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INDIA IS FIGURING OUT ITS IP POLICY as this thoughtful commentary outlines. It has been clear to me for some years that Indian pharmaceutical patents are very shrewd, and also that the IP industry including patent challenges are sophisticated. The key is to not cave to Activist views and keep the middle ground where patented innovator drugs from abroad are respected under patent treaties, and also to develop a sensible way to get approved Western drugs through Indian trials while not becoming a case for The Constant Gardener. P http://lnkd.in/pqYStD View in LinkedIn

FREE ONLINE COURSES WILL CHANGE THE JOB MARKETPLACE: knowledge has become fully accessible. The only thing between you and wisdom is will and motivation. And be sure that there is some super-smart person from the other side of the world who is taking full advantage of free knowledge. We are entering the knowledge sweepstakes: employers will be looking for the best prepared talent anywhere in the world to work on a virtual basis to solve specific problems. The smartest and most motivated will win. The office will become irrelevant for many tasks. This is the core of Open Sourcing. View in LinkedIn

SOME HOWLERS ARE WORTH A LAUGH! While at Élan I worked with a very smart consultant called Pam Wesley. She asked me if I would invest in her fiancé's startup. I looked at the biz plan, but felt it was simply a jumble sale with nothing to protect it, and declined. Not long after, Pierre Omidya, her fiancé, became the eBay billionaire after getting the plan that I trashed funded. Oops! View in LinkedIn

SOME HOWLERS ARE WORTH A LAUGH! While at Élan I worked with a very smart consultant called Pam Wesley. She asked me if I would invest in her fiancé's startup. I looked at the biz plan, but felt it was simply a jumble sale with nothing to protect it, and declined. Not long after, Pierre Omidya, her fiancé, became the eBay billionaire after getting the plan that I trashed funded. Oops! View in LinkedIn

BARCELONA IS ABOUT TO BECOME THE NEW BOSTON. The flammable mix of superb universities, world-class publications, technology parks, great early money and trainings, and an optimistic young entrepreneurial crowd make it just like Boston in 1989. It has the same smell, same feel, same heady excitement. One big success here of a deal over 500 M USD and the Tipping Point will have been triggered. Deals are hugely undervalued and they have not been soiled by being picked over or over-shopped. This is one of my few predictions will come true. View in LinkedIn

SUPER TOUGH FIBERS HAVE BEEN A HOLY GRAIL FOR YEARS, and decades have been spent trying to clone the spider silk gene. Spider silk is the toughest material in the world, such that a thread the thickness of a pencil can hold back a jumbo jet. But this group has adopted the kind of silk spinning method of spiders to make nano-fibers. Not surprisingly, the applications include bullet-proof vests, footprints of the spider gene legend, http://lnkd.in/SyVMY9 View in LinkedIn

A CONTRARIAN'S VIEW OF TIME MANAGEMENT. Refreshingly different and worth a provoke. It is always valuable to step back and realize that the US work-ethic is not the only way of working. Different cultures have different solutions. I have been particularly impressed by the Catalan approach which allows greater balance and a quality of life element that is missing in the way we work in the US. http://lnkd.in/QsP6Cr View in LinkedIn

AN ENTREPRENEUR'S MUST-READ ABOUT ANGEL TRENDS IN THE US. What they invest in, how much, and who the leading groups are. We could use similar large surveys of Angel groups globally, because they are active in almost all countries. http://www.midatlanticinvestmentnetwork.com/article/what-us-angel-investors-want-now View in LinkedIn

HARVARD'S GEORGE CHURCH DOES IT AGAIN, with an involvement in an innovative startup. The generation of DNA fragments for use in very diverse industries ranging from biofuels to enzyme manufacture has now become a bench-top enterprise, allowing genes for molecules of interest to be inserted into living factories. Church has been a prolific inventor and has been associated with some hot sectors. http://m.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/bioflash/2013/04/kraft-group-backed-gen9-gets-21m-from.html?r=full View in LinkedIn

HAVING A PSYCHOLOGIST ON YOUR INVESTMENT TEAM is a valuable consideration. Entrepreneurs tend to self-select for a degree of narcissism, and like most trends it has a bell curve. A little is a good defense against failure, but too much is simply toxic. Add other personality types at the far extreme including sociopaths, and you want to be quite sure you are not backing a whacky. In reality, most of us are clueless about picking out these (and more) personality types to avoid, and to our peril. Get smart and have a psych consult as part of your investment process. http://lnkd.in/SJzRqi View in LinkedIn