Florida is trying again with venture capital

TAMPA - Things didn't go well the last time Florida dipped its toe into the venture capital world.

The much-maligned CAPCO program was designed to boost small technology businesses in Florida and create high-tech jobs but instead appears to have resulted in the loss of hundreds of jobs, a report on the program said.

BusinessWeek: Vote for Asia's Best Young Entrepreneur

The world may be struggling to emerge from the global recession, but that's not deterring many young entrepreneurs in Asia. Throughout the region, ambitious businessmen and women are navigating the economic turmoil and trying to succeed with new business ideas. Most of the finalists in BusinessWeek's annual report of Asia's Best Young Entrepreneurs have had to start from scratch. Some even have to support a family.

WSJ: An Invasion Of Start-Ups From Outer Space

We often cover investments in start-ups operating in cyberspace, but outer-space deals are nearly non-existent.

Imagine a potential investor trying to keep a straight face when an entrepreneur says the market reach of their business spans…galaxies.

Jonathan Farrington’s Blog: ‘Five or six degrees of separation’ – So what?

So, every individual in the whole world is potentially only five or six contact steps away.

This ‘five or six degrees of separation’ shows that even an entire population of over five billion people is still highly accessible.

So what?

For practical purposes, we don’t necessarily want or need to meet millions, or even thousands of people in different organisations, age groups, religions, professions, cultures or places.

Swiss Precision Meets Messy Innovation

The Swiss love precision. You can see it in their watches and reliable trains. You can see it in their founding myth, the story of William Tell. He had to shoot an apple that was sitting on his son's head to gain his freedom, and his success sparked a rebellion that led to the formation of the Swiss Confederation. High stakes! In recent decades, Switzerland has been known for banking services. After the financial meltdown, it became obvious to many inside the country that Switzerland needed to innovate very rapidly to create the wealth-generating companies of the future. But innovation is a messy business, the opposite of cold precision. How is the Swiss startup scene managing to square this circle? I recently spent a few days in Zurich to find out.

Finding the cure for Canada's venture capital industry

Canada's venture capital industry is in serious trouble.

According to Kevin Talbot, managing director of RBC Venture Partners, poor venture capital returns are shrinking the industry to dangerous levels, threatening the health of the entire "innovation-driven economy."

launching a startup over just one weekend

What if I told you there is an a event where designers, developers, entrepreneurs and other innovators gather to network, share resources and ultimately launch startups over the course of a weekend?

Now imagine it’s not just a one-time event…but actually happens throughout the year and in cites across the globe!

First Growth Venture Network Welcomes Its Inaugural Vintage

NEW YORK, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- First Growth Venture Network, a mentoring program for high potential seed and early stage start-up tech companies, today announced the selection of 15 seed and early stage start-up tech companies for its first class, or "Inaugural Vintage." At the first day of the two-semester program, selected companies will learn more about the program, meet with advisors and network with other members of the program who have committed to helping accelerate the "first growth" of promising entrepreneurs.

Nurturing the innovation reef

Marine biologists don’t fully understand what causes reefs to form, but we do know that human actions can nurture or harm the process. The same is true for innovation—a natural, chaotic, unpredictable process that is hard, perhaps even impossible, for well-meaning outsiders to foster.

BostonGlobe: The Friday Five: Tips on Getting Covered in Innovation Economy

Each Friday, I put together a five-item list called the Friday Five.

This week, it's tips on getting covered in my Innovation Economy column on Sundays and on this blog.

Just a note of context first: my goal with both the column and blog is to tell the most interesting stories about what's new in New England -- and those stories can originate from a tiny start-up firm in someone's basement, an academic lab, or a giant publicly-traded company.

angel investor …. 10 points for best answer!?

You may want to go and pitch your ideas where investors gather. Here are some places where angel investors come and those looking for funding can come and pitch their business plans. Be sure to have a strong business plan and describe what makes your business idea stand apart:

U.S. Leadership in Medical Innovation Depends on Education and Immigration Policy,...

U.S. Leadership in Medical Innovation Depends on Education and Immigration Policy, Say Experts at Capitol Hill Briefing on 'Education & Immigration: Building Blocks of Innovation'

Council for American Medical Innovation Brings Together Political Leaders, Educators and Policy Experts at First in a Series of Briefings About Achieving "Recovery Through Discovery"