If you encounter problems viewing this email go to http://www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/news/nde-news.htm

Week of November 6 - 12, 2006

Latest Venture Capital Numbers

The third quarter 2006 data from the PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association is out. Overall investing by venture capital (VC) firms dropped slightly (down 8%) when compared to Q3 2005. But, the overall total remains strong - a total of $6.2 billion was invested in 797 separate deals. Other positive news comes from the fact that investments in early stage deals have grown, rising 10% when compared to last year. A continued decline in venture-backed initial public offerings (IPOs) is the one worrisome sign in the latest data. Only eight venture-backed firms raised funds through IPOs in the third quarter of 2006. This total represents a large decline from the 2nd quarter (19 venture-backed IPOs) and a big drop from the patterns of recent years. In addition, few firms are now “in registration” with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, meaning that an upturn in IPOs is unlikely. It appears that IPOs are no longer the exit strategy of choice for US-based entrepreneurs. Instead, other vehicles - especially mergers and acquisitions - will continue to grow in importance.

To see the latest MoneyTree data from PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, visit http://www.nvca.org/pdf/06Q3MTPRFINALprnews.pdf

Make Mine a Million

While women are increasingly drawn to entrepreneurship, women-owned firms still lag their male counterparts in terms of rate of growth. But, these trends may be changing thanks to efforts like Make Mine a Million. Make Mine a Million is a major initiative designed to support the growth needs of women-owned businesses with less than $1 million in revenue. As its name suggests, this effort seeks to help create 1 million women-owned firms with at least $1 million in revenue by 2010. As part of this effort, the group provides awards to women entrepreneurs who are eligible to receive financial support as well as a year of intensive business coaching and mentoring. The latest winners were announced in late October at an event in New York City. These winners bring the total number of awardees up to 63, and this number will keep on rising as more awards are presented in the coming years.

To learn more about Make Mine a Million, visit www.makemineamillion.org. The effort was founded by Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence (www.countmein.org) and OPEN from American Express.

A National Conversation on Jobs and the Global Economy

As America prepares for tomorrow’s elections, it might be instructive to revisit some of the key economic issues and concerns facing American citizens. A new report from the Council on Excellence in Government offers a good place to start. The Council, along with Goldman Sachs’ Global Markets Institute, recently sponsored a series of town hall meetings with citizens in six cities from across the US. The meetings sought to assess local views on the regional economic climate and the prospects for future job creation. A number of key themes emerged from the process. First, individuals must take more responsibility for their career paths and must demonstrate the “will to work.” Second, better public-private sector collaboration is the key to future economic growth. Finally, E-News readers will be pleased to know that the report prominently recommends new approaches that link investors to small and medium-sized enterprises. A plurality (more than 75% at all sites) of polled citizens agreed that investment capital is a key ingredient to future economic growth.

To access the 2006 report, Working in America: Transitioning to a Global Economy, from the Council for Excellence in Government and Goldman Sachs’ Global Markets Institute, visit
http://www.excelgov.org/UserFiles/Town%20Hall%20Final%20Report%20-%20low%20res.pdf. 

Innovation Efforts in Delaware

Delaware is the latest state to announce a new set of initiatives designed to help spur innovation and entrepreneurship. First State Innovation was unveiled last week as a major effort to spur technology development in Delaware. The effort is led by the private sector, and will operate as a public-private partnership. Among First State Innovation’s first objectives is to attract more venture capital to Delaware, develop a statewide angel network, and build closer links between business and the state’s academic institutions. Overall, First State Innovation seeks to make Delaware a national leader in fostering new business starts, and in creating world class businesses that generate annual revenues between $10 and $50 million.

Learn more about the start up of Delaware’s First State Innovation initiative

Young, Inner City Entrepreneurs in the Spotlight

America’s inner cities are full of inspirational stories of young entrepreneurs turning their big ideas into innovative realities. Each year, Growing Up CEO celebrates the achievements of these young men and women across America. Twenty-five winners under the age of 21 are chosen for a two day trip to Boston and Harvard Business School. There, the winners have the opportunity to form mentor relationships, network with CEOs of leading inner city companies, gain world-class business knowledge at Harvard Business School, and speak with the media, Harvard Business School students and government officials.

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, who runs the program, is accepting applications and nominations for the 2007 class of Growing Up CEO. The deadline for nominations is December 31 – and for applications it is January 31, 2007. For more information, or to download the appropriate forms, visit http://www.icic.org/vsm/bin/smLogIn.php?xnode=626_%_0

The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving the innovation economy. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. Links to the day's entrepreneurship stories from across the nation and around the world are posted each weekday on the NDE main page - bookmark it and stay informed about the latest entrepreneurship news.

National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
2300 M Street, NW; Suite 900
Washington, DC 20037

All stories © 2006 The Public Forum Institute
Content from this newsletter may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution to the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship and a link to www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde. 

Subscribe: 
To sign up to receive NDE-news, visit www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/join/

Unsubscribe:
This email was sent to (%Email%).   Unsubscribe this email address.  If you have problems with the automated process please e-mail Mark Marich with your email address in the body and your unsubscribe request will be handled promptly.

Privacy Statement: 
The Public Forum Institute recognizes and respects the importance of protecting the privacy of all information provided by recipients of our e-mail newsletter. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure and will not share personally identifiable information with other companies or organizations.