The Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) in the School of Engineering at Stanford University continues to host a website with more than 1,200 free, high-quality podcasts and video clips of entrepreneurial thought leaders from Silicon Valley and beyond. The Entrepreneurship Corner (ECorner), sponsored in part by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, features clips recorded during [...]

Canadian business leaders have long bemoaned their nation’s inability to rapidly generate world-class entrepreneurial ventures in a manner like California’s Silicon Valley. A recent symposium sponsored by the Information Technology Association of Canada examined the causes of, and potential remedies, for this weak performance. The symposium raised a number of concerns about the quality of [...]

As advances in nanotechnology continue, government regulators face some tough challenges. A new study from the Pew Trusts/Woodrow Wilson Center Project for Emerging Nanotechnologies offers some guidelines for how the next Administration might address these thorny issues. The report contends that the existing systems for managing nanotechnology are “weak and inadequate.” It makes 35 different [...]

If you ask entrepreneurs about important policy issues, they frequently cite the importance of favorable tax treatment for capital gains. This important issue also differentiates the Presidential candidates with Obama seeking to reverse most of the cuts in capital gains taxes for individuals in the highest tax brackets and McCain supporting the current tax rate [...]

The latest version of the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing US companies—along with the newer Inc. 5000—was released this week. As usual, it’s an impressive list of world-class companies. This year’s list tracks firm performance between 2004 and 2007, so most of the companies were not yet affected by the current economic downturn. [...]

Maintaining long-term economic competitiveness—and keeping the high standards of living we enjoy in the US—hinges on developing and preparing a workforce for an increasingly global, knowledge-based economy. A recent article in Education Week argues that improvements made more than a decade ago in K-12 education are not sufficient and that entrepreneurship education programs are the [...]

Franchising is a common choice for people who are considering an entrepreneurial leap, but end up deciding to wade into it first. It offers a structured way to start a business, and, as a new Harvard Business School study shows, franchising also makes sense for the franchiser too. The research examined how convenience stores move [...]

While there is certainly a growing demand for research that will help foster a policy environment in which entrepreneurs flourish, policymakers may not be getting a completely accurate picture on small business. A new working paper from the SBA Office of Advocacy closely examines the differences between employer and non-employer businesses and the relation those [...]

As the Olympics continue to hold the world’s attention, nearly seventy countries are making plans to come together again this November for Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative to inspire the next generation of innovators. Thousands of partner organizations in those countries will account for tens of thousands of activities that will help young people generate [...]

The US Census Bureau has recently released its updated figures tracking population growth and decline in major US metropolitan areas. The numbers tell some interesting stories. Perhaps the best news is that New Orleans was the US’s fastest growing city between 2006 and 2007. These numbers offer some strong evidence that the region’s recovery is [...]