Tech accelerator franchise Techstars today announced that it’s raised a new $150 million fund, with plans to invest the capital back into its own “ecosystem.”

More specifically,Techstars says it will use the fund to invest in “accelerator program graduates, new companies started by Techstars alumni, and companies formed by Techstars mentors.” This new fund should ultimately help boost Techstars’ image — if it yields stronger Techstars-associated businesses.

Image: The 2010 class of Techstars entrepreneurs. Image Credit: Robert Scoble via photopin cc

Last year the world saw major advancements in innovation with companies like Tesla, Uber, and Airbnb disrupting the marketplace and how people and companies go about doing business. The question, of course, is “How did they do it?”

Every individual, sports team, organizational division and company faces the same challenge: innovation. Specifically, to navigate the industry “wins” and leave behind the institutional knowledge that once defined their organization’s culture and instead reach for new ways of thinking and doing that sustains relevance. They do this not because culture change is fun but rather for the purpose, vision and values that define them.

The past few weeks have seen a flurry of pomp and circumstance in state capitals as new governors are inaugurated and as incumbents deliver their State of the State addresses to lay out their visions.  As governors, administrators, and state legislators begin to roll up their sleeves for the work ahead, the IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS), the alliance of leading technology companies in the public sector market, has developed a set of recommendations states should consider to develop their information technology (IT) innovation strategies. 

A U.S. House of Representatives panel today released a widely anticipated proposal for speeding the development of new medical treatments. The massive, 393-page document, dubbed the 21st Century Cures Act, has been under development by Fred Upton (R–MI) and Diana DeGette (D–CO) of the House Energy and Commerce Committee since last April. It grew out of a series of hearings and roundtables last year on ways to spur biomedical research innovation and streamline clinical trials and the drug approval process. The result is a long list of ideas summarized in this document.

Image: http://news.sciencemag.org

The National Venture Capital Association has just released the latest MoneyTree data on venture industry fund-raising, which always makes me sit up straight and take notice—it’s kind of an industry scorecard. In addition to being baffled by the fact that the amount the U.S. venture industry invests outstrips how much we raise (see below), I am intrigued by the other forces at work as the VC industry risks becoming more like a money management business. But first the facts…

Il professor Piero Formica, fondatore dell’International Entrepreneurship Academy (www.intentac.org), è Senior Research Fellow dell’International Value Institute (www.ivi.ie) presso la National University of Ireland (Maynooth, Dublin) e dirige un laboratorio di sperimentazione di startup innovative presso il centro di imprenditorialità (EDEN www.eden.nuim.ie) della stessa università. È anche professore presso l’ISTEC di Parigi e le Università di Tartu in Estonia e di Tehran in Iran. È “Erudite Scholar” dell’Università di Calicut in India.

One of South Korea’s hottest mobile startups isn’t so much one company as it is 71 companies.

Yello Mobile, launched two years ago, has grown at a brisk rate by gobbling up dozens of other startups in mobile commerce, mobile marketing and local services.

To fuel those deals, Yello Mobile has been busy raising money of its own. Late last year, the Seoul-based company wrapped up its third round of funding, giving it a valuation of about $1 billion.

Image: Yello Mobile founder Lee Sang-hyuk Yello Mobile

Creativity is booming across the whole of the UK except Scotland, which now employs fewer creative people than five years ago, a new report from Nesta has found. Scotland is the only region to have shown a contraction in its creative economy, with employment in the sector falling 1pc between 2011 and 2013, according to the innovation foundation’s study.

HALIFAX -- Small and medium-sized businesses in Nova Scotia will soon have access to a $50-million private venture capital fund. Premier Stephen McNeil says the fund is to be created by private investors led by international businessman Victor Chu. McNeil met with Chu during a business mission to China last September.

For years, we've constantly referenced the phrase "consumerization of IT." That's because—with the emergence of the cloud, mobile devices and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies—many decisions about technology purchases have shifted from the IT organization to business departments and employees. However, tech organizations will have a greater say in IT acquisitions and deployments in 2015, according to a recently released forecast from Deloitte. The 14th edition of Deloitte's "Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions" indicates that innovations related to the Internet of things (IoT), drones and 3D printing will play a lead role in the changes, as technology and business leaders will work together to determine which technologies will have the biggest business impact.

The mentoring program is aimed at emerging companies that specialize in entertainment, media Emerging tech firms can apply now for a spot in this year’s Disney Accelerator program, the company said Tuesday. The program is run with the assistance of the Techstars network and is open to technology-based start-ups with a vision for making an impact on the world of media and entertainment. Participants will be offered $120,000 in investment capital along with mentor support from top Disney executives, entrepreneurs, investors and other notable business leaders from the entertainment and technology communities.

Med students probably dream of working in that snazzy, prestigious academic medical center in Boston or San Francisco, but it turns out that physicians in more rural areas like Montana and South Dakota actually make more money, according to startup Doximity.

“High cost areas actually pay less,” said Jeff Tangney, CEO and founder of Doximity. “Medical school teaches the science of medicine, but not the business of medicine.”

Image: http://medcitynews.com

UNC-Chapel Hill created a new position to help drive economic development. The role is titled "vice chancellor of commercialization and economic development," and the university named Judith Cone as the first to hold the position. The UNC Board of Trustees directed Cone "translate University research and ideas into practical benefit for society while enhancing economic prosperity in North Carolina and beyond."

Image: Dan Sears - UNC Judith Cone, special assistant to the Chancellor for Innovation Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Universities are a unique breeding ground for rising entrepreneurs, able to accumulate all the scattered ingredients for building a thriving company through its own academic network—nurturing a winning idea, recruiting talent, finding mentorship, workspace, and securing venture capital.

According to the newest Illinois Innovation Index report released Monday, triple the number of startups are being generated from these university think tanks in Illinois as five years ago.

A startup called Bastille says it can help companies detect the hacking of devices connected to the so-called Internet of things, which is looming larger as a target for computer crimes.

Bastille Networks measures the typical radio-frequency signature of all the devices in an office—sensors, industrial control systems, employees’ phones, their fitness bands, Wi-Fi routers, and so on. If anything unusual develops, because a sniffing device has been placed in the office, for example, or because someone appears to be remotely accessing an Internet-of-things-connected device for malicious purposes, Bastille can tell the IT staff. Bastille has been testing its technology with some financial services companies since December and plans to make its technology available to other companies in late 2015.

Most people do not associate innovation and the notion of a lean startup with government, but former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the United States Aneesh Chopra shares his insights about data and how government data can be a force of positive change to enable the private sector for the benefit of everyone. Chopra served as the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States, appointed by President Barack Obama. Chopra previously served as Virginia's fourth Secretary of Technology. As an assistant to the president, Chopra designed the National Wireless Initiative, helped launch Startup America, and executed an "open innovation" strategy across the government built on private-sector collaboration -- opening up data, convening on standards and staffing "lean government startups."

Image: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Passion is an overused term in business. You keep hearing “do what you love.” But you need to be thinking about whether your passion is truly sufficient enough to start a successful business. To create a business you must provide a product or service people are willing to pay for. Maybe you love knitting baby booties, and want to make millions doing so. I’m sad to tell you: unless you employ about 10,000 other baby bootie knitters, you will likely never reach that financial goal.

There’s nothing like the start of a new semester. It’s the perfect time to turn over a new leaf and to set goals. As colleges and universities get deep into the spring semester, students can gear up for success with the help of these gadgets perfect for the budding scholar. Whether you're counting down to graduation, or you're still green around the edges, these devices will help you make the most of your collegiate experience.

It's inevitable: Winter is here and there is nothing you can do about it.

When white fluffy snow drifts from the sky and ice storms haunt those who are unlucky enough to live in regions with seasons, everything seems dreary and unmotivating. Once you run out of things to watch on Netflix, you'll start to reconsider why you chose to live in this god-forsaken winter "wonderland."

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/67958110@N00/2896884681

In what it's calling a 'historic' announcement, the Department of Health and Human Services has set new goals to speed the U.S. healthcare system toward value-based care.

HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced Monday that the agency wants to tie 30 percent of fee-for-service Medicare payments to quality or value through alternative payment models, such as accountable care organizations or bundled payments, by the end of 2016. It also aims to have 50 percent of payments affiliated with these models by the end of 2018.