As a Canadian in Silicon Valley, venture capitalist Ann Hanham has done it all. Her distinguished résumé includes taking the first stem cell device for approval to the Food and Drug Administration, as well as taking public a number of companies.

But after being away for over two decades, Ms. Hanham is coming home – not because the venture capital business in Canada is thriving, but because it isn’t. And she wants to change that.

“It is heartbreaking that so much talent and so much brilliant research isn’t being commercialized,” says Ms. Hanham from San Francisco, where she is currently a managing director at Burrill & Company, a venerable venture capital firm that invests money on behalf of partners such as Unilever NV, Archer- Daniels-Midland Co. and Nestlé SA.

There are about 150 million good reasons (read: $) why everybody's talking about Kickstarter lately. Kickstarter is self-described as "a new way to fund creative projects" according to two beliefs: one in good ideas and one in how "large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement." And according to co-founder Yancey Strickler, if the success rate of the first two months of 2012 holds up for the rest of the year, the Brooklyn-based startup is on track to provide more $150 million for creative. Strickler notes that is $4 million more than the entire operating budget of the National Endowment of the Arts.

This came up again today so I thought I’d dust it off, update it and republish. It’s as timely as it was when I first wrote it 2-and-a-half years ago when few were paying attention to my blog

VC’s keep different titles but the most common that I’ve come across that are investment professionals are (in ascending order of seniority): analyst, associate, principal and partner.

These are the permanent members of a VC.  Then there is the EIR (entrepreneur in residence) who is usually at a VC for a temporary period of time and other individuals such as venture partners or operating partners.

Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo attract hobbyists and wannabes, but they can also net real cash for those who use them strategically. With savvy profiles and targeted campaigns, some aspiring entrepreneurs are even raising amounts in the five or six figures. Here's how they do it.

Sam Miller was so sick of not being able to find jeans that fit that he decided to start a business to solve the problem. He and his partner, Leona Liu, spent nearly two years studying how they could create a company that would deliver custom-made, U.S.-manufactured jeans at a $60 price point. They sketched out a plan for Chicago-based Civali, sourced the technology they needed and then ran into a common entrepreneurial problem: no money. At the same time, they had no interest in having "investors breathing down our back," Miller says.

Starting a business has both never been easier and harder in the economic times we live in.

An entrepreneur looks at the world and then creates something that can fill a gap, solve a problem, improve a situation or create a benefit for themselves as well as others (be it financial or community based).

The combination of a generation that has grown up with technology (Gen Y) and lived through a global recession (GFC) has now planted the seed in many up and coming entrepreneurial minds on not only how to approach starting their own business, but also how to do it efficiently and quickly.

Seeking inspiration from the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, young entrepreneurs now seek to cultivate their dreams from idea to global multinational by the power of collaboration, cross promotion, social technology and co-working.

While state and private incubators and accelerators help, funding for startups is still really tight in the so-called “Valley of Death,” says Jim Jaffe, president and CEO of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds.

Jaffe, who is participating at this weeks Southeast Venture Conference in Tysons Corner, VA, where 60 innovative startup firms will present their business plans to venture and seed investors representing billions in capital, says those firms are lucky to have such a well-heeled audience.

Jaffe notes that “Even getting in front of funders is enormously difficult. They’re inundated by people with interesting ideas and its not unusual for them to have hundreds of contacts a week.”

Golden parachutes are the norm nowadays. It's expected that when an executive leaves a company, they're probably going to get piles of money.

Things weren't always this way.

Charles Tillinghast Jr., the former president and CEO of TWA, is widely credited as being the first recipient of a golden parachute.

When he was brought on board, creditors were trying to get control of the company away from the idiosyncratic Howard Hughes, who had been removed by the financers a year earlier.

Resourcefulness amid serious constraints is known in India as ‘Jugaad.’ In this article, Accenture’s Mitali Sharma suggests this simple concept — which gave birth to a $2,500 car, a $12 solar lamp, and a life-saving incubator made from car parts — might be the antidote to the complexity plaguing your innovation process.

What can companies in the developed world learn from innovators who make irrigation pumps from bicycles or solar ovens from old suitcases?

Quite a bit, as it turns out.

If you are not one of the lucky few to work in one of the most innovative companies in the world, you’ve probably thought at some point “we really need to innovate.” Gijs van Wulfen provides practical advice on where to begin.

The fuzzy front end of innovation confronts you with a lot of questions. In my new book ‘Creating innovative Products and Services’ I try to solve them with the FORTH innovation method.

A lot of people talk about innovative companies. All the management magazines and books refer always to the same select group of Apple, Google, 3M, Microsoft, P&G, BMW, Facebook, Virgin, Samsung, WAL-MART, Toyota, Amazon, INTEL, Starbucks and a few others.

There is money in the pipeline for Wilmington’s new angel fund.

The Inception Micro Angel Fund (IMAF), part of a statewide “family” of IMAFs that provide seed money for startups, stands to benefit from a new initiative of the North Carolina Fund of Funds (NC-FOF).

This NC-FOF, a $10 million fund operated by the North Carolina Department of Commerce through the Rural Economic Development Center will make monies available to selected investment entities to increase the amount of investment capital available to eligible North Carolina small businesses. The PNC-FOF will make equity investments in funds managed by selected investment entities, which, in turn, can invest in qualified small businesses.

The last quarter saw a dip from 34 to 33 percent in the share of small business owners reporting that credit is difficult to get, according to the most recent Wells Fargo Small Business Survey.

Statistically, however, the share of small business owners reporting trouble obtaining credit has been the same since the third quarter of 2009. The survey, which is based on a nationally representative sample of 600 small business owners whose companies have up to $20 million in annual sales, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Despite Europe´s huge broadband coverage and smartphone use compared to the developing world, the continent is lagging in eHealth solutions because costing models do not encourage innovation, the leading global telecoms conference heard yesterday (27 February).

The findings emerged from a key session on health at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona – the telecommunications industry´s largest annual gathering.

Experts on provision of eHealth solutions using smartphone applications said that they tried and tested their products in the developing world because billing for eHealth services directly using mobile payments is something better suited to those markets.

Jim Groom doesn't hate learning-management software. But he's certain it doesn't make teaching any better.

For Mr. Groom, an instructional-technology specialist, the features that attract professors in the first place—like grade books and quizzing tools—are traps that squash creativity and bury thorny issues like fair use.

When professors try a learning-management system that promises to improve teaching, it "really encloses space, and it encloses the possibility of the Web," he says. Mr. Groom charges so-called open-learning management tools with co-opting the spirit of EduPunk, a term he coined to express the do-it-yourself ethos he champions. These days he avoids the word because he fears people were preoccupied with the label rather than its goals. He uses a new creative outlet instead.

There is good news for Australian start-ups looking for investment and guidance, as start-up incubators are opening new rounds of applications for their funding intake and mentorship programs. These investors provide internet companies seed capital, mentorship, connections, opportunities for Australian web start-ups, usually for a minority stake, and even pitch for top-tier venture capitalists and angel investors.

AngelCube, a Melbourne-based micro VC fund, has invited applications for its funding program for this year; and Sydney-based Startmate – a group of start-up executives who offer mentorship and seed financing – has eight companies in its current program which goes through to the end of April. Advance, a not-for-profit organization, headquartered in New York City, supported by the Australian Government, with its 50 for the Future Advance Innovation Program offers a program bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and innovators in an effort to create a bridge between Australia and Silicon Valley.

AngelCube recently announced a new round of funding commencing on April 10th where up to eight start-ups will be chosen to participate. The company claimed that two of their teams from 2011, one of which was Goodfil.ms, had successfully gone on to increase its seed capital. Each start-up that joined AngelCube will receive $20,000 seed capital, six months free office space at Inspire9, an intensive three month program, travel opportunities, pitch opportunities and mentorship from tech entrepreneurs and investors.

FastTrac® is a top-ranked training program for individuals wishing to create and start up a high-tech company. It provides entrepreneurs with access to the full range of resources in the local ecosystem, as well as to all high-level stakeholders.

The FastTrac® TechVenture™ program provides entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to develop or refine the skills they need to undertake a business project, including planning, operationalization, financing and growth management.

The program includes:

11 days of activities spread over 10 weeks 22 hours of coaching and mentoring assistance FastTrac® curriculum designed by the Kauffman Foundation Lifetime access to the FastTrac® web portal

New Jersey is looking for the next Google. With an eye toward nurturing the next generation of technology pioneers, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) this week approved entering into a partnership with TechLaunch, LLC to create the state’s first Technology Accelerator. “This is an opportunity for the state to partner with the private sector to fill a market need in New Jersey by helping promising entrepreneurs achieve success,” said EDA Chief Executive Officer Caren Franzini. “We are embarking on a competition for innovation to reveal New Jersey’s entrepreneurial strengths, using a model that provides a potential return on the EDA’s investment and allows New Jersey to compete with neighboring states in maintaining and attracting technology talent.”

The accelerator model has achieved notable success in other states by offering technology-focused entrepreneurs an opportunity to showcase their products and ideas in a highly intensive, mentor driven and boot camp-style environment in return for an opportunity to receive funding. While building on this successful model, New Jersey’s initiative will be unique due to the first-rate talent associated with the state’s large enterprise businesses, the considerable intellectual property assets of these businesses and the ensuing acquisition pipeline from these same industries.

The University of Michigan’s tech transfer office will lead a new two-year, $2.4 million initiative to help state universities take advantage of local entrepreneurs and innovators in an effort to commercialize university technology.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is funding the Tech Transfer Talent Network, and other member universities are Wayne State University, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Western Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, and Oakland University. Local economic development offices will also work with the universities to provide mentors and businesses who can partner with startups to help guide them toward viability.

Whatever stage you are at with your incubation program or career, there’s always something new to be learned. Although NBIA’s Principles and Best Practices of Success- ful Business Incubation have been around for many years, incubator managers around the world find innovative new ways of implement- ing best practices every day.

That’s why each year NBIA scours presenta- tion proposals to bring you top-notch program- ming for its International Conference on Busi- ness Incubation and Preconference Institute. The event is heralded as the premier conference on business incubation because it carefully designs a grid of in-depth workshops and con- current educational sessions on current best practices and up-and-coming industry innova- tions – all of which are presented by veteran industry practitioners.

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State governments in 2011 continued to see regional economic growth in the life sciences industry and in 2012 will increasingly focus attention on technology transfer and venture funding as mechanisms to increase private sector innovation related activities within their jurisdictions. Realizing that entrepreneurship is a key ingredient in economic development, states and localities are undertaking the support of programs that assist high technology businesses, and that capitalize on state regional presence of universities and federal laboratories.

Once research yields a new discovery from a university or federal laboratory, there is still a great deal of work in creating a company and funding that research before the technology can be incorporated into the marketplace. The following are state legislative examples of ways industry, universities, and policymakers are creating essential building blocks for bioscience industry growth in company creation and capital for success.

Be Better Prepared for Technical Due Diligence

I have been on the receiving end of several technical due diligence assessments instigated by VCs (pre-investment) or acquirers (pre-purchase). I have also been the inquisitor on a few occasions. So I thought it might worthwhile to write this post to share my thoughts on this process and hopefully help companies better prepare for this event.

The first thing to recognize is that the assessor is not there to catch you out, trip you, up or somehow prove you are incompetent, nor is it likely that he's there to try steal your job, so first and foremost don't be threatened or intimidated (it's not the Spanish Inquisition, after all "Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition"). It is however extremely likely that he or she is, or has been an entrepreneur and empathizes with you, so be cooperative and cordial (maybe even down right friendly). They will understand the challenges and the realities of startup, rampup and speedup life and are not expecting perfection. I personally would love it if every entrepreneur could get funded, or exit with an acquisition that gets them the rewards they have worked so hard to attain, but the reality is different. Remember however the assessor is contractually obligated to do a thorough evaluation and report honestly any deficiencies, to not do so would risk a lawsuit for negligence. Also keep in mind that the purpose of an individual doing this, rather than have the investor or buyer just deliver a survey to you for you to complete, is that they are evaluating you and your team, how well you think on your feet, how you engage, and your thought processes. So expect it to be an interactive conversation, more than an outright quiz or exam, which would be painful and boring for both parties.