TORONTO, Jan. 13 /CNW/ - The Ontario Venture Capital Fund (OVCF) today announced that it has made a commitment to Blackberry Partners Fund II, a leading independent venture capital firm focused exclusively on mobile internet investing. The Blackberry Partners Fund (Blackberry Partners), a Toronto-based firm, ranks among Canada's most active technology investors.

"We are pleased to have made a lead commitment to one of Canada and Ontario's most promising venture capital funds," said Melissa McJannet, Managing Director of Northleaf Capital Partners, the manager of OVCF. "The investment in Blackberry Partners is reflective of OVCF's strategy to invest in best-in-class Ontario-based and Ontario-focused venture capital and growth equity funds. Blackberry Partners has served as a local champion in the Ontario market and we believe its differentiated investment strategy positions the manager to succeed not only in the Canadian market, but on a global basis."

What’s the culture at your company? At Headsets.com, it’s respect. The Headsets.com experience is defined by the attitude of the customer service rep you reach when you call, and how you feel when you hang up the phone from your conversation with him or her. That experience has fueled the company’s growth. At Headsets.com, 52 phone reps work with customers, guiding them through the maze of selecting the product that is right for them.

“At the core of that call is respect,” says founder and CEO Mike Faith. “The customer deserves our respect. Sometimes they could be wrong. But they always deserve our respect.” And that’s why if any one of those reps rolls his or her eyes, acts exasperated, or does not give customers the respect they deserve, that is the end of that rep’s job at Headsets.com.

This question ran through my mind just yesterday. No, not how does Malcolm Gladwell see the world? But, rather, what does it feel like to inhabit the mind of people who think and see the world in entirely different ways? The question can be a big existential thought experiment. Or, it turns out, it can be the impulse guiding Malcolm Gladwell’s varied, often unexpected, and usually bestselling inquiries.

As a professor of entrepreneurship at a university, I benefit from efforts by foundations and governments to support entrepreneurship programs. While I’d like to see this support continue, I wish that the support would be provided for the right reasons.

To me, the right reason to support entrepreneurship programs at universities is because educating students about this topic is valuable to them in the same way that teaching them physics or art history benefits them. The wrong reason to support university entrepreneurship programs is the belief that these programs will enhance economic growth in a region.

You've just completed design research in the field, capturing hours of video, thousands of photos, artifacts, papers, and documents. And now, you're stumped and overwhelmed. What should you do next? How do you do it? And how do you know when you've done a good job?

Design synthesis -- the process of translating data and research into knowledge -- is the most critical part of the design process. Yet in our popular discussions of design and innovation, we've largely ignored this fundamental role. We engage in debates and discussions about process methodologies (waterfall vs. agile, user-centered design vs. technology-driven design) and management techniques (topgrading, negotiation), yet we rarely engage in conversation about incubation and translation: making meaning out of the data we've gathered from research, as we strive for innovation. It's as if this part of design is magical, and for us to formalize our techniques would somehow call attention to our sleight of hand.

Investment research firm CB Insights has released its end-of-year report for 2010, which finds both the fourth quarter and the year overall ending strong. The $6.5 billion in VC funding over 735 deals makes the fourth quarter an eight quarter high on deals and dollars. And overall, the year saw $23.7 billion in funding in 2792 deals - a 14% growth in funding and a 13% growth in deals over 2009.

"For those of you looking for a data point that suggests VC is back and on the road to recovery after 2009's tough sledding," the report reads, "the eight quarter high on deals and dollars gives you something to hang your hat on. For those of you who think VC is overheated and we're headed for a bubble, the eight quarter high on deals and dollars gives you something to hang your hat on. Yes - it's all a matter of perspective." And for those of you wanting to argue that New York is indeed a hotspot for investment, this report will help make that argument too.

S. Michael Camp came to Ohio State University in 2004 to lead the newly formed Center for Entrepreneurship in the Fisher College of Business. The center is an academic and research institution as well as a resource for new startups, innovators and existing businesses within the community. In his role (which includes overseeing the annual preparation of the highly regarded Ohio Venture Capital Report) Camp works with students, faculty and business leaders who want to know one thing: How can I give my great ideas legs? Camp recently agreed to spend a few minutes with hiVelocity.

The Entrepreneur Center's mission statement includes three core values, one of which is to educate aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs in the art and science of value creation. What does that mean?

There's been a lot of talk about Warren Buffett's successor in the last few months; not least because in November a man called Todd Combs exploded into our lives and was dubbed Buffett's "heir apparent."

But a new look at Buffett in this month's Vanity Fair paints a totally different picture of the role Combs will likely play in Berkshire's future.

More and more communication is happening through technology. Still, there are times when conversing the old-fashioned way -- through the telephone or face-to-face -- is best.

With so many forms of communication to choose from, knowing which to use can be difficult. “There are many factors to consider when determining the best approach, from the product or service you’re selling to the person you’re dealing with,” says Gina Rubel, head of Furia Rubel Communications, a marketing and public relations firm in Doylestown, Pa. “It’s not always clear what’s appropriate.”

The New York Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with experts in the startup community, organized this From Scientist to Entrepreneur Series to foster innovation and entrepreneurship among Academy members and the wider NYC scientific community by demystifying the exciting process of taking an innovation from bench to market. By equipping scientists with the tools they need to recognize a commercializeable innovation when it crosses their path and then to turn that innovation into a viable venture, this series opens the door for the successful translation of technologies into commercial products.

Preparing not only those interested in commercializing their own technologies, but also those eager to help other scientists turn their innovations into businesses and those who are considering joining an existing startup company, the series included sessions on intellectual property and the patenting process (Part 1), opportunity recognition (Part 2), the technology transfer process (Part 3), and the path to a comprehensive business plan (Part 4).

Researchers have developed a new test designed to simultaneously detect genetic mutations involved in more than 400 severe diseases. The test, which was shown to be highly accurate, is initially aimed at screening prospective parents for mutations linked to rare inherited disorders.

Thanks to inexpensive sequencing technology, scientists aim to offer the test for just a few hundred dollars, similar to the cost of tests currently available for detecting individual diseases or a handful of disorders.

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

2. "Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller

3. "It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are difficult." -- Seneca

4. "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go." -- T.S. Eliot

5. "What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it is another matter." -- Peter Drucker

Atlanta, GA, January 14, 2011 --(PR.com)-- 40Billion.com, a micro-funding platform that facilitates business capital fundraising through gifts and loans from an entrepreneur's network of friends and family online, today announced the launch of new social networking tools for students and alumni to raise money for businesses.

Using the free Internet service, college students and alumni can build their social networks of contacts, including classmates and friends from the same school and from different schools, and use these connections to raise money, resources, and support for entrepreneurial ventures. Members create personal profiles that include their education information, such as school name, degree, major, and graduation year. They can add one or multiple schools to their profiles and then invite people they know from each school to join their network. The service even suggests new contacts, automatically, based on their profiles.

As China’s Internet companies grow in wealth and stature, they’re facing the decision of whether to look to the developed countries of the West or the developing world as they expand beyond China’s borders. 

For Gary Rieschel, founder of Qiming Venture Partners, and a longtime investor in both the U.S. and Asia, the answer is to forgo the markets of the West for higher growth opportunities in markets closer to China in temperament and growth.

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council recently released its Small Business Survival Index for 2010. The index ranks the climate for small businesses in the 50 states (and D.C.) based on public policy factors that include 38 major government-related, or imposed costs.

A few of the issues included in the ranking are:

• Taxes

• Regulatory costs

• Government spending

• Property rights

• Health care

• Energy costs

• Crime rate

Under30CEO

Under30CEO is a great blog for “Leading Gen Y to stop doing sh*t they hate.”  Read start-up advice, start-up profiles, interviews with entrepreneurs and more.

Quick Sprout

Quick Sprout is one of the best young entrepreneur blogs out there. Neil Patel, the blogger, has founded many companies and will teach you a ton, while accommodating a vibrant community.

The good thing about braving the crowds at the Consumer Electronics Show is that you get to see a lot of the future’s gadgets. And if you see the same thing over and over again, that’s a trend. Last year, every TV maker embraced 3D and web connectivity. That trend continued this year with more than half of all new TV models including those features. This year, we’ve sniffed out similar trends that could play out throughout 2011 as companies execute on their grand ambitions:

1. Tearing down walls between industries and platforms. This never used to happen with frequency. But there is so much disruption going on that it is becoming common for a company in one industry to tear down the walls and invade its rivals’ turf. The main beneficiary is the consumer, who enjoys the benefits of more competition.

NASVF in partnership with the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2) are pleased to offer the new online Seed and Venture Capital Training Course Program. The Seed Funding and Venture Capital Course Certificate Program is an insider view to the venture capital process offered. Topics covered in the courses includehow angels and VC's identify investable startups, what needs to be in the business plan, how to build effective leadership teams, how to do a deal and what terms to avoid, and what to do after you get funded. The cost of the course is $297.00 and students with verification is $75.00. The list of instructors and registration information can be accessed through the following link:

http://center.ncet2.org/index.php?option=com_joomla_lms&Itemid=53&task=course_guest&id=32

Venture-capital investors, apparently spooked by declining returns over the past ten years, raised less money for investment in early- and mid-stage startups in 2010 and flocked to late-stage startups.

Funding available for startups was down 14 percent in 2010, to $11.6 billion, from $13.5 billion in 2009, according to a report by Dow Jones. 119 funds raised money for investing in startups last year, compared to 133 funds in 2009.

Despite some positive activity in the exit market, it looks like investors are still less willing to take significant risks on early- and mid-stage startups that haven’t found some significant traction yet. Exit activity was up 25 percent in 2010 when compared to 2009, but the average size of each exit was lower than what was paid out before the recession began in earnest in 2008.