I would like to introduce you to some of Oklahoma's “greatest hits” in technology commercialization.

During the past decade, the most successful tech companies with roots in Oklahoma — such as Alexion Pharmaceuticals, RiskMetrics Group, SolarWinds and Zapaq — have collectively created $12 billion in value.

How much is $12 billion? A bit of perspective may help. Here are the market capitalizations of some of Oklahoma's largest companies, as of Jan. 4, 2011:

OG&E: $4.45 billion; BOK Financial: $3.69 billion; Dollar Thrifty Group: $1.38 billion; BancFirst: $645 million; Sonic: $630 million; Pre-Paid Legal: $587 million.

It’s a tough world out there for life science entrepreneurs, especially when talking about finances. Despite reports that life sciences companies raised capital in record amounts in 2010, it’s still slow going for venture capital and IPO funding… which might mean you.

When dollars are tight, it helps to target your fundraising efforts to the sources and investors that are most appropriate for your business. This could include government funding, angel investments or venture capital.

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai‘i and the State have a significant strategic advantage to turn already-robust research efforts into increased job opportunities for Hawai‘i and the nation, according to a draft report presented in Waikīkī today.

The report, presented for public input and review, is the result of eight months of intensive collaboration by the Advisory Council on Hawai‘i Innovation and Technology Advancement, comprised of leaders in business, government and education who were appointed to advise UH President M.R.C. Greenwood.

A new Web site created by two Harvard University undergraduates makes online news more personal, offering articles and blog posts mentioning friends and contacts.

Jonah Varon, the site’s co-founder, says that algorithms he developed with his first-year roommate, Axel Hansen, find news articles related to the people users are following and rank them according to their timeliness and importance. He says the system finds information people might not share themselves, as well as material that might not rank high in a Google search on the person’s name. “We’re better at Googling people than Google,” Mr. Varon says.

Ten ideas, 100 days, $1,000: Beginning January 13, 2011, and continuing for the next 100 days, Creative Loafing and Creative Tampa Bay invite you to share your ideas for making Tampa Bay a better place to live, work and play.

The 10 best projects will be selected by judges from CL and CTB, reserving one spot for the project that gets the most votes from readers. We’ll highlight promising ideas in print and online at The Daily Loaf and The Buzz and name the top 10 on April 7. Finally, on April 14, we’ll announce the winner of $1,000 from Creative Tampa Bay.

What kinds of projects are eligible for The 10/100/1000 Challenge?

Groupon, the social buying site that spurned a $6 billion offer from Google, is pushing ahead with plans for its initial public offering, a debut that could value the company at $15 billion or more.

The company, which just raised a record $950 million from big investors, discussed a public offering with bankers this week, according to two people with knowledge of the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Banks are pitching Groupon on dizzying valuations at which they expect to take the company public, with many at $15 billion, these people said.

In elementary school, Woz started toying with transistors, building tic tac toe games. He taught himself to design the minicomputers of the day and was eventually able to design a computer in a couple of days. But he couldn’t afford to build one until the price of chips became affordable in 1975. Then he and Steve Jobs started Apple, and the rest is history.

To innovate, Woz suggests that everyone start with a goal of what they want to achieve. They don’t need the roadmap on how to get there immediately; since if you have a full roadmap, your goal is probably too easy to achieve. Be an artist, he said, and figure out how to get to that goal in the best way you can. Be clever, and “write the book yourself”.

Member states are being told not to cut budgets for R&D or education in the European Commission’s New Year prescription for economic recovery, unveiled yesterday (12 January).

Presenting the first Annual Growth Survey, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said, “We face a simple choice: a decade of debt or a generation of growth. All the tools should be used to do the job.”

One such tool is research, and national governments are being encouraged not to cut R&D funding as part of austerity moves to reduce their deficits. “All member states should primarily adjust their expenditure, while protecting growth-friendly expenditure especially education, research and innovation,” said Olli Rehn, Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner.

TORONTO, Jan. 13 /CNW/ - The Ontario Venture Capital Fund (OVCF) today announced that it has made a commitment to Blackberry Partners Fund II, a leading independent venture capital firm focused exclusively on mobile internet investing. The Blackberry Partners Fund (Blackberry Partners), a Toronto-based firm, ranks among Canada's most active technology investors.

"We are pleased to have made a lead commitment to one of Canada and Ontario's most promising venture capital funds," said Melissa McJannet, Managing Director of Northleaf Capital Partners, the manager of OVCF. "The investment in Blackberry Partners is reflective of OVCF's strategy to invest in best-in-class Ontario-based and Ontario-focused venture capital and growth equity funds. Blackberry Partners has served as a local champion in the Ontario market and we believe its differentiated investment strategy positions the manager to succeed not only in the Canadian market, but on a global basis."

What’s the culture at your company? At Headsets.com, it’s respect. The Headsets.com experience is defined by the attitude of the customer service rep you reach when you call, and how you feel when you hang up the phone from your conversation with him or her. That experience has fueled the company’s growth. At Headsets.com, 52 phone reps work with customers, guiding them through the maze of selecting the product that is right for them.

“At the core of that call is respect,” says founder and CEO Mike Faith. “The customer deserves our respect. Sometimes they could be wrong. But they always deserve our respect.” And that’s why if any one of those reps rolls his or her eyes, acts exasperated, or does not give customers the respect they deserve, that is the end of that rep’s job at Headsets.com.

This question ran through my mind just yesterday. No, not how does Malcolm Gladwell see the world? But, rather, what does it feel like to inhabit the mind of people who think and see the world in entirely different ways? The question can be a big existential thought experiment. Or, it turns out, it can be the impulse guiding Malcolm Gladwell’s varied, often unexpected, and usually bestselling inquiries.

As a professor of entrepreneurship at a university, I benefit from efforts by foundations and governments to support entrepreneurship programs. While I’d like to see this support continue, I wish that the support would be provided for the right reasons.

To me, the right reason to support entrepreneurship programs at universities is because educating students about this topic is valuable to them in the same way that teaching them physics or art history benefits them. The wrong reason to support university entrepreneurship programs is the belief that these programs will enhance economic growth in a region.

You've just completed design research in the field, capturing hours of video, thousands of photos, artifacts, papers, and documents. And now, you're stumped and overwhelmed. What should you do next? How do you do it? And how do you know when you've done a good job?

Design synthesis -- the process of translating data and research into knowledge -- is the most critical part of the design process. Yet in our popular discussions of design and innovation, we've largely ignored this fundamental role. We engage in debates and discussions about process methodologies (waterfall vs. agile, user-centered design vs. technology-driven design) and management techniques (topgrading, negotiation), yet we rarely engage in conversation about incubation and translation: making meaning out of the data we've gathered from research, as we strive for innovation. It's as if this part of design is magical, and for us to formalize our techniques would somehow call attention to our sleight of hand.

Investment research firm CB Insights has released its end-of-year report for 2010, which finds both the fourth quarter and the year overall ending strong. The $6.5 billion in VC funding over 735 deals makes the fourth quarter an eight quarter high on deals and dollars. And overall, the year saw $23.7 billion in funding in 2792 deals - a 14% growth in funding and a 13% growth in deals over 2009.

"For those of you looking for a data point that suggests VC is back and on the road to recovery after 2009's tough sledding," the report reads, "the eight quarter high on deals and dollars gives you something to hang your hat on. For those of you who think VC is overheated and we're headed for a bubble, the eight quarter high on deals and dollars gives you something to hang your hat on. Yes - it's all a matter of perspective." And for those of you wanting to argue that New York is indeed a hotspot for investment, this report will help make that argument too.

S. Michael Camp came to Ohio State University in 2004 to lead the newly formed Center for Entrepreneurship in the Fisher College of Business. The center is an academic and research institution as well as a resource for new startups, innovators and existing businesses within the community. In his role (which includes overseeing the annual preparation of the highly regarded Ohio Venture Capital Report) Camp works with students, faculty and business leaders who want to know one thing: How can I give my great ideas legs? Camp recently agreed to spend a few minutes with hiVelocity.

The Entrepreneur Center's mission statement includes three core values, one of which is to educate aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs in the art and science of value creation. What does that mean?

There's been a lot of talk about Warren Buffett's successor in the last few months; not least because in November a man called Todd Combs exploded into our lives and was dubbed Buffett's "heir apparent."

But a new look at Buffett in this month's Vanity Fair paints a totally different picture of the role Combs will likely play in Berkshire's future.

More and more communication is happening through technology. Still, there are times when conversing the old-fashioned way -- through the telephone or face-to-face -- is best.

With so many forms of communication to choose from, knowing which to use can be difficult. “There are many factors to consider when determining the best approach, from the product or service you’re selling to the person you’re dealing with,” says Gina Rubel, head of Furia Rubel Communications, a marketing and public relations firm in Doylestown, Pa. “It’s not always clear what’s appropriate.”

The New York Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with experts in the startup community, organized this From Scientist to Entrepreneur Series to foster innovation and entrepreneurship among Academy members and the wider NYC scientific community by demystifying the exciting process of taking an innovation from bench to market. By equipping scientists with the tools they need to recognize a commercializeable innovation when it crosses their path and then to turn that innovation into a viable venture, this series opens the door for the successful translation of technologies into commercial products.

Preparing not only those interested in commercializing their own technologies, but also those eager to help other scientists turn their innovations into businesses and those who are considering joining an existing startup company, the series included sessions on intellectual property and the patenting process (Part 1), opportunity recognition (Part 2), the technology transfer process (Part 3), and the path to a comprehensive business plan (Part 4).

Researchers have developed a new test designed to simultaneously detect genetic mutations involved in more than 400 severe diseases. The test, which was shown to be highly accurate, is initially aimed at screening prospective parents for mutations linked to rare inherited disorders.

Thanks to inexpensive sequencing technology, scientists aim to offer the test for just a few hundred dollars, similar to the cost of tests currently available for detecting individual diseases or a handful of disorders.

1. "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." -- Goethe

2. "Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller

3. "It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are difficult." -- Seneca

4. "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go." -- T.S. Eliot

5. "What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it is another matter." -- Peter Drucker