I wrote about the Dodd bill and its problems last week. But a new problem has surfaced that has major implications for the US economy and our ability to grow it. For all intents and purposes, the bill will utterly devastate angel investing in the US. And as we will see, that is not hyperbole. For a Congress and administration that purports to be all about jobs, this section of the bill makes less than no sense. It is a job and innovation killer of the first order.

First, let’s look at a very important part of the US economic machine, the angel investing network. An angel investor, or angel (also known as a business angel or informal investor) is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business startup, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. A small but increasing number of angel investors organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks to share research and pool their investment capital.

Angels typically invest their own funds, unlike venture capitalists, who manage the pooled money of others in a professionally managed fund. Although it typically reflects the investment judgment of an individual, the actual entity that provides the funding may be a trust, business, limited liability company, investment fund, etc.

BEIJING: Chinese women still lack clout in politics, but fortune is certainly smiling on them: Half of the world’s 14 self-made female billionaires are China-born.

And these women did not inherit their wealth, but created it on their own steam and gumption, according to the latest annual ranking by Forbes magazine.

The wealthiest of the lot, Ms Wu Yajun, made her US$3.9 billion (S$5.3 billion) fortune in real estate.

Madam Lei Jufang sells Tibetan medicine, while Ms Zhang Yin – also known as Ms Cheung Yan – turned paper recycling into a vast amount of cash.

The other billionaires on the Forbes list released last month are tobacco flavourings magnate Zhu Linyao (or Chu Lam Yiu), property tycoons Zhang Xin and Chen Lihua (Chan Lai Wa), and shopping mall mogul Xiuli Hawken.

Their accomplishments are both a fitting tribute to the new independent Chinese woman, whose rise over the past decade has been slow but steady, and a signal that China is becoming the world’s new land of opportunity, observers said.

Ever notice how you can resist chocolate far more easily in the morning than at night…

I can often push myself to exercise, meditate, eat well, sit down to write and pretty much overcome most forms of resistance in the early part of the day. But, as the day progresses, especially if it’s a brain-engaging day…ugh.

I literally feel like I burn through my willpower…

And, it turns out, there’s a bit of science (beyond serotonin re-uptake) to back this feeling up. A recent study by Kathleen Martin Ginis, Associate Professor of Kinesiology at McMaster University confirms what a number of other studies have pointed to.

Self-control or willpower is a finite resource.

Like the water at the bottom of a well, you can use it up. And, once you do, you’ve got to let the well refill to give you more to draw upon.

This article discusses the relation between economic growth and development of a nation. If mathematical perspective is taken, when plotted on a graph paper both – economic growth and development index should rise and fall simultaneously to be correlated. It seems obvious in general life also. More the economic growth more is the GDP and more is the income earned by the people of the country. They will be able to access products, health facilities, education, services and other comforts.

But what about those irrational needs of human beings which occurs from time to time and results in wars and revolutions? It’s the basic instinct of human beings which comes not from economics but social sciences – the hunger for power. If one cannot get power one strives for equality in social and economic status. Economic growth can alone not provide human rights and social equality. Money can buy health facilities but not sound health. Money can buy higher education but not morals and ethics for the formation of a civilized society. Money cannot buy safe environment, save endangered species or reverse disturbing climate patterns.

Once of the most frequently asked questions I field from managers is: How do I start to create a culture of companywide creativity and innovation?

I love the question because I believe that innovation must occur at every level of the company. Now, that doesn’t mean (necessarily) that the receptionist is going to create your next breakthrough product. But it does mean that everyone must look for and find a way to do their work better than it’s ever been done before, and to do that at as often as possible, even every day.

But the answer to the question is very challenging, because I so often hear the sound of “idea silence” in both big and small businesses. It sounds like this:

“I can’t get my ideas heard.”

“I’ve suggested several improvements, but nothing came of it.”

“We have a command and control culture. Forget creativity.”

Sound familiar? So what’s a manager to do?

In a poll of 1,000 12-17-year-olds, 35 per cent thought that the Apple CEO was more impressive than Facebook-founder Mark Zuckerberg or television host Oprah Winfrey. Zuckerberg was the favourite of 10 per cent of respondents, and Winfrey praised most by 25 per cent.

Of those polled, 61 per cent said that Jobs "made a difference in or improved people's lives or made the world a better place". Another 33 per cent cited his "success in multiple fields", referring to Jobs' record in revolutionising the music business and his involvement with Disney and animation studios Pixar.

Innovation lies on the edge of traditional thinking. Traditional thinking tries to frame emerging innovation into previous knowledge which limits the comprehension of “innovation before us”. Traditional thinking about something new tries to frame things behind us rather than before us.

We’ve been taught to think inside the walls of a corporation. Inside these walls is process, procedure and policies aimed at applying old knowledge to pursue a marketplace with new products and services. However, the very definition of something “new” falls outside the constraints of corporate silo’s of control and containment. To pursue innovation one must think outside of the traditional walls of past knowledge and in fact apply new knowledge being created on the edge of conversations.

How Important is Innovation?

As executives breathe out after surviving the Great Recession, they find they're gazing on a New Reality. The meltdown accelerated many trends that had been merely budding pre-crisis. There has been no time for slow and steady adaptation to the pressures and challenges of a new business landscape. The world changed in a flash. Perhaps the single best tool to negotiate the new environment successfully? Innovation.

Eighty-three percent of respondents in this year's Bloomberg/BusinessWeek/Boston Consulting Group (BCG) annual survey of top executives said innovation will be a key part of their strategy to benefit from the economic recovery.

That's great. The problem? If every company says it's working very, very hard to become more innovative, that means all of its competitors are, too. Consider these statistics from this year's survey: 72% of companies see innovation as a "top three" strategic priority, and 61% of respondents are planning to increase the amount they spend on innovation.

Financial success may seem like the obvious benchmark for business success. However, according to former Apple Fellow and managing director of Garage Technology Ventures Guy Kawasaki, it is “making meaning” that lies at the heart of entrepreneurship and should be the foundation stone of any business.

He believes that those companies which set out to solely make money tend to fail, while those that have have the intention to achieve a higher goal, such as making a positive change in the world, are destined for success.

As a successful venture capitalist with two companies and nine books to his name, Kawasaki’s advice is well worth the time you’ll spend watching this two and a half minute video from 2004.

A major push is under way in the US to work out how to measure the long-term impact of public support for R&D. Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic believe a common system would make sense given the global nature of science.

A large chunk of US President Barack Obama's stimulus package was devoted to research, but the administration's focus on transparency and accountability has heightened pressure to demonstrate a return on investment in science.

Dr Julia Lane, responsible for 'Science of Science & Innovation Policy Design' at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the US, said there is widespread belief that investment in R&D breeds economic growth but this must be demonstrated using a robust performance measurement.

Where do innovations come from? How do you generate an idea that is so radical yet so compelling that it fundamentally changes customer expectations or the cost structure of an industry or the basis for competition?

Many ascribe innovative ideas to a mysterious mix of happenstance, individual brilliance and the occasional bolt of lightning. Clearly those things are part of the equation, but there seems to be more at play in the minds of radical innovators like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos, who have come up with genuine breakthrough ideas.

Look at case after case of successful business innovation, and an interesting pattern begins to emerge. What you find, time and again, is that innovation comes not from some unique inspiration but from looking at the world in a different way. It comes from having a fresh perspective, an alternate way of seeing things, an angle of view that lets you see through the familiar and spot the unseen.

 Aspiring entrepreneurs in Arkansas looking for that elusive Monopoly man - you know, the one in top hat and tails with money to burn - would be well served to hit up their rich, eccentric uncle first.

According to Arkansas entrepreneurs who have been through the seed-capital fire, those private funding sources remain hard to find in a still culturally rural Southern state of less than 3 million. Angel funds - which focus more on early-stage ventures and generally finance in the $100,000-$500,000 range - and venture capitalists tend to be more available on the Coasts.

The Center for Venture Research reported recently a small reduction in the total amount of money invested by angel funds nationally in 2009 (in contrast to a sharper decline in VC funding), but an increase in the number of angel investment.

The future is mobile, at least according to the entrepreneurs who gathered to mark the second annual World Entrepreneurship Day at the United Nations in New York City.

Hackers, designers, and young entrepreneurs gathered Wednesday in a conference hall usually reserved for dignitaries and diplomats at the United Nations in New York. The occasion? A kick-off for World Entrepreneurship Day, an event conceived of by college junior Lauren Amarante and her mentor Troy Byrd last year when they realized recognized days existed to honor everything from toilets (Nov. 19) to turtles (May 23) to tin cans (Jan. 19), but none existed to celebrate the people who make the U.S. economy tick.

Now that the second Friday of April is officially World Entrepreneurship Day, we thought we’d mark the occasion by sharing some of the take-aways from the speeches and panel discussions by the successful entrepreneurs who gathered at the U.N. for the WED conference. 

The panelists ranged from first-time business-owners, such as Lev Ekster, who decided to abandon his legal training to sell cupcakes on the streets of New York, to serial entrepreneurs and investors, such as Esther Dyson and Marc Ecko. They shared fresh ideas, wisdom from their trades, futurist visions and investment dreams. What follows is a few highlights.

Never mind the tropical sun. Visit Florida and dis the space program, and the reception you'll get is going to be awfully cool. Nobody knew that better than President Obama on Thursday, when he toured the Kennedy Space Center and then spoke to a roomful of 200 VIPs about his plans for NASA after the shuttle program ends later this year. The President had to know that more than the agency's future could be on the line. In Florida — the ultimate presidential swing state — his could be too. So how was the temperature in the room? Chilly — and not without reason.

Obama's take on space has never been an easy thing to track. During the campaign, he targeted NASA as a likely area for budget-balancing cuts. Electoral arithmetic made that position untenable, and he quickly backtracked, pledging a robust future for the space agency, albeit one that would take it in a different direction from the one the previous Administration had pursued. That direction had involved mothballing the shuttles by this year and replacing them with what was known as the Constellation program, a collection of projects that involved building new spacecraft for both orbital flight and trips to the moon, as well as two new boosters — one for humans and a powerhouse version to lift heavy cargo.

Commercialisation Australia has announced the first lot of recipients under the new program. They will help 21 new Australian innovations become commercial realities, including new anti-cancer therapeutics and new technology to protect dolphins.

The Prime Minister announced the first ideas to receive government grants by Commercialisation Australia – the Government’s new body to help Australian inventors, entrepreneurs and researchers turn their ideas into money-making products and services – at an address to Community Cabinet in Sydney’s innovative North West region.

The government grants for Skills and Knowledge, Proof of Concept activities, and Early Stage Commercialisation will be worth $9.6 million for the companies that benefit, and produce jobs and prosperity for the Australian community.

Friday is the last day of New York Entrepreneur Week which, upon its completion, will have featured over 100 speakers from across the globe. Since it kicked off, interesting stories have been surfacing around the event. A guest post on the event's official blog by Janine de Nysschen, a business consultant and endorser of change dynamics, asks why women play a very small role in startups and venture capital. As her passion might indicate, she feels this trend is changing.

It's true. Though there are significant exceptions, we seldom hear about female CEOs launching startups and receiving boat loads of venture capital funding - heaven forbid it be from a female venture capitalist. But it's not just a startup problem, its a problem that persists in the majority of business fields; business is an industry that was only a man's game for a very long time, and women are still playing catch up. However, de Nysschen thinks there are factors about venture capital that make it less appealing to businesswomen of the world.

"The truth is that VCs invest in a stereotype, and that right now, the stereotype of high risk-tolerance, abnormal work ethic and business acumen seldom comes in the female form," says de Nysschen. She also says that a lot of VC deals are formed from existing relationships in the community, and points out that men and women tend to socialize in different circles, "especially in business," she adds.

What does your relationship network say about who you are and how you will act?

What is the connection between your network on the web and a company's strategy to grow their revenues?

My bet is on analytics.

My bigger bet is that data analytics is the next competitive weapon in the era of integrated big data.

Having information systems today that create and store transactional data in massive data warehouses (i.e. "big data") is just table stakes. Companies are in a global data race and the first ones to integrate externally available data with their internally generated data will gain unique competitive advantage.

Taipei, April 13 (CNA) Taiwan's government is moving ahead with a plan to open a new technology research center to serve as the country's industrial innovation and research base, according to the Council of Economic Planning and Development (CEPD).

The plan was approved by the Executive Yuan in November as part of Taiwan's hopes of promoting innovations in Taiwan's industries through cooperation among industry, academics and research institutes.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will begin in this year to establish the research and development park in central Taiwan to spur development of the innovation industry. It plans to invest NT$3.6 billion in constructing the park.

As a person who started out as an engineer, I know that most engineers like to solve problems that are useful to society. Often this means that there are tradeoffs and constraints associated with any problem. Cars that get higher gas mileage may need to be lighter, but lighter cars don't survive crashes as well as heavy cars. So when we are presented a problem to solve or an opportunity to address, we often start out by trying to define the constraints.

These constraints could be based on technology issues, but are often based on other factors, like legal or regulatory issues, pricing or cost issues, distribution or transportation issues and so forth. When we as innovators agree to work within a set of bounds or constraints to solve problems, we are like the kids in kindergarten who are encouraged to "color within the lines" - that is, we accept the constraints and our thinking is guided by nudging right up next to the constraint, but never violating or ignoring the constraint. In this manner the constraint conforms our thinking and becomes a barrier. We don't challenge the constraint but accept it, and that governs the outcome. Since every other firm in the same space or industry is challenged with the same constraints, most of the solutions look very similar. We've become prisoners of our own thinking, happily limited in our degrees of freedom by constraints we've accepted.

Imagine what happens when the intelligence of 900 million people is unlocked, and the untapped reserves of a continent's innovation flow freely. Building the developed world as we know it required linking speculative capital to people with brilliant, unproven ideas. Africa is home to untold numbers of people harboring spectacular ideas, yet the continent and indeed, the world, reap far too little of what African innovation could produce due to a lack of investment in its entrepreneurs.

While Africa has an active microfinance space and emerging mid-size private equity sector, there is a gaping "missing middle" in Africa's capital markets that includes seed stage angel investment and early stage venture capital. The existence of a major gap in the financial markets of the world's second most populous continent is a serious problem: seed and early stage investment are major drivers of any robust entrepreneurial economy, and entrepreneurship is the most important force for sustainable job creation in the world.