On April 5, 2012, a revolutionary avenue of capital formation for small businesses was created when President Obama signed The JOBS Act into law and equity crowdfunding in the United States was born. Entrepreneurs with small businesses were excited by the prospect of using online crowdfunding to raise up to $1 million by selling equity in their company, something not allowed on rewards-based crowdfunding sites Kickstarter or Indiegogo. When the JOBS Act was passed, the new law gave the Securities and Exchange Commission until January 1, 2013 to publish regulations and rules that would allow this game-changing law to go into effect.

It looks so much easier on paper. Entrepreneurs launch businesses for any variety of reasons, but some of the most interesting companies are the ones that arise out of need. The Kauffman Report notes that half of all start-ups are currently being launched by people age 45-64. “Boomer Entrepreneurs” have been the fastest growing sector for the past 15 years.

Passwords are one of the most important things we take for granted. They’re like digital locks looking over all of our personal information. And, let’s face it, we’re beyond the days when the ordinary abcd123 password was all we needed to keep our information secure. If you’re still one of those who rely on passwords anyone could remember, there are tips to better protecting all the information you’re storing online. You can create a more secure password by following a few of these tips. Remember, these are just a few ideas, and there are many different techniques to build a better password.

The popularity of craft beer continues to be a trend. And the growth of the craft beer industry presents another opportunity for small businesses. The goal is to deliver a high quality, fresh product that customers will love. However getting that high quality beer to the customer’s home can be a challenge for a small brewer. After talking with many small breweries, Steve Young discovered the problem was in the packaging.

Image: http://smallbiztrends.com

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - February 03, 2015) - New research from Deloitte indicates that millennials are not that different from non-millennials as originally perceived. In fact, in some respects millennials and non-millennials are actually more alike than different when in the workplace. According to Deloitte's Future of Work research released today, millennials and non-millennials share core attitudes towards work but their behaviour while at work and how they perform their responsibilities differ.

Twenty start-ups from around the world are competing for the $1 million Shengjing Global Innovation Award, and the potential for venture capitalists and incubators to invest in their companies.

Three start-ups from Israel as well as tech firms from the US, Latin America, Europe and China will vie for the prize being awarded by Shengjing360, a Chinese training and consulting group.

Image: Global Innovation Awards partners at an event in Tel Aviv on February 2. 2014. (L to R): Steven Katz, EMC Ventures; Xueling Cao, Director, Shengjing Group and Shengjing Fund of Funds; Sherrie Wang, Senior Partner at Shengjing Group and Shengjing Fund of Funds; Tamir Huberman, Yissum (Hebrew University); Kobi Rozengarten, Managing Partner, JVP; Yoav Tzruya, Partner, JVP; Maya Netser, HFN; and Hanan Haviv, Partner HFN (Photo credit: Benny Doutsh) Read more: Start-ups to vie for $1 million China innovation prize | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/start-ups-to-vie-for-1-million-china-innovation-prize/#ixzz3QoFVsUNH Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook

Does this scenario sound familiar? You're browsing Facebook and come across a post from a friend complaining that they can't sleep. You notice they posted it at 1 a.m. "Maybe stop staring at a screen, dummy," you think.

Then you realize it's 2 a.m., you're reading Facebook from a smartphone in bed, and you've never been more awake.

I’ll be the first to admit that Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies” is one of my favorite annual reports. I’m also a big fan of Forbes’ list which takes into account investor confidence and ranks companies by their innovation premium; the difference between their market capitalization and their net present value of cash flows from existing business.

In December, the Research Park Corp. board of directors hired a new president and CEO—a position that remained vacant for the much of the past six years—to lead the organization, which governs the Louisiana Tech Park. Byron Clayton comes to Baton Rouge after four years as the vice president of cluster development at NorTech, a Cleveland-based nonprofit economic development organization. He assumed the top spot at RPC in January. In his new position, Capital Region business leaders are looking to Clayton to coordinate the startup community and be the outspoken advocate for entrepreneurship and innovation in the region. As a self-proclaimed “tech guy” with a knack for aligning people around common goals,  Clayton’s new role is one he’s eager to play.

Image: http://www.businessreport.com

GUELPH, ON, Jan. 15, 2015 /CNW/ – It was announced today that Bioenterprise Corporation will receive up to $2.5 million in federal government funding over the next five years for the national expansion of their commercialization services for the agricultural sector.  The announcement was made in Guelph by the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Public Works and Government Services. 

The U.S. Department of Commerce released details today about the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress, which includes $273 million in funding for the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). This request is a $23 million increase from the FY 2015 enacted levels.

The President’s Budget reflects EDA’s priority of supporting and empowering regions and communities across the country. Specifically, the President’s Budget enables EDA to more effectively help communities develop and implement their own plans for increased job creation, enhanced business investment, and improved quality of life for their citizens.

Increases in staffing capacity, along with a stronger emphasis on EDA’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) process, will pave the way for EDA to serve as an effective integrator of federal economic development resources. The President’s Budget expands on the federal government’s approach to planning, positioning EDA as the government’s premier resource for communities engaged in regional planning. Communities that collaborate on a regional basis are better poised to take advantage of opportunities to grow, attract businesses and jobs, and create a better life for their citizens.

While attending my first tech conference as a journalist last year, I couldn’t help but snicker to myself as I watched the grey-haired CEO of a large software company dedicate a large portion of his two-hour keynote presentation to "the millennial in the workplace conundrum," as 100,000 middle-aged attendees rapidly scribbled in their notepads, laptops, and tablets, hanging onto every word.

Another day, another meeting. Sure, some feel like a complete waste of time, but how about the ones that leave you frustrated, resentful—even hungry?

While you might not be able to get rid of meetings altogether, leaders have the power to reduce meeting fatigue. Here are some of the most common complaints with potential solutions because Fast Company's helpful like that:

If you think you’re content toiling away at your desk, crunching data, or hammering out the details of a grand design, try asking a construction worker or facility service employee if they ever whistle while they work.

The answer will change your perspective about getting excited for work everyday.

According to TINYpulse's 2015 Best Industry Ranking report, gathered from its anonymous one-question feedback surveys from over 30,000 employees across more than 500 organizations, among 12 distinct industries, construction and facility service workers are the happiest employees.

States with robust innovation economies have assets in common: a corps of research-intensive universities, a highly educated workforce and a government supportive of their science and technology industries. Maryland has all of these things. What the state needs to strengthen is its entrepreneurial culture, so that it becomes a top destination for scientists serious about ushering their ideas out of the lab and into the marketplace.

As Gov. Larry Hogan and the General Assembly make tough choices about how to invigorate Maryland's economy, it's imperative they focus on the state's enormous innovative capacity and the institutions working to capitalize on it. Maryland's research universities, supported by state investments, are key to building this culture of entrepreneurship.

The Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) is launching a cross-country tour of Canada, hoping to entice tech workers from Toronto, Calgary, and London, Ont. to pull up roots and move to British Columbia’s largest city.

Home to large startups-turned-powerhouses like HootSuite, Vancouver has had its fair share of entrants to the tech scene in the past few years. As part of its efforts to further boost the industry, the VEC has decided to try to attract more skilled workers to its city by setting up a job fair. The fair is attached to the HTML500, an event that teaches people to code.

A minority entrepreneur will get one year at 1871 and $40,000 of seed capital thanks to a donation by Google to Code2040, a non-profit aimed at helping monitories who want to enter the tech field.

Google donated $775,000 to Code2040 Monday to help launch entrepreneur in residence programs at Chicago's 1871, as well as American Underground in Durham, North Carolina and Capital Factory in Austin, Texas. The program will allow one black or Latino startup founder to work for one year at the tech hub and receive $40,000 (with no equity taken), a trip to the Googleplex in Silicon Valley for training and networking, mentoring by Google for Entrepreneurs and CODE2040, and other resources.

This is a special issue for those of you who participate, or want to participate in the DoD's SBIR/STTR program. Those of you who don't, may want to read on to see how government contracting can run amok.

The DoD SBIR/STTR program utilizes two web sites; 1) http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sbir which provides basic information about the program, 2) www.dodsbir.net aka the "DoD SBIR Resource Center" which provides detailed information, accepts and processes proposals, and provides help services.

The Arkansas Development Finance Authority’s Arkansas Venture Capital Investment Trust has made a significant economic impact since its creation in 2001, according to a study from Applied Economics of Phoenix.

The trust consists of four funds created to provide a unique set of financial resources for Arkansas startups: the Arkansas Institutional Fund, the Risk Capital Matching Fund, the ADFA Co-Investment Fund and the Seed & Angel Capital Network.

BOSTON — These are heady times to be working in venture capital, a fact that is making some venture capitalists nervous.

A sense of foreboding hung over a panel discussion here on Sunday aimed at Harvard Business School students considering careers in venture capital. With waves of financing moving through Silicon Valley — pushing up valuations for hot start-ups and allowing talented engineers to command seven-figure salaries — the question that the panelists debated wasn’t whether the venture capital market was hot. It was how and when the cycle would end.