• Group: International Commercialization Alliance
• Subject: Announcement from International Commercialization Alliance

On May 19th at the Discovery '11 show in Toronto, members of the ICA will present the highlights of last March Forum to a large audience from Industry, Academia, Governments and Investors.
Nava Swersky, Ari Huczkowski, Rich Bendis will be on this panel moderated by Mario Thomas. Discovery is the largest innovation show in Canada with over 2,500 delegates registered. It won top award in 2010 as best trade show in Canada.

http://www.linkedin.com/e/-cx4bvl-gnordebe-2g/vaq/54116303/3853544/-1/eml-anet_ancmt-b-0/

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., May 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. job growth is driven by startup companies, according to a 2010 Kauffman Foundation study.

But, job seekers who dream of joining a new company hoping it will become the next Starbucks or Google should carefully consider the risks and rewards, says Polly Black, director of the Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest University.

"It is very exciting to join a startup. Since it is often an 'all hands on deck' situation, you will have the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the business right away," Black says. However, there is some risk involved and those tempted to accept job offers from startup businesses without a long-term track record need to know the right questions to ask before making the leap. Black explains the five most important things to consider:

1. Passion -- Do you have a real passion for what the small startup company is doing? You will likely be working long hours for little pay, so you need to have a passion for what you are doing.

Don’t get me wrong, being self-employed is fantastic, but it also means that when you’re a one man business like me that no one else is there to pick up the slack.

Business a little slow? Time to dig in. More business than expected? So long, weekend.

So when one day, I was chatting with another cartoonist about how I needed to ask myself for a day off, we began riffing on the concept and we each came out of it with a few ideas, including the above cartoon.

If you are thinking about starting a business, you have probably done extensive research on your idea, target market, prospective customers, and competition. But, have you considered how the location of your new business could affect its growth and profitability?

The internet and social media have broken communication barriers and made it easier to communicate with customers, suppliers, and partners halfway across the world, but nothing can replace the benefits of growing a startup in a place with:

1) Easy access to profitable markets

2) Strong supply chains

3) An abundant talent pool

4) A robust entrepreneurial support community

5) A business-friendly tax environment

6) Good quality of life

Tell Your Story
Don’t hide how you created your product, where the idea came from or your trials and tribulations during the creation process. This is the process that interests the press and bloggers. Put this up on your blog once you’ve figured out your way through it. Tell the story. The press loves it when you talk about how something was done. Look at the great press that these stories generated, these entrepreneurs learned how to tell a story.

The University of Utah boasts it has spun off more than 100 companies in the past six years, based on ideas developed on campus. While the school touts its status as No. 1 among research institutions for starting companies, some appear to be companies in name only.

The U. has launched 35 companies as wholly owned entities of the university since 2007, 20 of which it lists as startups. Many have no office, payroll, permanent leadership or assets. In state filings, most list as their address the suite at 615 Arapeen Dr., where the U.’s Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) operates in Research Park.

TCO chief Brian Cummings is a registered agent or officer of at least 32 companies, according to incorporation records kept by the Utah Department of Commerce. By setting up corporate shells owned by the U., officials say they can pursue federal grants and venture capital during the early phase of an invention’s development and speed it to market. Critics say this novel approach, taken by few other schools, raises the potential for conflicts of interest and antagonizes independent entrepreneurs.

Ben Pieratt is the founder and CEO of Svpply, a social shopping startup in New York City, and he wrote the best blog post we think we've ever read from a startup CEO.

The title gives the tone of the post: "I have no idea what I'm doing."

Pieratt writes about the fact that he's a graphic designer by training, and that all of the business-y aspects of running a startup, recruiting, etc. are hard and scary. That things don't happen how or as fast as they should. That even when it's not his fault that things go wrong, it's still his fault because the buck stops with him.

People ask me if they really need ANY business plan, unless they are looking for an outside investor. In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor.

First of all, any good business plan should demonstrate that you have done the homework to be an expert in your industry, and in what it takes to build a successful business from your idea. I’ll skip the basics here, and highlight only key elements that investors focus on:

1. Define the problem. Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. Explain in terms your mother could understand, and quantify the “cost-of-pain” in dollars or time. Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided.

If there's one fact that Americans take for granted, it's that other people want to live here. As President Barack Obama noted in his speech on immigration earlier this week, the U.S. has always attracted strivers from every corner of the globe, often willing to risk great hardships to get here.

During the 20th century especially, America became a magnet for the bright and ambitious. Millions of talented foreigners, from Alfred Hitchcock to Sergey Brin, flocked to our universities and benefited from our financial capital and open culture.

There are signs, however, that the allure of America is fading. A new study by researchers at U.C. Berkeley, Duke and Harvard has found that, for the first time, a majority of American-trained entrepreneurs who have returned to India and China believe they are doing better at "home" than they would be doing in the U.S. The numbers weren't even close: 72% of Indians and 81% of Chinese said "economic opportunities" were superior in their native countries.

The recession has seen many capital budgets at theme parks held back over the last few years, but even still, there are many parks building new and exciting rides all over the world. Here is a round up of some rides to get you foaming at the mouth.

Cheetah Hunt in Tampa Busch Gardens
The Cheetah Hunt, as you might expect from its namesake, is a “Linear Synchronous Motor Launch Coaster”, i.e. it uses magnets to launch you off fast then it uses strategically places LSM launch pads two more times on your ride. It is set to open in Spring 2011 and is set to be one of the most exciting rides in the country. The 4.5 thousand feet of track will send you to the top of mountains to twisting through a rocky gorge. Watch the video to whet your appetite.

Hoping to get funding for your startup? You’ll have better luck if you aren’t going it alone.

“Two to three co-founders seems to be a sweet spot,” Y Combinator partner Paul Bucheit said on a panel session at Google I/O Developer Conference in San Francisco. The other panelists — Excite Co-founder and Google Ventures partner Joe Kraus and SCVNGR founder Seth Priebatsch — all agreed venture capitalists prefer to invest in companies headed by more than one founder.

These four simple statements summarize RIAN’s purpose. They are drawn from 12 guiding principles developed in the fall of 2010 by SSTI, EDA and the leaders of several Venture Development Organizations.

Our future prosperity requires innovation.

1. New entrepreneurial businesses are responsible for the majority of job creation in America [U.S. Census Bureau]. Of primary importance for ensuring America’s global leadership in innovation and opportunity, are young, research & technology enterprises advancing technology commercialization, providing high wage, high quality knowledge-based jobs and attracting capital to a region.

I know some entrepreneurs with successful businesses, and others who seem to have a great relationship with their family, but I can’t think of many who have both. Some people would argue that these two successes are mutually exclusive, but I’m not convinced.

Individually, they both take focus, commitment, and a variety of skills, all the strengths of a good entrepreneur. Assuming a person wants both a family and a business, the challenge is to achieve a balance that can satisfy both.

Have you ever experienced a situation where one person trusts you when nobody else does? And what happens next?

In very little time a strong relationship can build between the two of you, sometimes at a remarkable speed. Why does this happen, what are the forces at play and how can you apply this experience and knowledge to your own entrepreneurial journey?

Hitch Hikers constantly seek one person who will believe in them. And I’ll never forget how countless drivers passed me one autumn afternoon as I grew increasingly desperate in the fading light for a lift to get me home. Rejection followed rejection but eventually a car pulled over.

“Where are you going mate?” The driver leant over from his seat and looked up at me shouldering my rucksack and holding the passenger door open.

“The Lake District!” The prospect of a lift always added an eager tone to my voice.

“Better get in then… but I’m only going to Harrogate, so I’ll have to drop you there.”

Investors in River Cities Capital Funds made $41 million in recent months as the downtown venture capital firm outperformed its rivals in fueling young businesses that are growing and creating jobs.

Since September, River Cities has sold its stake in five portfolio companies – generating returns for investors of 2.6 to 8 times the dollars put into those companies. Results are so strong that the firm is considering raising a fifth fund later this year or early next.

“We’ve been bucking the trends,” says Dan Fleming, one of seven managing partners at the 17-year-old firm.

It sure beats a spare room in the basement.

Entrepreneurs at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College’s Business Incubator here say that one of the biggest advantages they get from the program is an end to the isolation they had in a home or garage office in their companies’ earliest days.

Businesses at the incubator sell products as disparate as custom-decorated dog tags, specialized computer training and vehicle-mounted tents and cargo carriers.

Does it feel like there are too many little things nibbling at you to actually get any real work done? Just when we settle in to work on the Johnson project, Facebook needs updating, Instant Messenger goes off and there’s that email from your partner in Dallas. How are we supposed to get any work done? We need to rebuild our attention spans.

Too many of us spend our time working like Dug, the dog from the movie “Up”. We get distracted at odd moments (SQUIRREL!) and find it hard to focus. By becoming aware of our tendencies and setting support systems in place we can regain our focus.

Tony Schwartz, the author of The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, has some ideas. In a recent Management Exchange blog post, he offers 6 tips for regaining the focus we once had.

Navy SEALS are not allowed a bad day at work, and they certainly can’t let stress degrade their performance.

Stress reduction, or brain resiliency, can be learned, and you don’t have to be a member of an elite fighting force to do it, according to medical researchers who spoke at at a recent Harvard Medical School symposium on “Resiliency and Learning: Implications for Teaching Medical Students and Residents.”

George Everly, an associate professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has studied Navy SEALs and other groups that work under high stress. He said that people most likely to have developed an immunity to stress have a social support network, are optimistic, are persevering with a stout work ethic and value responsibility and integrity.

In speaking with a friend about the Creative Director role at their agency, we exchanged ideas about what makes a Creative Director. I made some notes for her and thought you’d like to see them… The ideas go beyond that of just a Creative Director.

* Understanding not just what someone states they need, but to look further to what they really need.
* Is multi-lingual… they understand can speak, and translate: design, brand, and client.
* Understands how to make it work – the words, the art, the vehicle.
* Helps people see things from other perspectives.