By Alexandra Reid
As a regular weekly feature, we provide our readers with a roundup of some of the best articles we have read in the past week. On the podium this week are TechCrunch, Fast Company, Forbes, ReadWriteWeb and MarketingProfs.
Why startups should pay attention to skyrocketing patent prices
As large companies increasingly look to protect their revenue streams through IP risk mitigation, startups with strong patent holdings will become increasingly valuable because they provide an opportunity to remove dual potential threats to the potential acquirer’s revenue stream — as a competitor and as a patent threat. Author Leonid Kravets explains that startups that are able to position themselves as part of an acquirer’s IP risk-mitigation strategy make themselves more attractive targets for acquisition.
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By Francis Moran
Regular readers of this blog will know that I spend a fair bit of time in the Waterloo region where both the buzz and the substance of the startup scene seem to get louder and more solid every day. (And before folks in Ottawa think I’m ignoring my hometown, let me acknowledge the high-energy, very high-volume event at The Hub last night where the Capital Angel Network brought together an extraordinary collection of entrepreneurs, angel investors and an encouraging cross-section of the local ecosystem. I left quite hoarse from all the fantastic conversations I had, many of which revolved around great things happening on the Ottawa scene.)
I spent much of last week in Kitchener-Waterloo, however, and, as always, came away with a bunch of favourable impressions.
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By Leo Valiquette
Back in March I blogged about the striking similarities between an entrepreneur who is trying to bring technology to market and a writer who is attempting to publish a novel. I referenced the fact that I would soon be attending a literary conference, Ad Astra, as part of my business development and self-improvement efforts.
Ad Astra was in fact this past weekend and it is timely to write about the lessons learned from that experience in light of Alex’s post yesterday about the value of face-to-face contact in the age of social media.
Writers, like engineers, programmers and other creative types, often toil away in seclusion. We think we are staying in touch with the world, and the industries or markets in which we hope to sell our products, by using those ubiquitous social media tools. We can follow and contribute to Twitter streams, discussion threads, post comments on walls and read curated newsfeeds. But this is still akin to drifting over the landscape in a hot air balloon and shouting down at the masses below “how’s it going?” when what you really need to do is drop anchor and go see for yourself.
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By Denzil Doyle
It was encouraging to see the emphasis that was placed on innovation in the recent budget and in subsequent discussions with the federal finance minister, Jim Flaherty. On the other hand, it was discouraging to read the cover of Maclean’s Magazine that appeared shortly afterward. It read, “Your kids are angrier than you think.” What was equally discouraging was that neither party made the connection between innovation in the Canadian economy (or lack thereof) and youth unrest.
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By Terry Lavineway
While last week’s federal budget contained widely anticipated changes to the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit, it also contained many other aspects of funding and incentives to encourage innovation and commercialization.
$400 million to help increase private sector investments in early-stage risk capital, and to support the creation of large-scale venture capital funds led by the private sector.
The government recognizes that access to capital for small and medium-sized businesses in Canada is both critical for growth and difficult to find. The venture capital and angel investor industries in Canada have been inconsistent for many years for many valid reasons. This budget commits $400 million to help address this problem. At the time of the budget, the government was not clear how, where or when to deploy this capital to incentivize private sector investments, other than to allocate $100 million for Business Development Bank of Canada venture capital activities. Certainly this amount of money is worth tracking to see how it will be deployed to help companies in need achieve their growth objectives.
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As a regular weekly feature, we provide our readers with a roundup of some of the best articles we have read in the past week. On the podium this week are TechCrunch, Fast Company, Forbes, ReadWriteWeb and MarketingProfs.
