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Why Some of the Most Groundbreaking Technologies Are a Bad Fit for the Silicon Valley Funding Model

Harvard Business Review

Over the past few decades, Silicon Valley has been such a powerful engine for entrepreneurship in technology that, all too often, it is considered to be some kind of panacea. In the Bay Area, however, small venture capitalists, many of whom were ex-engineers themselves, invested in entrepreneurs.

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Three Headwinds for Facebook's IPO

Harvard Business Review

According to ComScore, at the end of 2011 Facebook accounted for a shocking 28% of U.S. Web developers can personalize recommendation engines, allow users to see their friends' purchase history, and draw on detailed demographic data available through the Facebook network. display advertisements online.

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The Danger of Turning Cynical About Silicon Valley

Harvard Business Review

Startups are an engine of prosperity, albeit a highly imperfect one. Though venture capital funds account for only about 0.2% GDP, according to Harvard Business School professor Josh Lerner , venture-backed companies made up more than 11% of public firms as of 2011, with a total market value of $25.9

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Looking for Jobs in All the Wrong Places: Memo to the President

Harvard Business Review

Here, too, start-ups are the driving engine of our nation's global innovation leadership. So please trust me when I say that one of the biggest roadblocks to job creation is the huge logjam at the patent office that prevents entrepreneurs from getting the patents they need to obtain venture funding.

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Four Innovation Trends to Watch in 2013

Harvard Business Review

While recommendation engines have been fantastically successful for the Amazons and Netflixes, they remain relative underachievers given their technical and algorithmic potential. According to a PriceWaterhouse Coopers preliminary review , 2012 venture funding has actually declined. Taking 'Recofriendations' More Seriously.