Morning Call reporter Sam Kennedy's Monday story on reduced state funding to the Ben Franklin Technology Partners was spot-on in describing the devastating effects of these huge cuts on promising local companies. With more than 40 years' experience in venture capital, and as a founding board member and current board chairman of Ben Franklin, I am deeply concerned about the effects of these cuts on our region's economy.

Funding and supporting entrepreneurs and established manufacturers is not a business that is easily mastered. Over the past 28 years, the staff of Ben Franklin has developed its knowledge base and experience, along with its relationships and network, to be one of the world's best at developing companies that build a regional economy. Reducing the budget of Ben Franklin is squandering one of Pennsylvania's most valuable assets, crippling a well-oiled economic development machine that is the envy of the world.

During the last decades, creative and cultural approaches have been implemented in regional and urban development strategies as key drivers for competitiveness and growth. However, research literature tends to focus mainly in big cities and metropolis, not recognizing the potential of small cities in intermediate and rural regions in fostering territorial cohesion. Nevertheless, public policies based on creativity and innovation are being experienced in non-metropolitan and rural contexts around Europe, Canada and USA focused on economic revitalisation, urban regeneration and reversing de-population trends. These approaches are mainly based on historic precedents (‘path dependency’), in the exploitation of distinctive local attributes and assets regarding culture, environment, lifestyle and quality of life, besides specific investments in infrastructures or support programmes (such as incubators, live-work houses, and specific financing systems), which intend to induce the attraction of talent and the development of creative businesses. The main aim of this investigation is to examine the recent approaches to cultural and creative economy that are being implemented by small and medium-sized cities in Europe that still remain largely unstudied. The objective is to establish a typology of creative-based strategies through the analysis of the definitions adopted by regional and local authorities as well as the justifications and planning instruments used that reflect different priority goals or purposes. The paper engages the debate on rural and urban relationships as well as on the regional interdependencies. It is also stressed the demand for adapting widespread development policies to local specificities and to build up innovative forms of governance for a fully engagement of the local actors at different levels, in search of a competitive but also cohesive society. As a result, it is our intention to contribute to the theoretical thinking about the crucial factors for the sustainability of small local economies in regional development.

What happens when you grow up as the son of an engineer in Silicon Valley? You get to see the first Mac prototype in 1967 – which didn’t ship for another 17 years.

Prolific author and man-about-tech-town Robert Scoble, who was with Microsoft and now leads the Startup charge at Rackspace, has always been into shiny new things. Last March he joined us as part of our Tech Cocktail Delivering Happiness interview series and shared what he loves most about his job and SXSW, how he sees chat platforms evolving, and why new platforms and devices – like the iPhone and Droid – are fueling startups. Watch the Robert Scoble video interview (below).

U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) voted for final passage on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. The bipartisan measure, which contains a number of key initiatives for Maine, was approved by the Senate 93 to 7. Included in the bill are Senator Snowe’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which give small firms the ability to develop and market innovative technology, and create new jobs within the United States. Senator Snowe said:

“This legislation makes vital enhancements that will not only greatly benefit our brave men and women serving worldwide and their families, but also ensure they have the resources to accomplish their mission. Furthermore, this bill recognizes the key role that the state of Maine plays in ensuring the security of the United States, by providing funding for Bath Iron Works’ shipbuilding programs, submarine maintenance at Kittery-Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and other defense-related activities undertaken every day by Mainers around the state.

The venture capital industry is going through a ton of disruptions lately. One of the better explanations I’ve heard recently of what is going on comes from Duncan Davidson, a managing partner at Bullpen Capital who gave a great talk on the subject at TechCrunch Tokyo last week. I interviewed him backstage on video, where he summarized his views.

Just as there are now legions of “lean startups” which require less capital to build a product, Davidson argues that a “lean finance model” is also needed. “We are in the era of cheap. The whole concept is keep the company as lean as possible until the company validates its market, then you shovel the money in.”

Download the PDF

If your marketing strategy had a personality type, what would it be?

Popular in the field of psychology, the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) is the world’s most widely used personality assessment test. The questionnaire is designed to measure personality by evaluating preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions, and it is based on 4 scales: Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. While some people fall at the extreme ends of these scales, it is also common to fall somewhere in the middle. Now, as an inbound marketer, is it better to have one personality type or another? Should you be more extraverted or introverted? Judging or perceiving?

WASHINGTON—Spurring innovation and entrepreneurship in ways that encourage the growth of advanced manufacturing industries is critical to a state’s economic development. To assist states in developing and implementing successful economic development strategies, the National Governors Association (NGA) today announced seven states – Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania – selected to participate in the Policy Academy on “Making” our Future:  Encouraging Growth Opportunities in Manufacturing through Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Investment.

Innovation represents the best way for the United States to compete for new economic activity and job creation, both by using technology to dramatically boost productivity, process improvements and quality, and by developing the next generation of innovative manufactured products. For American manufacturing, the future increasingly lies in rapidly changing fields such as energy, medical devices, gene therapy, transportation and aerospace, and is based on advances in nanotechnologies, biotechnologies and information technologies. Moreover, there are many research areas with the potential to create a new era of manufacturing, including:  research on robotics; advanced materials and materials processing; and nano-engineering, that allows firms to better manipulate matter at the smallest scales in order to produce everything from new industrial materials to cutting-edge medicine.

Marissa Evans created her company, Go Try It On, as a means of answering that age-old question, “What should I wear?” Along the way, she recruited a technical team, launched her product at South By Southwest and was able to land $3 million in funding.

Check out Marissa’s interview to hear what she has to say about some of the challenges she’s experienced, how she relies on friends in tough times and what every entrepreneur should know about the power of asking for help.

The case for social innovation has never been clearer. The big issues—climate change, affordable health care, disconnected communities—are complex and it is widely accepted that they cannot be solved by doing things the old way. But whilst the “what” and “why” are more widely understood, the “how” and “who” of social innovation is less clear, and the “ecosystem” to support social innovation remains underdeveloped.

Support for Social Innovation

Businesses, global NGOs, local charities and governments alike are increasingly open to the idea of social innovation, but little work is being done on bolstering the institutions, frameworks and structures that will actually enable social innovation to happen. Spotting, supporting, measuring and financing social innovation is still no-one’s responsibility.

At today's Ignition conference in New York, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg talked about what it's like being one of the most powerful women in Silicon Valley.

She also revealed the advice she gives to women: "The most important career choice you'll make is who you marry. I have an awesome husband, and we're 50/50."

She spoke passionately about how there's a "stalled revolution for women" right now, and how having a supportive spouse — a real partner — will play a huge part in your success.

Are you smarter than a 13-year-old? Probably. In 1895? Debatable.

Creative thinking expert Michael Michalko dug up an eighth-grade final exam taken by students in Salina, Kansas in 1895. It was originally published by Psychology Today.

The test covers grammar, arithmetic, U.S. history, geography, and orthography.

Make no mistake about it: There is an art to raising angel capital. Raising angel capital is not harder or easier than raising institutional venture capital-it's simply different. Here's how to do it.

• Make sure they are "accredited" investors. "Accredited" is legalese for "rich enough to never get back a penny." Just read what the SEC says. You can get into a boat load of trouble for selling stock to the proverbial "little old lady in Florida," so don't do it. And get a good corporate finance attorney (as opposed to your aunt the divorce lawyer) to advise you about the process of seeking investments. (DL note: you can legally raise money from up to 35 non-accredited investors, but still heed Guy's advice.)

In a rare multi-party show of cooperation and consensus, the U.S. House several weeks ago passed, by a vote of 407-17, The Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act. This act legitimizes the burgeoning practice of Crowdfunding, in which entrepreneurs raise necessary capital not in large pieces from a few traditional sources, but instead in smaller amounts from many supporters gathered over the Internet. In contrast, the U.S. Senate will shortly hold hearings on an alternative bill that, while on the surface also claiming to support Crowdfunding, would in fact functionally eviscerate and render it moot. The Senate bill as introduced only allows $1,000 investment per individual, with significantly greater regulation, instead of the House’s $10,000 limit with fewer restrictions. In spite of ostensibly principled concerns from traditional regulatory sectors, Crowdfunding deserves a functioning place in our entrepreneurial ecosystem.

An article in The Economist observed, we are at the point of an “industrial revolution of data,” with vast amounts of digital information being created, stored and analyzed. The rise of “big data” has led in turn to an increased demand for tools to both analyze and visualize the information.

The New Competition Is Data

Smart competitors are making significant investment in their ability to collect, integrate, and analyze data from anywhere and everywhere there is an engagement with the marketplace. By constantly testing, bundling, synthesizing, and making information instantly available across the organization the company had become a different and nimbler type of business.

We all know that every startup is risky. No risk means no reward. Yet every investor has his own “rules of thumb” on what makes a specific startup too high a risk for his investment taste. You need to know these guidelines to set your expectations on funding.

Of course, if you intend to fund the business yourself, or have a rich uncle, external investment funding concerns are not a problem. Yet, it’s still worthwhile to understand the issues so you can minimize your own risk of failure. Here is a summary of the “big picture” high risk considerations:

Inexperienced team. I’ve said many times that investors fund people, not ideas. They look for people with real experience in the business domain of the startup, and people with real experience running a startup. An expert in software is considered high risk in manufacturing, and a Fortune 100 executive running a startup is high risk.

There are many risks and rewards that come with inventing. Inventors Digest has pulled together a collection of risks you should avoid. Are you ready to walk that fine line?

Risk #1: Getting a search without a patentability opinion.

Before you order a search, make sure you will get at least a “file or don’t file” patentability opinion. Although it costs more, a patentability opinion that gives reasons why you probably can or can’t get a patent is best. It may reveal a way that you can alter your invention to get around the obstructing prior art if the answer is “don’t file.”

Though Silicon Valley continues to point to its big portfolios and the industry's high valuations, a look at how incubator start-ups are doing shows what's really happening in the tech world. Today The Wall Street Journal's Jessica E. Vascellaro informs us that there's an incubator glut -- too many small start-ups, not enough innovation -- that has some tech investors worried. "The proliferation of start-up 'boot camps' is creating problems for the tech industry, such as a glut of similar companies and too much competition for talent," she writes. So, investors like Pay Pal co-founder, Max Levchin, are taking their money elsewhere, he told Vascellaro. But it's not just Levchin's support that's fleeing. A deeper look at this incubator glut shows that not only are these talent hives squashing innovation but they aren't exactly attracting money.

AOL co-founder and former CEO Steve Case announced on Thursday that he and two former AOL colleagues, Ted Leonsis and Donn Davis, have raised a $450 million venture capital fund that will focus on startups outside of Silicon Valley.

“While our visibility and reach is national, we will generally focus on investments in the Eastern United States,” they wrote in a blog post. “We believe there are great entrepreneurs building great companies all over the country, so we will focus our attention outside of Silicon Valley. ”

Today Intel Corporation will debut Intel Innovators, a Facebook platform that encourages young entrepreneurs to share their business ideas for the chance to win up to $100,000 for the next 3 months. This program will be announced at noon (PST) during a live webcast titled “Young Entrepreneurs Inventing Tomorrow’s Innovation.”

Deborah Conrad, chief marketing officer at Intel, will lead this webcast discussion with additional industry leaders on the importance of technology, entrepreneurship and innovation. Conrad will be joined by David Fischer, Facebook vice president of advertising and global operations; Ricky Van Veen, CollegeHumor and Connected Ventures co-founder and CEO; and Phil Weilerstein, National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) executive director. In conjunction with this discussion, Intel will debut Intel Innovators.