Germany has emerged from the global downturn as one of the world's strongest economies. What's the secret behind Germany's economic strength and success? This lunch briefing will feature presentations on Germany's High-Tech Strategy and on its Fraunhofer model. The event will be a great opportunity to compare, contrast, and learn from the similarities and differences in approaches to innovation policy in the United States and Germany.

Moderated by:

Dr. Robert D. Atkinson (Founder and President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation)

Dr. Joann Halpern (Director, German Center for Research and Innovation)

A YEAR to the day after being formed, digital media company B-Smark has launched a public beta of its first product, an online service that lets people attach an emotional tag to content on social networks. The company has also beefed up its advisory board with experienced marketers and entrepreneurs.

MySmark is the company’s first product, a digital “smart mark” people can use on friends, links, posts, photos, events and videos that have been posted on social networks. The service is initially available for Facebook and Twitter, with other social platforms planned.

I met three interesting startup’s last week. All of them were founded by entrepreneurs in their late twenties or early thirties, who had been part of product teams in other startup’s or global tech firms. The startup’s were pre-revenue or had just signed up a few customers. Typically, in the Indian VC context, these firms would be considered too early by ‘early stage’ VC funds to do a Series A. They would be asked to come back in 6 months time when they had signed up more customers and had discernible revenue traction. However, to my surprise, all of them claimed to have termsheets or were in serious conversations with VC funds – not seed stage focused funds, but regular VC funds.  What’s even more surprising was that the quantum of funding they were offering ranged from $200K to $500K, not the usual $2 million plus that these funds like to invest.

A few top tier VC funds have started making investments in the realm of angels/seed stage funds. When a VC fund makes a seed type investment, they are essentially purchasing a low cost option to participate in a full round if the startup shapes up well. Unlike an angel investor or a seed fund, a VC fund’s economics don’t work on a  $200 K investment; their economics work on making much larger investments in each of their portfolio firms. So how does this matter to a startup as long as they get the money, right? Maybe not, let me explain.

Venture capitalists and angels all have an internal switch that can flip in a meeting with an entrepreneur. Something gets said that marks the entrepreneur as simply too green to invest in. Maybe the entrepreneur asks the VC to sign a non-disclosure agreement, or they introduce the CFO, who also happens to be their grandma. Call it the amateur alarm. What sorts of things can trigger it?

I was curious, so I asked a group of Boston venture capitalists and angels this week. Here's what they said.

Larry Bohn, General Catalyst Partners

Saying they are completely unique, and that there is no competition. Groan.

Elon Boms, Launch Capital

The European Commission called for the higher education sector to have greater interaction with the wider economy, proposing new initiatives to encourage this, including the development of European Industrial Doctorates and the creation of partnerships between universities and companies to design courses, in its plan for reforming the sector published on Tuesday (20 September).

The strategy, “Supporting growth and jobs – an agenda for the modernisation of Europe's higher education systems,” says reaching the EU’s target of investing 3 per cent of GDP in research is not just about putting more money into R&D, it will also need bodies with the skills to fill an estimated one million new research jobs.

Currently, the EU lags behind in the share of researchers in the total labour force at six per 100, compared to nine in the US and eleven in Japan. And while 35 per cent of all jobs in the EU will require high-level qualifications by 2020, only 26 per cent of the workforce currently has a higher education qualification.

Everyone wants their data to be protected, but not everyone puts in the legwork required to ensure their data is safe. Most people take the “set it and forget it” approach when really they should be following the 10 percent rule.

Set It and Forget It There are three common mistakes that businesses make when backing up their data:

1. No testing: When businesses back up their data, many assume their data is there, faithfully waiting for them in the same condition in which it was left. The truth is backup is not a flawless process. Glitches occur and hardware fails. The only way to make sure that data is intact and that all systems are go is to routinely test the data you’re backing up. When you test your data, not only do you have peace of mind, but you also have the opportunity to catch a problem before it becomes a disaster.

Attention, entrepreneurs: The planets have aligned for the right startups to find their angels between now and the end of the year. An incentivized and increasingly sophisticated angel community is making a greater number of investments and with a high degree of urgency.

The reasons why are varied, but significant:

1. Angel investors are taking advantage of federal and state tax breaks on small business investments. The Wall Street Journal’s Eleanor Laise points out, “…under a law enacted late last year, investors won’t have to pay capital gains tax on certain small-business stock they acquire before the start of next year.”

When it comes to the topic of women in science, Marie Curie usually dominates the conversation. After all, she discovered two elements, was the first women to win a Nobel Prize, in 1903, and was the first person to win a second Nobel, in 1911. But Curie was not the first female scientist. Many other brilliant, dedicated and determined women have pursued science over the years.

Emilie du Chatelet (1706 – 1749)

Gabrielle-Emilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, the daughter of the French court’s chief of protocol, married the marquis du Chatelet in 1725. She lived the life of a courtier and bore three children. But at age 27, she began studying mathematics seriously and then branched into physics. This interest intensified as she began an affair with the philosopher Voltaire, who also had a love of science. Their scientific collaborations—they outfitted a laboratory at du Chatelet’s home, Chateau de Cirey, and, in a bit of a competition, each entered an essay into a contest on the nature of fire (neither won)—outlasted their romance. Du Chatelet’s most lasting contribution to science was her French translation of Isaac Newton’s Principia, which is still in use today. At age 43, she fell in love with a young military officer and became pregnant; she died following complications during the birth of their child.

For the first quarter of a millennium after the establishment of Harvard College, teachers with college educations studied the liberal arts or for the ministry. As we approached 1900, that began to change, and state supported normal schools grew up all over the country, from which even today a large proportion of our elementary and secondary teachers come. Was the move to turn the teaching of teachers into a separate “profession” with its own school or college within universities a smart one?

Critics of the education schools, of which I have been one, usually make several arguments. First, the outcomes of students taught by our K-12 teachers is abysmal on average, and while not all of that, or maybe even most of it, can be blamed on the training of the teachers, clearly that training has not worked to promote academic excellence among our children.

Dear SBIR Insider, I surrender! I'm sorry I can't answer all of your reauthorization questions personally. I have been ready to send a new SBIR Insider several times this week, but I had to stop each time because the situation was changing hour to hour. However, here's the skinny as it stands Wednesday Night, September 21, 2011.

Reauthorization or Continuing Resolution?

Forget about reauthorization for the immediate future, the focus right now is on a Continuing Resolution (CR), not just for SBIR, but for the entire government which is void of any FY-2012 budget. Without a CR there will be a government-wide shutdown starting October 1.

The good news is that congress has taken action to give a temporary extension to SBIR in conjunction with the government-wide CR to keep the entire government going through November 18, 2011. The bad news is that the House just (unexpectedly) voted the government-wide CR down!

Pandemonium has broken out on the hill, and republican leaders are struggling to find a way to pass their CR. In fact, House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor (R-VA) has just cautioned his "children" that they may have to work through the weekend (both House & Senate were scheduled to recess starting at close of business Friday September 23 through October 4).

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 21, 2011 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland/Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) received an Excellence in Economic Development Award for its Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program in the category of Partnerships with Educational Institutions for communities with populations over 500,000 from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), university officials announce today.

The award was presented to MIPS Director Martha Connolly and Coordinator Jeanne Pekny at a ceremony held on Tuesday, September 20, at the IEDC Annual Conference, in Charlotte, NC.

The Partnerships with Educational Institutions award recognizes excellence in economic development through meaningful linkages with postsecondary education.

Many entrepreneurs forget that their success is more about helping other people than about personally becoming famous, or overcoming the odds and getting rich. A successful business has to satisfy customers with a strong team, by helping them solve problems, save money, or experience more pleasure. That means more focus on helping others achieve their goals.

How and why this is true was brought home to me in a new book, “It's Not About You: A Little Story About What Matters Most in Business,” by Bob Burg and John David Mann. This is a fictional story about how an aggressive young M&A executive comes to realize that his aggressive style is actually making it harder to reach his goals.

Why the hubbub about Google+? The last thing entrepreneurs need is another social network to join, right? Weren't you just getting the hang of Twitter? Didn't you just start putting that Facebook business page together? So why is Brogan back here telling you to get into Google+, and pronto? I've never made a prediction like this before. I'm not exactly Mr. Bleeding Edge. But what I've seen so far is that the new social network from Google has a lot of advantages that are worth thinking about, and entrepreneurial types should take a look-see.

The Next Big Thing Google+ is a social networking platform, but you can look at it a lot of different ways. You can say it's like Facebook, only cleaner. It's like Twitter, only more engaging. It has the potential to be a great collaboration and communication platform (you can isolate who sees information by sharing it with specific Circles, or groupings of people). In its earliest weeks of existence, it already was sending more traffic to my website than any other social networking platform.

Hand-held remote medical instrument, genetically modified mini pet pig and insect-resistant cotton using biotechnology etc., bio-industry and genetic science previously give us the senses of mystery and abstruseness. But a few days ago, at the Fifth Bioindustry Convention held in Shenzhen, a variety of new bio-tech products was introduced, which give us a feeling that the biotechnology is getting closer to our daily life.

At this convention, "blood glucose collector" and "remote blood pressure monitor" launched by Shenzhen New Element Medical Technology Development Co., Ltd. allow people to see doctors at home. After the blood glucose content is collected and measured, the value will be automatically transmitted to the cell phone via Bluetooth then to the central control center of the cooperative hospital in real time by GPRS. The application of Remote & Mobile Healthcare Monitoring Platform completely changes the traditional medical mode. Meanwhile, the pilot demonstration of multi-function health examination table has been carried out in some rural regions which can complete the physical examination of blood, urine, EKG and B ultrasound and the total charge is only RMB 20 to 40 yuan, far below the average examination charge of RMB 200 yuan.

In a White House fact sheet set forth with the introduction of the draft legislation, the American Jobs Act, the Administration expressed support for a number of measures designed to reduce the regulatory burdens on small business capital formation: As part of the President’s Startup America initiative, the Administration will pursue efforts to reduce the regulatory burdens on small business capital formation in ways that are consistent with investor protection.

This effort will include working with the SEC to explore ways to address the costs that small and new firms face in complying with Sarbanes-Oxley disclosure and auditing requirements. The Administration also supports establishing a “crowdfunding” exemption from SEC registration requirements for firms raising less than $1 million (with individual investments limited to $10,000 or 10% of investors’ annual income). The Administration also supports raising the cap on “mini-offerings” (Regulation A) from $5 million to $50 million. This will make it easier for entrepreneurs to raise capital and create jobs.

We all know that tech investment needs more women, and Natalia Oberti Noguera thinks that female philanthropists are ripe for the training.

We recently had Noguera into the VentureBeat office to chat about overarching issues of women and technology. In this video, she discusses what her project, the Pipeline Fellowship, is doing to improve the gender split in the industry and visibility of women leaders and role models in technology.

New Office Space to Include 1,800 Square Feet in Research Park;

Direct Access to Future Workforce Being Educated at Iowa State University

AMES, Iowa - (Sept. 21, 2011) - Iowa State University Research Park (ISURP), a leading research, science and technology hub for both startups and established brands, announced that Vermeer, one of the world’s largest multi-industry equipment manufacturers, has entered into a lease agreement for 1,800 square feet of office space. The strategic move to open an office at ISURP is a result of the company identifying several key assets the new location will offer, including recruitment of Iowa State University students and access to a talented pool of interns; research space to accommodate additional projects and engineers; improved collaboration on grants and research funding; and a new supplementary location for employees based in the Des Moines/Ames metro.

The new Vermeer office will open within the next month and is expected to house 14 employees. While research and development will be at the core of the work projects being facilitated at the new location, the office will also cater to Iowa State University students who are specifically aiming for a career in industrial manufacturing/engineering.

The UT System Board of Regents convened Wednesday to develop ways to generate more revenue by utilizing technology and research through entrepreneurial outreach.

The plan was discussed during the board’s technology transfer and research committee. It includes expanding state-wide business ventures in which the UT System will share ownership. Bryan Allinson, executive director for technology commercialization, said the committee’s focus is on UT-owned intellectual property. Investments will be put towards technological programs that support more commercialization for the UT System.

Today, seed fund and accelerator, TechStars, will be hosting its “Demo Day” in Boulder, where it will showcase its 12 newest startups. The accelerator expects over 500 people to be on hand, including investors and venture funds, who will be on hand to vet the young founding teams and potentially take out those checkbooks.

Founded in 2006 in Boulder, TechStars has expanded its operations to include New York City, Boston, and (most recently) Seattle, where the accelerator holds seasonal programs for 10 to 15 startups, investing up to $18,000 of seed capital in each team at a 6 percent equity stake. And, so far, TechStars has proven valuable to its entrepreneurs; according to TechStars’ website, 81 percent of its alumni remain active or profitable, 10 percent have already been acquired, with 8 percent having gone out of business.