The right media coverage can be a boon for any company and even more so for a start-up. Just ask the London, Ontario-based voice-over company Voices.com who was recently mentioned in the New York Times article “The Do-It-Yourself Economy” by Thomas Friedman (author of many influential books such as “The World is Flat”). Friedman wrote about how the recession is encouraging companies to increasingly shop around the online marketplace for cheaper, faster and more convenient services and gave examples of companies like Voices.com who are profiting from this trend.

The coverage landed the company several large new accounts as well as thousands of new users. Website registration and sales increased by 53 per cent after the article ran.

That’s the power of PR at its best - the ability to create demand and open doors. Being mentioned by a key influencer via a topic of interest to the public can be more effective than advertising or marketing, especially if it comes from a credible source. But PR is about more than just media coverage and getting mentioned by the right people in the right places and at the right time - it is a hybrid of different communications that build bridges with influencers such as analysts, journalists, customers, bloggers, and investors among others. Not only must a startup build key relationships both offline and online, they must do so strategically, using key messaging about their company that resonates with these influencers and their audiences. And they often have to do all this with limited resources.

#1 Babson College, Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, Babson Park, MA
#2 University of Houston, Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, Houston, TX
#3 University of Arizona, McGuire Entrepreneurship Program, Tucson, AZ
#4 Baylor University, Baylor Entrepreneurship Program, Waco, TX
#5 Temple University, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, Philadelphia, PA
#6 Drexel University, Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship in Technology, Philadephia, PA
#7 University of Dayton, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Dayton, OH
#8 DePaul University, DePaul Entrepreneurship Program, Chicago, IL
#9 City University of New York - Baruch College, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, New York, NY
#10 University of Southern California, Lloyd Greif Ctr for Entrepreneurial Studies, Los Angeles, CA
#11 University of Oklahoma, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Norman, OK
#12 Northeastern University, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Boston, MA
#13 Syracuse University, Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprise, Syracuse, NY
#14 Washington University in St. Louis, Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, St. Louis, MO
#15 Miami University, Miami Institute for Entrepreneurship, Oxford, OH
#16 University of Wisconsin - Madison, Weinert Center for Entrepreneruship, Madison, WI
#17 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Chapel Hill, NC
#18 Brigham Young University (UT), Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, Provo, UT
#19 Xavier University (OH), Xavier Entrepreneurship Center, Cincinnati, OH
#20 Loyola Marymount University, Hilton Center for Entrepreneurship, Los Angeles, CA
#21 Ball State University, Entrepreneurship Center, Muncie, IN
#22 The University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa, Management Program with Entrepreneurial Track, Tuscaloosa, AL
#23 University of Iowa, John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, Iowa City, IA
#24 Washington State University, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Pullman, WA
#25 University of North Dakota, Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies, Grand Forks, ND

Report from entrepreneur.com

This could be the year that venture-backed companies start to get their IPO groove back.

Last year marked the second consecutive year of unusually low numbers of initial public offerings launched by companies owned by venture-capital firms. There were eight such IPOs in 2009, according to data from Dow Jones VentureSource. That amounts to just 15% of the 54 deals that priced, according to Dealogic. The proportion of venture IPOs could be skewed by the small number of deals last year as 2010 is being forecast as a much larger year for new issuance overall.

"Valuations have been getting better, and that's been making that [IPO] channel more attractive [to issuers] than it's been in a long time," says Scott Gehsmann, a global capital-markets partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

If you are thinking about founding your first company, standing at the edge of the entrepreneurial swimming pool, trying to figure out if you should dive in, here is a checklist (sort of a Meyers Brigg for founders) to help you figure out if this life is for you. It is based on my observations of the thousands of entrepreneurs who I have gotten to know over the past 4 years. I would say, if you’re answer is “No” to more than 10 of these statements, think very carefully about making the jump. There is no science or data to support this checklist. Strictly my own observations of what is required to enjoy and excel in this experience.

This morning’s roundup of the latest venture capital news and analysis across the Web:

How Low Can We Go? - As expected, 10-year investment returns are falling faster than Pink in a robe. Research firm Cambridge Associates released its quarterly report this morning that shows returns from the past 10 years (the typical life of a venture fund) is at 8.41%, falling from 14.3% in the previous quarter and 40.2% a year earlier. Funds from 1999 have paid just 0.63 times the amount of capital paid in by limited partners, while 2000 funds have paid just 0.38 times. It’s worth noting there are still hundreds of companies out there that raised venture capital at least 10 years ago, so those numbers have the potential to go up - whether or not these companies will be able to exit at strong prices is an open question.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's multi-trillion-dollar budget would boost spending for several government agencies while slashing the account for others. Here is an agency-by-agency glance:

----

Agency: Agriculture

Spending: $148.6 billion

Percentage change from 2010: 9.7 percent increase

Mandatory Spending: $122.8 billion

Highlights: Obama's proposed budget includes hundreds of millions of dollars in increased spending to help feed the poor while also limiting government handouts to wealthy farmers.

The budget would provide $8.1 billion for nutrition programs, a $400 million increase from the president's 2010 budget. It would allocate $10 billion over 10 years to improve access to USDA food programs, establishing higher nutrition standards at schools and aiming to reduce childhood hunger.

The South Korean Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology will spend close to $355B won in 2010 to develop technologies to enhance the nation’s competitiveness in the global marketplace, and to increase its portfolio of ‘home-grown’ technologies. Of the total investment, about 22% will be allotted towards new investments, which is a 43% increase from 2009. The recent investment announcement aligns with the country’s goal to advance basic R&D by 2021.

The unemployment pressure does not appear to abate. Layoffs continue every day and despite massive government intervention for economic recovery, there is little evidence of anything more than a slow, prolonged recovery. It is time to give a payroll tax holiday for young firms.

Different forms of hiring incentives to fight the jobs crisis have been proposed in Congress without much success to date. For example, Sens. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) and Charles E. Schumer (D., N.Y.) proposed suspending payroll tax payments for companies that hire workers who have been unemployed for 60 days. President Obama in turn vowed in the State of the Union address last week to make small-business hiring a key piece in the jobs agenda, proposing tax credits for small companies that hire new workers or raise wages. He said that government should create the conditions necessary for businesses to hire more workers and that “we should start where most new jobs do – in small businesses, companies that begin when an entrepreneur takes a chance on a dream, or a worker decides it's time she became her own boss.”

Legislation now before the General Assembly puts in-play the expansion of Tennessee's eight-month-old TNInvestco capital-formation program.

The two place-holder bills that were introduced last week by State Senators Jim Kyle (D-Memphis) and Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) provide no details regarding the ultimate thrust of efforts to revise and expand a state program that has, thus far, helped to fund six new venture-capital funds in Tennessee.

The filing of the bills does, however, seem to signal the beginning of an array of lobbying efforts that could mean expanding cumulative TNInvestco tax-credit allocations to a cumulative $200 million or more, from the program's original $120 million.

With that much money on the table, various camps are organizing to protect what they have, or to enlarge the TNInvestco program to bring more funds into the tent.

THE TENNESSEE TNIvestco  CAPITAL-FORMATION PROGRAM IS ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE EARLY STAGE, STATE FUND OF FUND PROGRAMS, THAT IS DESIGNED TO HAVE NEW IN-STATE MANAGED VC FUNDS , MANAGED BY EXPERIENCED TENNESSEEANS, THAT WILL INVEST IN ENTREPRENEURIAL TENNESSEE COMPANIES.

RICH BENDIS

To view the Greenbook, visit link.

“This set of tax reforms strikes a balance between targeted tax cuts to spur investments in job growth and innovation here at home, middle class tax relief to make our tax system more fair, measures to crack down on abuses that send jobs overseas, and long-term fiscal discipline.”

— Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner

As part of the Administration's effort to restore prosperity and create an economy that works for all Americans, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2011 Revenue Proposals (Greenbook). The Greenbook outlines the Administration’s plan for short-term tax incentives to create jobs and encourage business investment, its proposals to deliver tax relief to middle class families and small businesses, and its blueprint for restoring fiscal discipline and responsibility to our tax code.
 
Key Administration Priorities in FY2011 Greenbook
Tax Cuts to Jumpstart Job Growth and Support the Economic Recovery
§  An Immediate Small Business Jobs and Wages Tax Cut in 2010
§  Tax Incentives for Small Businesses to Make Immediate Investments
§  Bonus Depreciation for Business Investment in 2010
§  Tax Credits for Investment in Advanced Energy Manufacturing Projects
§  Extending the Making Work Pay Tax Credit
Tax Cuts to Encourage Innovation, Investment and Sustained Economic Growth
§  Eliminating Capital Gains Taxes for Investments in Small Businesses
§  Making Permanent the Research and Experimentation Credit
§  Making Permanent the Successful Build America Bonds Program
Permanent Middle Class Tax Relief
§  $10,000 For a Four-Year College Education by Making Permanent the American Opportunity Tax Credit
§  Nearly Doubling the Tax Cut for Middle Class Families to Pay for Child Care Expenses
§  Increasing Matching Credits to Encourage Retirement Saving and Providing for Auto-IRAs
Reform, Responsibility and Fiscal Discipline
§  Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee to Recoup TARP Losses and Reduce Financial Risk
§  Reforming the International Tax System by Reducing Transfer Pricing Abuses, Tax Evasion, and Incentives to Shift Investment Overseas
§  Allowing the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts for Households Making more than $250,000 to Expire
§  Eliminating Inefficient Fossil Fuel Tax Subsidies and Closing Additional Loopholes to Make the Tax Code More Fair 

THIS IS A START BUT WE WOULD STILL HAVE A MAJOR GAP IN FINANCING PROGRAMS FOR INNOVATIVE SMALL BUSINESSES IF THIS BUDGET PASSED AS PROPOSED. ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS OR GAPS THAT NEED ATTENTION TO STIMULATE ENTREPRENEURIAL JOB GROWTH ARE:

• - A NEW EQUITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM TO ADDRESS THE GROWING "VALLEY OF DEATH" FOR HIGH GROWTH SME'S
• - PERMANENT REAUTHORITIZATION OF THE SBIR PROGRAM
• - CREATION OF A NATIONAL ANGEL CAPITAL INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT PROGRAM

YOUR COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS WELCOME. RICH BENDIS

I [Jeffrey Phillips] had the opportunity to speak to a group at a university recently about innovation. In fact, I've spoken to four universities about innovation in the last few months. There's a growing awareness that innovation needs to happen in university settings. This would include innovation on the administration of the university, in the teaching methods and in what is taught. But that's a sideline to what I want to write about today.

In my most recent speaking engagement I was confronted by a senior faculty member who argued that all this talk about "innovation" was pointless, and missed the main target, which was that we needed more focus on science and engineering education. In his mind, innovation was equated to technology, and only scientists and engineers could bring new technologies to life. While I agree that scientists and technologists can bring innovations to market, I'd argue that that definition of innovation is awfully narrow. It seems to me that innovation can occur in many avenues that have little or nothing to do with technology, engineering or science.

One of the constant challenges for an innovator is to prove the value of their work. Many believe that innovation and creativity cannot be measured and therefore will always struggle with getting the respect it deserves within an organization.

The perception that innovation impact cannot be measures is a myth. At the same time, its not a slam dunk either. The challenge is getting an organization aligned on what the right metrics and measurements.

One metric that is commonly used and one that I don’t agree with is:

Innovation = R&D Spend as % of Revenue

This is the metric that Wall Street applies to most companies. So what’s wrong with it? Its non-predictive of future success and it doesn’t take into account:

1. Innovation delay: They are measuring future output of R&D spend against today’s revenue. Any valid metric needs to ensure time scales are consistent.
2. Revenue is impacted by a lot more than just R&D spend: Revenue has a lot of things thrown in that are not impacted or even influenced by innovation/R&D spend. A valid metric needs to ensure that the components of the metric is influenced by R&D.

Friend--

I've [Ted Strickland] just finished delivering my third State of the State speech, and I wanted to share it with you.

Across the country, Americans are grappling with the worst economic climate in 80 years. In Ohio, too, we've seen the devastating effects of a crisis caused by failed Washington policies and Wall Street greed.

But while the Wall Street recession has knocked Ohio down, we're not staying down. The state of our state is unyielding. With a long-term approach that focuses on creating jobs from the bottom up, Ohio can emerge from this global recession stronger than ever.

Read the full State of the State address here to learn how we're building an Ohio that can lead once again. 

DAVID WILHELM, CO CHAIR OF THE OHIO THIRD FRONTIERS PROGRAM AND FELLOW BOARD MEMBER OF NASVF WITH ME, SUGGESTS THAT GOVERNOR STRICKLAND UNDERSTANDS THE ROLE OF INNOVATION IN THEIR STATES ECONOMIC GROWTH AS WELL AS ANY GOVERNOR OR POLITICAL LEADER.

I TEND TO AGREE, RICH BENDIS

The Objective and Challenge:

Can Gainesville transition its current economic focus to a more competitive, knowledge-based economy for all of our citizens? How can we engage the University and other knowledge providers – public and private sector alike – to transform the way we do business, retain students and graduates, and expand the resources necessary to enhance our quality of life?

Can we overcome limitations – in both mindset and the way we measure success – by adopting new metrics?

Can we tell our story better – about our successes, assets and individual endeavors? Yes we can. And we will.

THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A COMMUNITY THAT WORKED TOGETHER TO DEVELOP A NEW INTEGRATED INNOVATION BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR THE NEXT DECADE.

RICH BENDIS

USAJobs - The Director, Technology Innovation Program (TIP) serves as the executive responsible for managing and leading this critical program for NIST. The TIP was established as part of the America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) to assist United States businesses and institutions of higher education or other organizations, such as national laboratories and nonprofit research institutions, to support, promote, and accelerate innovation in the United States through high-risk, high-reward research in areas of critical national need.

The Director plans, organizes, directs and controls the activities and programs of the TIP. He/she formulates its programs, policies, and procedures and ensures that they are carried out. The incumbent is responsible for the successful management of all program thrusts in the Technology Innovation Program. The TIP is funded at $69.9 million for FY2010. The incumbent must have a clear understanding of business dynamics that shape company investment and marketing decisions. The incumbent must have a clear understanding to apply the relationships between technology and the economy. He/she submits results of the Program to other agencies of the government, industrial organizations, professional societies, and technical committees. The incumbent is responsible for initiating the Program's policies and procedures concerning administration, including fiscal management and staffing policy with respect to both the number of personnel and the maintenance of high standards of professional quality.

IN the glory days of the digital photo frame business, when his products were still a novelty and shoppers were flush with cash, getting a bank loan to manufacture them was a cinch, Michael Levy says.

“We would say: ‘We got a $1 million order from the Sharper Image. We need financing. With a snap of the fingers, the guy drove down to my office, we’d sign a document, he’d give us the money,” Mr. Levy recalls, sitting in the Deer Park, Long Island, office of the Media Street Group that he runs with his brother, Norm.

But like many other business owners, Mr. Levy saw his prospects change drastically in 2008 as the financial crisis unfolded. The Sharper Image and several other top customers filed for bankruptcy, and Mr. Levy found himself scrambling to keep the business afloat.

It’s a good time to be an angel: With venture capital in the dumps, Bay Area angel investing groups say the quantity and quality of potential deals coming through the door is up as entrepreneurs are forced to look for alternatives.

“We’re getting some very interesting deal flow that would have gone to traditional venture capitalists in the past,” said Randy Williams, founder and CEO of the Keiretsu Forum, which has 350 members in Northern California. “What’s happening is the venture capitalists are focused on existing companies and the limited partners are not giving them additional capital.”

In the midst of a punishing recession, Ohio's Third Frontier program has been a rare bright spot and a critical driver of economic growth across our state. Since the bipartisan economic-development program was enacted under former Gov. Bob Taft, state grants have helped create more than 41,000 jobs and $6.6 billion in economic activity through 2008. That was a $10 return on every dollar invested by the state.

And yet, despite the undisputable success of this effort to nurture home-grown, high-tech companies, some Republicans in the legislature oppose a robust renewal of this vital program. The Ohio House has passed a measure to extend the program for five years at a cost of $950 million, while the Republican-controlled Senate has proposed a far smaller effort of $500 million over the same time frame.

Hiring people is usually thought of as a supply-side activity. You know what you need and you try to get the best for the least. No argument there. But taking it to the next level, you can also hire for fit with your organization’s unique culture. Since your culture is a function of how people interact, you’ll need to measure your candidates’ ability to team in the distinct way your company requires.

Teaming Characteristics
The biggest challenge in any job is often something other than the knowledge, skills, and talents we hire for. It’s the way we expect people to work together. That’s true whether we’re talking about a development team, a short-t rm project staff and the client, or a sales person and their prospect. It’s all about the teaming characteristics needed to nurture, secure, and maintain those relationships.

Personality traits have been extensively measured and applied o business situations, but they focus on the ‘components’ of an individual—not on the holistic aspects of ‘teaming’, which predict how well a person will work with others in a given context. Someone with great teaming characteristics can get along ith almost anyone, in almost any situation. But even those who don’t enjoy chit-chat can still have fine teaming characteristics. It’s all a matter of what the environment demands vs. what (and how) a person is oriented to contributing.

INNOVATIVE TEAMS THAT WORK WELL TOGETHER AND HAVE GOOD LEADERSHIP WILL PERFORM MUCH BETTER THAN DYSFUNCTIONAL ONES. HERE IS A WAY TO DETERMINE IF YOUR TEAM MEMBERS HAVE THE RIGHT CHEMISTRY BEFORE MAKING EXPENSIVE HIRING MISTAKES.

RICH BENDIS

In the State of the Union Address last Wednesday, President Obama said ?the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy and America must be that nation.? At the same time, on the other coast, 75 clean energy investors, entrepreneurs, and researchers were debating whether the U.S. can gain this leadership position. They agreed that even though Silicon Valley leads the world in technology, it is not clear if it will ever lead in Cleantech. The Valley may develop some breakthrough technologies, but without government help these are unlikely to translate into global leadership. The technology world is rightfully allergic to government assistance and intervention. Cleantech is different, however, and we aren?t dealing with a level global playing field.

The Knowledge Economy Institute Leadership Summit, which I attended, was held at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), in Emeryville, California. The question posed: what will it take for the U.S. to achieve global leadership in the clean-energy economy? The group concluded that the U.S., by far, has the strongest innovation platform in the world. But other countries may well reap the benefits of its research efforts. China, in particular, is making massive investments and has a huge advantage from focused policy and large markets. Even though China is not likely to produce its own innovation, it will continue to appropriate U.S. technology and gain a major advantage by combining this with its manufacturing prowess. American firms which are increasingly choosing to build design and manufacturing operations in China will provide it with additional advantage.