The slogan “The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread” makes almost no sense to us. But have you ever tried to consistently slice bread? It’s hard.

For nearly 3,000 years, we’ve eaten bread. And we haven’t merely eaten it — it’s been the crown jewel of our diet: by the early 20th century, bread made up nearly one-third of the average American’s daily caloric intake.

The Technopolicy Network is thrilled about the upcoming 12th annual Academic Entrepreneurship Conference and Awards. For this Conference we have put together a challenging program with 40 leading experts presenting how universities, incubators and regional governments can boost academic entrepreneurship together with businesses in their region. Regional innovation hotspots from Silicon Valley, Beijing, Boston, Skolkovo and Finland will be presented by their strategists.

The net neutrality debate came to a head this week when President Barack Obama spoke up in favor of classifying the Internet as a common carrier under Title II of the Telecommunications Act.

But what is Title II, and why does it matter to net neutrality?

Title II is actually a “title,” or section, of the Communications Act of 1934. Among other things, it created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Image: Eric Constantineau

In my Scientific American column this month I railed against software companies' attitude that we, the public, are willing to serve as their unpaid beta testers. In an age when they can update software over the Internet, why should they knock themselves out cleaning up the code in time for version 1.0? That said, writing perfect software is probably impossible. I'm often told that no software is completely bug-free. Maybe, then, we should have some empathy for the companies who put out huge, ambitious, million-code-line software monsters that turn out to have show-stopping bugs.

Image: Writing perfect software is probably impossible. Credit: Iorsh via Wikimedia Commons

The Atlantic recently conducted its first Silicon Valley Insiders Poll, where a panel of 50 executives, innovators, and thinkers answered questions on technology, innovation and more. Below are the biggest barriers to innovation, according to the panel. As you can see, the number one answer was government regulation/bureaucracy:

Image: https://www.aei.org

Two years ago, Emile Petrone posted a humble question to reddit.com/r/arduino: "Would you support an Arduino marketplace or am I totally off base?" After observing the market for a while, he saw the need for a central destination where people could buy handmade tech. Many others agreed, and Petrone started to build. Five months later, he quit his job and raised $500,000 in funding to turn Tindie.com into the eCommerce platform for these types of products. Today, the site draws customers from all over the world, including companies like SpaceX, Google and Intel that can't find what they're looking for anywhere else.

Image: Free Digital Photos

Like so many other CEOs I founded my startup, 15Five, in San Francisco. Located in the Runway incubator, directly below the swanky Twitter compound on Market Street, we’re based at “startup ground-zero.”

But I don’t live and work in San Francisco. In fact, I’m based one state (and an entire universe) away in Sedona, Arizona. Why did I choose to be a remote CEO and what does it mean for my company’s growth?

Image: Free Digital Photos

The geography of innovation is shifting. For proof, start with Google, which over the past 10 years has taken the core R&D and innovation-oriented activities it once housed only in Silicon Valley and extended them into cities. The company’s presence in London’s Tech City, New York City’s Chelsea district, and Pittsburgh’s Bakery Square reflects management’s calculation that being in cities increases the company’s access to growing tech-oriented ecosystems, advanced research institutions, deep pools of talent, and distinct regional specializations.

What's in store for 2015? A whole lot of trouble, at least according to 1,500 experts from the World Economic Forum. The group's outlook for next year contains mostly bad news for the planet (sorry). Here is a rundown:

DEEPENING INEQUALITY

"In developed and developing countries alike, the poorest half of the population often controls less than 10% of its wealth," says the report. "This is a universal challenge that the whole world must address." Inequality was rated the most significant issue in the year ahead, and not just for moral reasons: Unequal societies tend to be less successful over time.

We’ve heard it all before - “There’s not enough local money,” “Corporates don’t interact with startups,” “we need to think more Europe, less London v. Berlin v. Stockholm v. Paris v. …;” however, a recent study commissioned by the European Union was delivered by France Digitale called “Boosting Digital Startup Financing in Europe” has found that some of these problems are bigger than we thought.

Image: Free Digital Photos

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Fenwick & West LLP, one of the nation's premier law firms providing comprehensive legal services to high technology and life science clients, today announced the results of its Third Quarter 2014 Silicon Valley Venture Capital Survey.

The survey analyzed the valuations and terms of venture financings for 180 technology and life science companies headquartered in the Silicon Valley that raised capital in the third quarter of 2014.

Despite the Internet’s ever-growing social and economic relevance, a sizable number of Americans in select cities still aren’t connected.

For the first time, the Census Bureau collected data measuring Internet adoption in its most recent annual American Community Survey. The results depict disparities in connectivity and the current state of Internet connectivity at the local level, estimating numbers of households with access and how residents are connecting.

Do you sometimes (or always) feel like you have too much to do and too little time to do it?

Consider an email I got from a student the other day:

“… as the semester goes by, the harder it is to keep up with school. The thing is, I know I’d be able to do it if I didn’t have any extracurricular activities. I have a weekend job where I teach youths, a youth group where I currently lead social justice, and I was just asked by someone to lead prayer group.

Image: Free Digital Photos

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this conversation. A founder is about to raise their first round and asking me how to value their company.

There’s a reason it’s so difficult to figure out - valuations have little basis in reality for early stage companies. You evaluate the team, product, market and other variables - then, make a general guess.

Before I go on, if you read nothing else, read this:

 

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber released a report exploring the state of entrepreneurship and innovation in the Baton Rouge area.

Released the week before Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week 2014, "The State of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Capital Region" includes inventions, patents, education and technology transfer happening in the Baton Rouge area.

Image: Released the week before Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week 2014, "The State of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Capital Region" includes inventions, patents, education and technology transfer happening in the Baton Rouge area. (Brett Duke, NOLA.com)

At a recent meeting at Washington University’s Olin School of Business, four different companies (Better Weekdays, Pulse Therapeutics,Prosper Women’s Entrepreneurs and Elemental Enzymes) each pitched their business to a group of local investors. And local investors were able to decide, on the spot, if they were interested in investing in any of the companies.

Each company gave a presentation and those in attendance asked questions about the respective companies, their business models and why it would be a good idea to invest in them. Each investor was able to indicate if they had interest in the deal or if they were taking a pass.

As an entrepreneur, you should treat gossip among the members of your team as a reduction in productivity at best, and at worst, an indication of unhappy, un-empowered, or non-collaborative employees. As a leader, you should be asking yourself if you are the problem, and working hard to improve the situation before it gets out of hand, causing lost clients as well as lost productivity.

Silicon Valley is synonymous with ground-breaking innovations and market-shaping exports, and I’m not just talking about gadgets and social media apps. The world’s global capital of high technology also produced a game-changing model for empowering entrepreneurs who wish to transform small smart-ups into "the next big thing."

This morning at the White House, I met with a group of leaders who are exporting the Silicon Valley-style incubator to America’s heartland and beyond. They are the winners of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) first-ever Growth Accelerator Competition.

Some of the most celebrated startup success stories that have emerged and inspired in recent years include names such as Dropbox, Airbnb and Reddit.

But what do all these relatively young companies have in common? Each started out in Y-Combinator’s tech accelerator programme that gave them the cash-infused nudge and workspace they needed to realise the full potential of their ideas.

Image: Free Digital Photos

It’s about time somebody in the state decided to quit waiting for workable rules for equity crowdfunding from federal securities regulators.

A Minnesota group, calling itself MNvest and started by Minneapolis attorneys Ryan Schildkraut and Zach Robins, is hoping to persuade the Legislature next year to go ahead and let equity crowdfunding take place here. Quite a number of Minnesotans have jumped on board to help, including Sen. Terri Bonoff, a DFLer from Minnetonka.