What happens when freelancers outnumber salaried employees? In the USA, more than 30% of the population are freelancers. The assumptions of employers and employees are being turned on their heads, but politicians are still focused on creating jobs. Good luck with that.

This transition is nothing less than a revolution. We haven’t seen a shift in the workforce this significant in almost 100 years when we transitioned from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Now, employees are leaving the traditional workplace and opting to piece together a professional life on their own. As of 2005, one-third of our workforce participated in this “freelance economy.” Data show that number has only increased over the past six years. Entrepreneurial activity in 2009 was at its highest level in 14 years, online freelance job postings skyrocketed in 2010, and companies are increasingly outsourcing work. While the economy has unwillingly pushed some people into independent work, many have chosen it because of greater flexibility that lets them skip the dreary office environment and focus on more personally fulfilling projects. – The Freelance Surge is the Industrial Revolution of Our Time

The Iowa Startup Accelerator is an intensive program that matches tech-based startups, especially those in ag, health, education and transportation technology, with world-class mentors, Midwestern work ethic, seed funding and development expertise to take them from concept to successful launch in 90 days.

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With venture capitalists pumping nearly $10 million into deals in the first quarter, it's hard to imagine VCs becoming obsolete anytime soon. That's the highest total since the second quarter of 2001, according to research firm CB Insights.

But with more entrepreneurs turning to crowdfunding—equity crowdfunding, in particular—VCs have to work harder than ever to get in on the ground floor with start-ups, and some are falling behind.

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Sharing the premise that all boats rise on an incoming tide, a small group of startup policy advisors has emerged to find smarter ways their governments can help new firms start, scale, create jobs and fuel economic growth. I take a look at why Startup Nations emerged and the potential impact it can have in fostering smarter decision-making on behalf of new entrepreneurs.

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1."Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

2. "There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth -- not going all the way, and not starting." - Buddha

3. "Be willing to be a beginner every single morning." - Meister Eckhart

4. "All great ideas and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning." - Albert Camus

The Internet of things—a phrase referring to the ever-growing number of devices connected to the Internet—may be better titled the “Internet of stuff,” says Genevieve Bell, an anthropologist and the director of user experience for Intel.

Speaking at MIT Technology Review’s Digital Summit in San Francisco on Monday, Bell said the word “things” suggests many of the same item. The word “stuff,” on the other hand, is understood to refer to a collection of different things—such as a toothbrush and a traffic light.

Image: http://www.technologyreview.com/ - In conversation: Intel’s director of user experience, Genevieve Bell, speaks with MIT Technology Review publisher and editor in chief Jason Pontin. 

Most of the startups we’ve backed at Homebrew don’t rush to announce their funding. Not because they’re all operating in stealth or pre-product – in fact some already are earning $1M+ in revenue per annum.  They just don’t feel the need to draw attention to themselves or alert possible competitors. And my sense is the trend carries outside of our portfolio these days. Contrast this to just a few years ago when it seemed every startup was jumping up and down to shout about their initial raise. What’s changed?

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A bit more early-stage venture capital soon will be available for New Mexico startups thanks to a new State Investment Council commitment of up to $10 million for Epic Ventures’ newest fund.

Utah-headquartered Epic, which operates a local office in New Mexico, is raising its fifth fund with an initial target of $75 million. The SIC approved an investment of up to $10 million, or a maximum of 10 percent of the final value of the fund, at the end of May.

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How do you fund drug development? In the last two years, we have seen a record number of biotechs go public, and their successful initial public offerings will provide the capital for their late-stage trials. But how did they get there?

Venture capital. It has long been the lifeblood for early-stage biotechs, and 70 percent of last year's IPOs were issued by VC-backed companies. Companies like mine need years of private investment before going public is even an option.

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A new report published this week finds that Congress’ inability to pass immigration reform is screwing over American workers — both in terms of wages and employment.

“The hundreds of thousands of jobs — and millions more in wages — that could have been created for U.S.-born workers in the absence of the H-1B visa lotteries represent much more than just well-paid positions and professional opportunities for tens of thousands of American families,” concludes a report by a team of economists, including University of California Davis Economics Professor Giovanni Peri. The report was written for the pro-reform group, The Partnership for a New American Economy.

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Going into a negotiation with someone who holds more power than you do can be a daunting prospect.  Whether you are asking your boss for a new assignment or attempting to land a major business deal with a client, your approach to the negotiation can dramatically affect your chances of success. How can you make the best case for what you want?

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Get ready to start hearing the term “innovation district” a lot in Detroit, starting with a meeting Thursday of civic, business and philanthropic foundation leaders.

Flying in to attend and speak at the meeting will be Bruce Katz, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution’s metropolitan policy program.

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BOSTON — Colette Buser couldn’t understand why a summer camp withdrew its offer for her to work there this year.

After all, the 19-year-old college student had worked as a counselor the three previous summers at a nearby Linx-branded camp in Wellesley, Mass. But the company balked at hiring her because it feared that Linx would sue to enforce a noncompete clause tucked into Ms. Buser’s 2013 summer employment contract. Her father, Cimarron Buser, testified before Massachusetts state lawmakers last month that his daughter had no idea that she had agreed to such restrictions, which in this case forbade her for one year from working at a competing camp within 10 miles of any of Linx’s more than 30 locations in Wellesley and neighboring Natick. 

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Mentorship is not about you.

This may seem counterintuitive, after all don't you seek a mentor to help you achieve your goals and give you advice? Mentorship is the most significant predictor of career success, all other variables (such as education level, ambition level, industry) held equal, so you certainly have a lot to gain. But a successful mentorship relationship is mutually beneficial. Here's why:

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Transitioning from college to career is never easy, and if you’re graduating with a liberal arts degree the task may seem even more fraught. A recent survey of job seekers and HR professionals from consulting firm millennial Branding and career network Beyond.com found that only 2% of employers actively recruit liberal arts grads. In contrast, 18% of employers seek out business grads and 27% recruit engineers and computer scientists. Indeed, 49% of job seekers said "no jobs" exist for those with a liberal arts degree.

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When Patrick Dowd traveled to India on a Fulbright scholarship in 2010 to help lead the Jagriti Yatra — a train trip across India that encourages enterprise in small towns — he was inspired by the people he saw bringing ideas to life.

So inspired, in fact, that after less than a year on Wall Street he quit his job to create a similar project in the United States. Last summer, he and his team launched the Millennial Trains Project, a train ride taking participants from coast to coast and encouraging enterprise by supporting millennials' ideas.

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If you have even a passing familiarity with technology, you’ve probably at least heard of the Turing test. You’ll understand that it’s pretty exciting therefore that it’s been passed for the first time by a computer belonging to the University of Reading in the UK.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, The Turing test — named after computing pioneer Alan Turing — is a test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human.

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In light of the Alibaba IPO and the ecommerce giant’s plans to expand in the US, there’s a lot of talk on how Chinese tech companies are now finally ready to go global. I’d argue that the ambition to go abroad has always been strong for Chinese companies. Since China officially joined the WTO in 2000, its government has promoted the “Go Global” policy for its companies to expand the footprint and soft power of the country.

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“It’s better to be a pirate than to join the navy.” Steve Jobs

According to some writers and research, some of the “big names” of creativity and innovation share personal qualities with various sorts of “misfits.”

In her Forbes magazine article, writer Erica Swallow refers to the book “The Innovator’s DNA” which lists several “disruptive innovators” including a number of creative and business leaders such as Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Meg Whitman (eBay) and Sharon Aby (Beyond Ideas).

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Are companies reluctant to invest in long-term innovations? The Harvard Business Review says they are—and guesses at why—in what its editors say is the journal’s “first formally crowdsourced” article, “The Capitalist’s Dilemma.”

No doubt you’ve heard of one of the two lead authors—Clayton M. Christensen, a professor of business administration at Harvard known for his work on disruptive innovation. His co-author was Derek van Bever, a senior lecturer in entrepreneurial management, but the list of contributors has well over 200 names and includes “community thought leaders” as well as members of a “working team.”

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