Nearly $60 billion in venture capital was deployed to the U.S. entrepreneurial ecosystem in 2015 to help grow innovative startup companies providing products and services ranging from cyber security technologies to online lending marketplaces to Web-based educational courses and everything in between.

Many of these companies and their predecessors are making great strides in advancing innovation around the globe, but that’s only a small part of the venture capital story and its impact on our lives, our society and our economy.

Market movements in the technology sector — particularly in SaaS tech companies — are causing a stir among investors. It’s always a challenge to estimate valuation ranges for publicly traded companies such as LinkedIn, Salesforce and Workday because these calculations require assumptions of growth. Twitter is another beast. Some people get obsessed about enterprise value; others focus on the gross margins or multiples of R&D spendings of these companies in an effort to come up with a reasonable explanation of what’s happening.

I managed to start an online business with little more than $70, self belief and some hard work.

A lot of people never really seem to get around to doing what they want to, and I think it's because they never attach a price tag or timeline to their dreams. If they knew how simple it is to start an online business, I have no doubt that more people would begin crossing goals off their to do lists.

Every year luxury estate agent Knight Frank and Wealth-X, the research firm that concentrates on high net worth individuals, release a comprehensive report about the world's wealthiest people, and most expensive things.

It features all sorts of insights, including what super rich people are spending their money on, what they're most worried about, and where they're flying their private jets the most (seriously!)

The Government Accountability Office this week released a report assessing the latest data on how much income people need in retirement. The study sought to evaluate how retirement replacement rates are developed to gauge whether a target of 80 percent of pre-retirement income is accurate for employees to use when they plan for their retirement years.

In the tech sector, India has not been known for innovation, and has historically always sold itself on its low cost software development and business process outsourcing. From a manufacturing point of view, it also had an ambition to be a manufacturing hub, but that often meant low cost manufacturing and assembly for imported kits and components. It has never really been able to shake off its image as a place for cheap software and manufacturing.

Image: http://www.thenextsiliconvalley.com

Since the 2013 publication of Top Trends in State Economic Development, governors’ key advisors have continued to explore and implement policies and programs intended to accelerate economic growth and create jobs. Both the 2015 Institute for Governors’ Economic Policy Advisors hosted by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the NGA Center’s ongoing work with governors’ senior advisors provide opportunities to check in with the officials who support governors in formulating and executing their economic development plans and revisit selected trends in economic development.

Dr Seuss, born Theodore Seuss Geisel, turned 112 yesterday, March 12.  The beloved author of children’s books that are always a tongue-twister and a play of words, is an icon and is an inspiration to both kids and adults.

His books are always fun but never without meaning.  May it be on how to become a better person, a better adult, or how to take care of the world and everything in it, Dr Seuss has a way of relaying these messages, with pizazz!

The average American has a lot of debt: $15,355 in credit card debt, $26,530 in auto loans, and a mortgage of $165,892, according to the financial website NerdWallet. And those who carry student loans have an average balance of $47,712. All of this debt costs the average household $6,658 in interest each year, which is 9% of the average household income.

Once upon a time there was a tech startup in the Valley. Its steady hum of growth turned into a loud buzz in the press. Investors poured in money every six months at a 3X valuation. Its employees were exhilarated and talked of “exercising options,” “going all in,” and “getting a good tax treatment.” One employee withdrew his life savings — tens of thousands of dollars — to exercise the stock he had in the startup.

The amount of digitally recorded information in today’s world is growing exponentially. Massive volumes of user-generated information from smart phones and social media are fueling this Big Data revolution. As data flows throughout every sector of our global economy, questions emerge from commercial, government, and non-profit organizations interested in the vast possibilities of this information. What is Big Data? How does it create value? How can we as digital consumers and producers personally benefit? While Big Data has the potential to transform how we live and work, others see it as an intrusion of their privacy. Data protection concerns aside, the mere task of analyzing and visualizing large, complex, often unstructured data will pose great challenges to future data scientists.

We invite you to join us for an exciting discussion on the technological developments and sociological implications of this Big Data revolution.

Coming soon to a hospital or clinic near you: dynamic healthcare pricing.

It’s not here yet, but Jay Deady, CEO of Recondo Technology, believes it’s on the way. He expects his revenue-cycle management company to enable the service. Healthcare providers will soon be able to offer different out-of-pocket prices depending on when and where each patient goes for a given service, he said.

DURHAM, N.C. — Boosted by a $250,000 federal grant, four Triangle Universities are forming the Triangle Venture Alliance which plans to work with alumni in funding startups. The alliance is the second major boost to emerging ventures in the Triangle in two days, NCSU having announced a new $1M fund and accelerator as well on Tuesday.

Duke disclosed the Triangle Venture Alliance, noting that its Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative had landed a $250,000 federal grant to provide seed funding. The grant came through the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

As the past few years have shown, raising money for a startup is easy. But building a profitable, sustainable business is still really hard. Public and private markets alike are starting to remember this, correcting for years of overly exuberant startup funding. As financing dries up, entrepreneurs would do well to remember the benefits of bootstrapping.

Better luck next year, Big Apple.

In terms of total jobs and direct labor income, Los Angeles can boast the title of America’s Most Creative City — easily outdistancing metropolitan competitors like Chicago, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area, according to data compiled by the Otis College of Art and Design and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

Image: http://argonautnews.com

Just before Christmas I tentatively embarked on something that looks set to change the course of my life. I had returned from South Africa a few months earlier with seed of many threatened members of the protea family and I was forced to make some decisions. I had to set up a nursery to study the cultivation and conservation of these endangered plants.

Image: Spatalla nubicola - one of the threatened species Robbie Blackhall-Miles is studying as part of his crowdfunding project. Photograph: Robbie Blackhall-Miles

The first issue of TIME was published 93 years ago, and a lot has changed in the decades since.

The first-ever issue of the magazine was dated Mar. 3, 1923, and it was shorter and far less colorful than the magazine readers might recognize today. Many of the names it features have been largely forgotten, while others—William Howard Taft, Mussolini, Charlie Chaplin—remain well-known.

Image: http://time.com

Are entrepreneurs born or made? Many of the qualities that combine to create an entrepreneurial mindset are not always viewed as positive attributes, particularly during childhood, adolescence and while in formal education. But these specific signs demonstrate that an individual has the early makings of a self starter, and someone who may end up carving their own path outside the traditional corporate system. These qualities in a person's character emerge early, and entrepreneurs will identify with having these signals of their future career, from a very young age. When you look back on your childhood do you recall demonstrating these key characteristics?

Heed the advice of those who have reaped success. Here are six skills used by self-made millionaires that you should be using and building upon each day.

1. Be able to identify fruitful opportunities. Carlos Slim Helu, Mexican business magnate and philanthropist, said, “When there is a crisis, that’s when some are interested in getting out, and that’s when we are interested in getting in.”

Image: JD Lasica | Flickr

Deloitte recently released their 2016 report on the global human capital trends. It’s actually a pretty solid report, which surveys 7,000 people in over 130 countries around the world to identify what these trends actually are and what organizations should be doing about them. It’s a meaty report (over 120 pages) but if you have the time, check it out. Of course, they aren’t the only organization to offer such reports but the findings are still interesting and they do quite a good job of putting it all together so. In a recent podcast with the chief talent officer at Deloitte, we also explore some of the trends discussed below. First, let’s take a look at the top 10 trends from 2015 which you can see below:

Image: http://www.forbes.com