Venture capital plays a pivotal role in the startup economy, providing vital funds to high-potential early-stage companies. Not surprisingly, it’s also a constant topic of conversation within the startup community — who’s receiving it, how much they’re getting, and how long it took them to capture the interest of VCs.

(Reuters) - In India's IT services outsourcing sector, local start-ups, often backed by U.S. venture capital funds, are nipping at the heels of industry heavyweights such as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd.

These nimble start-ups, most of them based in Bangalore, offer niche cutting-edge technology products, solutions and services that traditional outsourcing companies don't offer, or can't offer at competitive rates.

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I’ve been the CEO of three start-ups, two of which have been acquired by great companies (Yahoo and Google). What I’ve learned about keeping a team cohesive after an acquisition is that ultimately, it’s not what you do to try to retain everyone — after an acquisition you can only do so much — but about the type of people that you choose to hire in the first place.

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London-based Index Ventures has just announced a new $542 million fund for seed-stage companies that have raised under $20 million.

The firm says it will invest in European startups mainly, but may make a few bets on companies from Israel and the U.S.

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To build a startup, you’ve got to believe in your mission. Big time. That’s why the co-founder of apartment-rental site Airbnb never stays in hotels. And that’s why the SeedInvest team raised its first round of funding through equity crowdfunding.

Proving it can “walk the walk,” the equity crowdfunding startup announced today that it raised $4.2 million from investors through its own platform.

Image: SeedInvest 

I read an interesting Wall Street Journal article recently that discussed the war between tech companies to control future consumer distribution platforms. The article explains that the cash-flush giants “…each want to own the digital platform where people communicate, shop and seek entertainment.” This got me thinking about platforms in healthcare.

Image: Adam Goulburn, Ph.D. 

Just a couple of years ago, providing answers to some of the most common questions on crowdfunding was based evenly between limited anecdotal evidence and my gut feelings as an attorney with keen business instincts.

But as with any fledgling industry moving towards maturity, more and more data has started to appear that makes answering these questions a bit easier. One recent mountain of data on the crowdfunding world that just arrived contains a plethora of information -- read on as I distill some of it for you.

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Doha, Qatar - QATAR FOUNDATION Research and Development (QF R&D) has created an Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer (IPTT) Office to manage, evaluate, protect and commercialise all IP-related agreements at Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

The new office was established following the approval of an institution-wide IP policy by Qatar Foundation 's Board of Directors.

Image: https://www.zawya.com 

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. That’s why investors say they invest in people (bet on the jockey, not the horse), rather than the idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team.

The next Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs or Larry Page could still be in high school. Three 17-year-old students at Horace Mann School in Riverdale, N.Y. could be among these future tech entrepreneurs. The three have already developed a search tool some say could change the online landscape completely.

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Early-stage funding by angels and venture capital firms is growing in size and impact on the technology industry.

Last year, U.S. venture capital firms raised 10 percent less than in 2012, but VC funds focused on early-stage investing raised $9.37 billion, a jump of 51 percent, according to DJX LP Source. In addition, 151 early-stage firms closed funds – more than in the last dozen years. Moreover, investment returns among early-stage venture capital funds are starting to outpace late- and expansion-stage funds, according to the most recent National Venture Capital Association’s (NVCA) performance benchmark, the Cambridge Associates LLC U.S Venture Capital Index.

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For decades, one of the principal state and local economic development tools has been  tax incentives. Every state offers incentives in one form or another to retain business and attract businesses from other states. According to one survey, 95 percent  of U.S. municipalities also use such incentives.

Some policymakers have expressed a desire to end this practice but feel stuck in an arms race. They fear they cannot unilaterally forgo incentives because others use them, so they create ever-increasing incentive packages in an effort to compete.

When you launch a company with a friend — if you're a woman, at least — people tend to think one of two things: That it's either an endless slumber-party ("That sounds like so much fun!") or that you are completely insane and are destined to have a falling out that would be worthy of a Bravo reality show.

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How do you define entrepreneurship? Do you see it as a way to make money, a mindset or a method to make the world a better place?

I have always known that entrepreneurs were risk takers: they make visions into reality by developing new products, processes and markets. So what happens when all the definitions for entrepreneurship merge? You get today's young entrepreneur. Now, you can make money and do good in the world at the same time.

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This brief analyzes entrepreneurship and job creation in the U.S. life sciences sector—defined as the group of industries engaged in the application of biological science and related knowledge for commercial purposes, primarily for human health care. This definition contains three major subgroups: drugs and pharmaceuticals; medical devices and equipment; and research, testing, and medical laboratories.

Building on previous research that highlights the importance of entrepreneurship and business dynamism to innovation, productivity, and net job creation, this brief analyzes how those trends apply to the life sciences sector. Overall, the life sciences sector plays an outsized role in new job creation and makes important contributions to entrepreneurship—not to mention the perhaps immeasurable benefits these firms play in enhancing and extending human life.

If you were to make a list of the top five products that will play a prominent role in our future, the battery would definitely be at the top. Batteries power our devices, our cars will increasingly rely on them, and they are a fundamental component in renewable energy grids.

In Berkley, California, scientists are experimenting with new ways to make safer, more efficient batteries. At the same time, angel investors are experimenting with new ways of connecting those scientists with companies that can get those batteries into the market.

Image: Venkat Srinivasan at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab - Lawrence Berkeley Lab 

Tiny biotech startups will have a new place to germinate in the San Francisco Bay Area. Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Labs division is opening a new 30,000 square foot incubator in the biotech-rich suburb of South San Francisco.

The flexible space, complete with common rooms, wet labs, and offices, could hold as many as 50 companies, according to Melinda Richter, a Bay Area incubator veteran tapped last year to head Janssen Labs nationwide. That would roughly double the group’s nationwide capacity, part of the international company’s aggressive reach beyond its walls to find, and fund, new science and technology.

Image: http://www.xconomy.com/ 

Education is on the brink of rapid change that will create a lot of value for innovators. But still sitting on the sidelines? Those who make the decisions and control the purse strings at legacy higher education institutions.

One representative example: April’s Education Innovation Summit, where more than 2,000 people energetically discussed how technology and markets are charting the future of education globally.

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There’s a popular misconception that in a negotiation you can either “win” or preserve your relationship with your counterpart — your boss, a customer, a business partner — but you can’t do both. People assume they need to make a choice between getting good results (by being hard and bargaining at all costs) or developing a good relationship (by being soft and making concessions to build the relationship). Thinking that way is dangerous, however, because you need both: You have to be able to stand firm and maintain important relationships.

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Seven out of ten American workers struggle to achieve an acceptable balance between work and family life, reports a new study published in American Sociological Review, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number has been climbing over time, to a point where employees — especially parents — feel stressed, overwhelmed, and maxed out. 

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