Reid Hoffman’s talk this week at Stanford (podcast and video available here) touched on several themes that collectively seem to comprise the Silicon Valley innovator ethos; most are relevant to healthcare and biopharma, and I agree with all his assertions except one.

(Hoffman, for those tuning in late, is a Silicon Valley superstar: he was a major part of PayPal, a co-founder of LinkedIn, and currently a partner at Greylock.)

Theme 1: Breakout success requires risk.  This is, of course, the defining credo of entrepreneurs, and initially may seem a bit obvious.  However, I’d argue that the most radical part of this statement is not the notion of taking risk, but rather the assumption that one aspires to achieve breakout success.

On a recent afternoon, the offices of Y Combinator pulsed with confidence. Crowded around long white tables were the mostly young, mostly male, founders of two dozen startups all hoping to become the next successful website or tech company.

Flitting around the room in Birkenstock sandals was Paul Graham, 47, the creator of Y Combinator, a twice-a-year program that invests small amounts of funding in startups and offers them industry contacts and three months of guidance in exchange for a stake. During office hours founders can sign up to chat one on one with Graham, who may be the country's most sought-after startup guru and is the leader of what participants fondly call a technology "cult."

The Nexus Innovation Centre at UL offers start-ups an incubation space and support, aligned with the college’s research resources

THE NEWLY established Nexus Innovation Centre at the University of Limerick (UL) is unique in its approach to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. “It’s not just an incubator or enterprise centre”, says UL research vice president Dr Mary Shire. “It’s going to be the flagship for our engagement with industry. It gives space to spin-out and spin-in companies to engage with the academic community here at the university, with each other, and the broader enterprise community in the region. It’s about bringing all the right ingredients together to create an innovation ecosystem.”

Biology was one of my favorite sciences in secondary school.  I liked it because it was descriptive rather than mathematical.  It was not about applying abstract rules to make numbers behave in peculiar ways.  It was about how real things fit together.  Or, in the case of those frogs we all dissected, how they came apart.

If you have read anything about life sciences research lately, you know that this view of biology is very old school.  Since we figured out how to sequence DNA and to data-mine the resulting flood of information, we have been uncovering unbelievably complex chains of action and reaction at the microscopic level.

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives.

She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration and Chai, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

Ware writes of the phenomenal clarity of vision that people gain at the end of their lives, and how we might learn from their wisdom.

The Middle East, along with Asia and Africa, are skipping the personal computer era and moving directly to the mobile and tablet age. Wireless and mobile telecom has enabled even the most distant rural village to be connected. According to figures released in 2011 by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in a decade access to voice and data in the world's least developed countries has gone from an average of 1.2% of the population to nearly 30%.

The ITU reports that in the past five years, mobile access in those countries have seen cumulative growth of nearly 43%, compared to 7.1% in developed countries. Because of such rapid growth, and the development of services and products to serve that boom, Harvard professor Clayton Christensen says these regions are poised to create innovations that will disrupt industries in developed nations, such as healthcare.

Why has Apple succeeded while Kodak has declared bankruptcy? Is it simply a question of technologies, or of business strategy as well?

Providing insight into the strategies of today's most innovative companies is Karl T. Ulrich, Vice Dean of Innovation and CIBC Professor of Entrepreneurship and e-Commerce at the Wharton School. He has authored several books, his most recent is Innovation Tournaments (Harvard Business Press, 2009) and in addition to his academic work, Ulrich has led dozens of innovation efforts for medical devices, tools, computer peripherals, food products, web-based services, and sporting goods.

He discusses with Arabic Knowledge@Wharton the strategies providing companies such as Apple, IBM and Hewlett Packard with a competitive edge, how innovation tournaments are valuable to companies, where the next wave of disruption will surface, and how job creation is evolving in a post-Arab Spring environment.

Young entrepreneurs often pursue funding first, product second. That's a dangerous path--and it won't do your company much good.

So often, young entrepreneurs think the viability of their fledgling company depends on their ability to intrigue investors and raise capital. But the truth is, raising capital is often a pipe dream.

Don't get discouraged, though: Raising capital should be the least of your concerns.

The reality is, no bank will give you a loan. Their cash flow has dropped in recent years; as a result, they deny more than 90 percent of small business loan applications. And pitching your company to venture capitalists is about as effective as chasing clouds. With an ever-expanding pool of entrepreneurs to invest in, VC firms have become increasingly choosy in deciding which companies are worth cultivating.

Let's face it -- new product development always demands "courage under fire." And if there were a medal of honor in the category, complex new technologies like nanotech would surely qualify for being "above and beyond the call of duty." Still, with the current emphasis on advanced manufacturing for the American economy, there's never been a better time for action. After 20+ years in this business, I've gained some battlefield wisdom. Whether you're a nanotechnology company or a mainstream manufacturer looking to incorporate nanotechnology into products, these secret weapons can help you avoid some battlefield casualties.

1.Send out more scouts. It's hard to know when a technology and a product will find the perfect match. So nanotechnologists -- send samples, do product tests, whatever it takes to start the ball rolling. My R&D labs are constantly coating prospects' products, developing test protocols, trying something new to work through a compatibility or performance question. And manufacturers? Talk to as many people and companies as you can -- you may discover possibilities that weren't even be on your radar.

The inventions range from a high-tech 3-D joint scanner to a low-tech yet highly sanitary toilet-seat lifter, and the inventors range from a top-flight surgeon to a part-time shuttle-bus driver.

But in the end, the result is the same at the OhioHealth Research and Innovation Institute: “ This is a benefit to the community,” said John Niles, director of the institute.

The institute takes employee ideas and puts them to work, building on research and innovation activities that are conducted at OhioHealth hospitals, which include Riverside Methodist and Grant Medical Center.

Springboarding the Growth of Technology Ventures Led by Women

Springboard Enterprises has over a decade of experience delivering promising "investment-ready" companies led by women to potential investors and corporate partners. Today they launch their 2012 forum program, a community-driven accelerator designed to fast track the growth of the best women-led biotechnology, medical device and healthcare IT companies from around the world. The search is on for the next ViaCell, MinuteClinic, Icagen, Xenogen, Athenix and Achillion to join the 475+ members of the Springboard Portfolio. Priority Deadline to apply: April 3, 2012.

"Start with an international network of trusted entrepreneurs, investors, and other experts at your disposal," said Kay Koplovitz, Springboard co-founder and Chair, "add to that 11 years of expertise in facilitating quality connections, and you get Springboard: your own Personal Advisory Board. We look forward to leveraging this network for the newest class of life science entrepreneurs that will pass through the Springboard pipeline this year building invaluable connections and learning how to raise capital."

Springboard's recipe for success is simple: recruit innovative women-led businesses; conduct a review by an all-star cast of prominent investors, seasoned entrepreneurs and industry experts; select the most promising opportunities; match them with a who's-who team of advisors who open doors to new opportunities; and provide ongoing resources and relationships for life. Springboard companies have direct access to strategic partners such as Aetna, Novartis, GE, a long list of angel and venture investors, as well as our affiliate group of prominent women private equity investors.

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding site to fund entrepreneurial projects in technology, design, film, art, and other creative fields. The video game project Double Fine Adventure has raised two million dollars from over sixty thousand backers, and the funding still has 19 days to go. Within the last two weeks, two other projects -- The Order of the Stick Reprint Drive and Elevation Dock -- have raised over one million dollars.

Kickstarter projects do not sell investment shares or offer financial incentives. Current U.S. law prohibits crowdfunding platforms from offering equity in the projects because of SEC securities registration requirements. Instead, project creators offer rewards to backers, such as pre-sale products and unique project experiences.

Kansas City-based startup accelerator Think Big Partners launched its entrepreneur-focused podcast this week in order to provide Kansas City startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses information about the KC entrepreneurial scene, updates from Think Big Partners and an inside-look at other local startups.

The podcast, known as Think Big Radio, launched this week with the help of Derek Olsen, Kansas City podcaster for Beatnik Radio. Beatnik Radio has been covering the Kansas City business landscape by providing a platform for creative businesses to let others know what they are up to.

"Creating a podcast of your own will establish you and your organization as an authority,” says Olsen of podcasts. “Millions of people wear headphones as they work and play. Podcasting is the easiest way to reach a targeted group of people who will appreciate your expertise."

Olsen has covered the entrepreneur scene in previous Beatnik episodes, and through his research, he stumbled upon Think Big Partners at Entrepreneur Corner during First Fridays. After approaching Think Big with a podcast idea, both Olsen and the Think Big team found that the two company missions fit. Herb Sih, co-founder and managing partner of Think Big Partners, quickly decided that aThink Big podcast would be the next direction that the startup accelerator would go in order to get its message out there and help to build the Think Big Nation.

It is intuitive that individuals are pushed to achieve their best when in competition. We revel in seeing athletes strive to set new records before our eyes during each Olympic games. And it is no surprise that many of the greatest records are set and broken at the very pinnacle of the competition—the finals. With this understanding of the ability and near regularity with which we can achieve greatness through competition, the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes asks, “Is competition between and within government R&D agencies a force for innovation and for achieving desired outcomes? Or does competition lead to waste, duplication, and unproductive rivalry?”

Local economic developers and policy pundits often point to scientific and research jobs as an important part of regional economies and a critical driver of innovation for the nation's economy. As we continue to filter through the data in our latest release (built on nearly 90 federal and state data sources), we notice that many occupations related to science and research are doing quite well.

The actual category of occupations is referred to as “life, physical, and social science occupations,” by Bureau of Labor's Standard Occupational Classification System (SOC 19). This group includes 44 occupations from the associate's degree to doctorate level, ranging from medical technicians to market research analysts. In this post, we will look at how states compare in this job category and highlight some of the jobs that are most notable since ’07.

Realizing that entrepreneurship is a key ingredient in economic development, states and localities continue to support programs that assist bioscience businesses and capitalize on the regional presence of universities and/or federal laboratories.

With this fact in mind, Peter M. Pellerito, a senior policy consultant at BIO, and I recently collaborated on a report that investigates what specific steps have been taken across the United States as a means of attracting bioscience companies and expanding job opportunities.

More and more investors are trolling the halls of the nation’s top universities, looking for the next Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Venture capital firms, incubators and angel investment groups are all competing to find these young men and women, spurred by the combination of ever younger entrepreneurs, ever cheaper-to-start companies and Internet technology that is changing so fast that even investors over 30 may not fully grasp it.

Foundation Capital has joined this hunt, but the Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture firm put a twist on it: The firm is using business school students to do the hunting, figuring that they’re more likely than Foundation’s older partners to spot good ideas among their peers. The students in turn are learning how to think like venture capitalists, which means the quality of the companies they find should go up over time.

The role of entrepreneurs in promoting growth and job creation “cannot be overstated” Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth told the Science|Business European Entrepreneurship Summit in Brussels today.

Congratulating the winners of the Science|Business ACES awards and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) awards, Vassiliou said, “We need more entrepreneurs like the ones we are celebrating today.”

The credit crunch and underlying structural problems are making it difficult for would-be entrepreneurs to get financial backing and the other support they need. The EIT was created in 2008 to redress these deficits and at the same time address huge social problems such as climate change and energy supply and security. “Three years ago (EIT) was just on paper”, now the EIT awards are, “proof of the fact that EIT is working,” Vassiliou said.

Thanks to regulatory reform and advances in information technology, the pace of change in the healthcare industry is increasing rapidly. If insurers are to keep up with agile, technology-driven competitors now entering the field, they must search for effective business models from outside their own industry, and build new capabilities that support rapid product development, a consumer product mind-set, and expansion into adjacent markets.

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In the Obama administration’s latest effort to bolster U.S. business opportunities, the Department of Commerce kicked off a contest that challenges industry to come up with software applications that leverage federal data to better connect companies to available services and resources.

Federal Chief Information Officer Steve VanRoekel blogged about the contest Wednesday, calling government data “vast and rich, but often underutilized and difficult to access.”

Three prizes worth $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 will be given to developers that come up with the most innovative applications for communicating business opportunities both in the U.S. and internationally; accessing useful government services, data and market information; funding business activities; supporting education and training; and improving how business pursue growth.