Even in our money-driven society, the power of money has limits: there are certain things money can’t buy. Love and happiness come to mind first, but a popular list of things that can’t be supposedly bought with money is much longer and includes such items as “25-hour day,” “clear conscience” and (my favorite) “an honest politician.”

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A new report out Wednesday suggests that venture capital investment returns — especially very short and very long ones — might not be as gloomy as some previous reports have suggested.That may be especially true for early-stage VC investments.

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) released numbers today showing that the last quarter of 2013 was another strong one for venture capital performance. Investments of almost all lengths studied showed larger returns than in the previous quarter, the report says.

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When people ask me, “When is the right time to talk to VCs?” my answer is, “Yesterday.” Why? Because many entrepreneurs – especially first time entrepreneurs – never really feel “ready” to talk to VCs. “Everything has to be perfect… Results aren’t good enough yet… All ducks must be in a row.” Right? Wrong.

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THE ONED SCORECARD COMPARES THE COUNTRY’S 54 BIGGEST URBAN CENTERS ON MEASURES LIKE QUALITY OF LIFE, ECONOMIC PROSPERITY, EDUCATION, AND TRANSIT.

A new data visualization project from Data Driven Detroit, a nonprofit initiative focused on making information about the Detroit area accessible, now provides a broad look at the conditions of cities across America.

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When Anthony Foxx was sworn in as the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary last summer, he said he would draw on "every ounce of innovation and creativity" to make the country's vast transportation system not only safe and efficient but also modernized.

The rise in venture capital funding in 2013 is proving that the industry still has legs despite hitting a post-recession trough in 2009. Venture capitalists invested $29.4 billion in 3,995 deals in 2013, an increase of 7 percent in dollars and a 4 percent increase in deals over the prior year, according to the PwC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report.

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The 10-year performance metric for venture capital funds increased in the last quarter of 2013, beating out returns for several public exchanges with the help of a strong exit market. For the 10 years ending Dec. 31, venture returns increased to 9.7%, according to the National Venture Capital Association , using data compiled by Cambridge Associates.

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Having a great mentor can do wonders for your professional development and career. But even the best mentoring relationships can run their course or become ineffective. How do you know when it’s time to move on? And what’s the best way to end the relationship without burning bridges?

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Becoming a successful entrepreneur takes more than a great idea and important connections (although both do help). Making the shift from the steady life of a full-time employee to the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship requires a shift in mindset that many overlook. In fact, some of the work habits you so carefully honed as a good employee don’t necessarily translate well into the world of an entrepreneur.

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The Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the Ministry of Finance recently published the results of a survey they conducted  between 27 November and 20 December 2013 to explore the current status of crowdfunding in Finland and to obtain a broad perspective to support the policies to be adopted.With this research the  Finnish Government  wanted to assess the need to specify national-level regulation for equity crowdfunding and P2P lending  particularly as concerns the efficient functioning of markets and investor protection.

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Microsoft Ventures, Microsoft's startup investment arm, is to set up its first accelerator dedicated solely to companies in the cybersecurity area.

The four-month programme aims to provide startups with tools to succeed in business, from mentorship to help with development to marketing expertise. Companies that get through the program will have an opportunity to get $1m in funding, courtesy of Jerusalem Ventures Partners (JVP), which has partnered with Microsoft Ventures on the project.

Image: http://www.zdnet.com/ - Future rendition of the Advanced Technologies Park in Beersheba. Image: BGU 

The University of Maryland at College Park has a new Ferrari of a supercomputer, and it’s students who are taking it for a test drive.

Some 60 students enrolled in the university’s high-performance-computing boot camp, now in its second of two weeks, are the first to make use of Deepthought2, the newest supercomputer in higher education. The $4.2-million machine has a processing speed of about 300 teraflops, meaning it can complete up to 300 trillion operations per second, and it has a petabyte of storage. It is the equivalent of 10,000 laptops working together simultaneously, university officials say.

Image: Staff members put the finishing touches on Deepthought2, a new supercomputer at the U. of Maryland. (Photo courtesy of U. of Maryland) 

It’s no joke! At least one small tech firm has already done this. Mighty Cast created the NEX Band. It’s a smart charm bracelet that allows you do everything from customize your social media interaction to play video games. And all this happens on a little band of technology you wear on your wrist.

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Google's YouTube is said to be finalizing a $1 billion acquisition of Twitch, making the San Francisco-based video game streaming service another start-up success story. But just as when Facebook purchased WhatsApp earlier for $16 billion, there will be both celebration and hand-wringing.

Venture capitalist Mary Meeker’s comprehensive Internet report shows how quickly Chinese companies are gaining online clout.

The Internet evolves quickly and its “state” changes a lot in a year. One big shift highlighted in Kleiner Perkins venture capitalist Mary Meeker’s annual report on online trends: four of the top 10 most popular Internet properties are now held by Chinese companies—up from just one a year ago.

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Feeling trapped in your job–and wondering if you should take the leap into starting a business? Then it’s worth checking out a new Gallup poll of entrepreneurs. The survey asked if, given a chance to rewind their lives, the business owners would start their companies all over again.

Entrepreneurship can be a tough and long journey for many people. Some get lucky and succeed the first time. For me, that wasn’t the case.

I continue to learn and grow. Along the way I picked up the following lessons that I now apply to each new business or project I am involved with:

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THINK 200 SQUARE FEET IS TOO SMALL TO LIVE IN? MIT MEDIA LAB MIGHT PERSUADE YOU OTHERWISE.

Two hundred square feet. It’s horrifyingly small, even by New York standards. But a new project called CityHome, by MIT Media Lab’s Changing Places group, can make it feel like you're living in an apartment three times as big.

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A decade after Google's legendary "20 percent time" first inspired copycats, and a year after the practice was declared "as good as dead," the nature of experimentation inside technology companies is changing, refining--maybe even growing up.

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Everyone agrees that the governments should become platforms for the services they provide to citizens--so why is that so hard? Here’s how one company is trying to fix Washington's digital disasters--and what still needs to be done.

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