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The RISE to the Top: David Siteman Garland interviews Mark Suster, general partner at GRP Partners.

In this interview, they discuss:

• The ins and outs of raising money
• The basics of venture capital
• Mistakes startups make
• How entrepreneurship has changed since the bubble burst.

Read more: http://blog.therisetothetop.com/2010/07/venture-capitalist-mark-suster-on-raising-money/#ixzz0uomJvk2s

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Gilt Groupe co-founder Alexis Maybank via WSJ.com

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Panel discussion featuring Bill Hambrecht, founder, chairman and CEO, W. R. Hambrecht and Co., John Koten, Mansueto Ventures (publisher of Inc. & Fast Company), Ramana Nanda, Harvard Business School, Antoinette Schoar, MIT and Lesa Mitchell, Kauffman Foundation

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Speech given by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) Director David Kappos June 2, 2010 at the Center for American Progress.

David Kappos, director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

America stands at a critical juncture in our economic evolution, and intellectual property will certainly play a key role in driving our economic growth and renewal.

As technological advances bring great change to the speed and complexity of American innovation, strong intellectual property protection and its effective enforcement will fuel innovation and jump-start our economy.

Today, I’ll speak about the critical role of IP in spurring innovation – and in increasing America’s competitiveness in the global economy. The fact is that a dynamic and efficient patent system is essential to our economic well-being.

I’ll address the ways in which the USPTO can better ensure a well-functioning patent system; a patent system that enables small and medium sized businesses to secure the investment capital they need to bring their goods and services to market; and a patent system that helps create value and ensure cutting edge research gets funded at our universities. Finally, I’ll discuss the imperative for government leaders – the Executive branch, the Congress and the courts – to nurture an IP eco-system that will promote innovation, and ensure America’s economic well-being.

The economic success of the United States is deeply rooted in the history of American innovation. This country was founded by pioneers who developed new ways to cope with an unfamiliar environment, who cured disease and connected a country, and who led the world into the age of flight. American innovators discovered the power of information technology and digital communication that brought unprecedented commerce, economic growth, and prosperity.

So, our history has been driven by innovation. And our economic security continues to depend upon our ability to innovate – and to compete in an innovation economy. The key to economic success lies increasingly in innovative product and service development, and in intellectual property protection, which creates value for innovation.

IP is – in effect — the global currency of innovation.

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