decor with full-service pickup and delivery. Starting from a storage unit in San Francisco with three other friends, we’ve grown into a 90-person company with teams in four cities across the country, serving customers from NYC to Los Angeles.

No one looks forward to their annual performance evaluation. That isn't lost on employers, either—many of which are scrapping that particular ritual.

That's probably for the best. Regular, real-time feedback can be much more effective, especially when it includes meaningful recognition of an employee's achievements alongside constructive criticism. But many organizations are still sorting out how to deliver recognition that works. Here are some of the more common mistakes companies tend to make and how to avoid them.

By the end of June, Lita Nelsen will retire from MIT’s Technology Licensing Office, where she has worked for 30 years. She has been director of the office since 1993 and has seen a lot of things. Nelsen recently sat down with Xconomy to talk about trends in tech transfer and entrepreneurship.

One timely issue: As universities try to figure out the most effective ways to nurture campus entrepreneurship—and reap benefits from it—more institutions are forming their own venture capital funds.

"Most offices are the average of what works for everyone," says Mike Del Ponte, the founder of the water filter company Soma. "But they are perfect for no one. If you're extremely introverted and I'm extremely extroverted, office culture creates something in the middle so neither of us is uncomfortable. But neither of us is at our optimal either."

Inner Harbor is the latest site of a new Baltimore incubator.

With Harbor Launch, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) has designated areas of office and lab space specifically for biotech and environmental startups at Columbus Center (the big building with the sails on it near Pier Five).

Startups vary in size, of course, but IMET Assistant Director Nick Hammond said the office space could accommodate as many as 15 companies.

Image: IMET's Nick Hammond and Lindsay D'Ambrosio. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)

Crowdfunding has grown tremendously in the past few years, and with the recent finalization by the Securities and Exchange Commission of its rulemaking under a 2012 law, there may be an even greater expansion of investor opportunities.

Traditionally, large real estate equity and debt transactions are funded by large institutions such as REITs and life insurance companies that invest in companies or joint ventures with only one or two investors. At the other end of the scale, a local real estate developer or investor might gain funding from friends and family members by way of a limited partnership structure or "sidecars."

Investors Wanted

If anything, May 16th, 2016 should be opened with the ringing of a bell, similar to the one at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), because that date symbolizes the opening of a new era when non-accredited investors, aka Main Street, will have the legitimate right to participate in equity crowdfunding.

Thanks to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), highly anticipated Title III rule named "Crowdfunding" under the JOBS Act becomes effective on that day.

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Years ago, I worked Sunday brunch at a busy Manhattan restaurant. I left the shift approximately $250 richer, feeling beat, but in a good, hard-earned way. The next morning, my alarm would go off, and I’d rise and prepare for the first of five days in the office. My second job allowed me to travel a reasonable amount, sock some money away in an IRA, and enjoy frequent alcohol-fueled dinners with my friends at upscale spots.

If you judged each country based on how many websites used their two-letter Internet domain code, like Canada’s .ca or India’s .in, the U.S. would pale in comparison to the might of the United Kingdom, Germany and China.

Nominet, the official registry for UK domain names, created a map of the world that bases country size on how many websites use those two-letter domains. (For example, the French version of Google is google.fr, so that counts as a website in France.)

Pittsburgh-area entrepreneurs will soon have another funding option for growing early phase startup companies.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has thrown its support behind the creation of a $100 million venture capital fund, which will help meet a need for early stage business startup capital in the Pittsburgh area. Philadelphia-based SG3 Ventures anticipates awarding its first round of funding in about a year, according to Brian McVeigh, vice president of worldwide business development transactions and investment management at GSK.