Entrepreneurs live on the edge - and our economy is the better for it

Inside Wisconsin/Tom Still: Ah, those crazy entrepreneurs. What would we do without them? Columnist Tom Still doesn't want to find out, especially during the observance of Global Entrepreneurship Week. In this edition of Inside Wisconsin, Still touts the example of former Virent Energy Systems chief executive Eric Apfelbach and notes how much respect these alleged “crazies” have earned as they continue to transform the American economy.

Press releases and other news

• Senator Dorgan plans bill on Internet neutrality
  Source: eWeek.com

Heads we win, tales you lose: The VC price protection con

Guest Column/Paul A. Jones: When it comes to partnerships, there is no more limited arrangement than the relationship between venture investor and entrepreneur - especially when it comes to the rules that favor the investor. In this WTN Guest Column, Paul Jones, president of the Council for Innovation, strikes a blow for all the entrepreneurial Davids seeking help from VC Goliaths.

American Family explains cuts in contractor workforce

Information technology workers everywhere are wondering how current economic conditions will affect their jobs, and this week's news out of American Family Insurance can't be doing much for their sense of optimism. The company is cutting the jobs of 160 contracted IT workers, but points out that it still has a 1,000-worker IT staff and 300 contracted workers.

Nation's governors lead way to address climate change

Guest Column/Gov. Jim Doyle: The Governors' Global Climate Summit, being held this week in Los Angeles, is more than just another gathering of state chief executives, according to Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle. As the Governor notes, the summit will form the next steps to advance a global climate agreement that will be negotiated in Poland in December and in Copenhagen next year.

Press releases and other news

• BloodCenter of Wisconsin Names Roger D. Klein as medical director, molecular oncology
  Source: Business Wire
• UW-Madison's Alta Charo named to Obama transition team
  Source: Wisconsin State Journal
• American Family to cut 160 contracted IT jobs
  Source: Wisconsin State Journal
• “Beyond tough times: A growth agenda for Wisconsin” is topic for Nov. 25 WIN-Madison
  Source: Wisconsin Technology Council

TomoTherapy shareholder Avalon Portfolio demands change in business strategy

Citing strategic missteps, the La Jolla, California-based Avalon Portfolio has sent a letter to the board of directors of TomoTherapy, urging the board to consider all available options to stem the fall in the company's stock price, including the sale of the company. Avalon, which owns about four percent of TomoTherapy's outstanding shares, claims to have been rebuffed in earlier attempts to convince TomoTherapy to change its business strategy.

Wisconsin slips in 2008 New Economy ranking; Kanavas talks capital formation

Is Wisconsin among the states that are leading the U.S. transformation into a knowledge and innovation-based economy? According to the 2008 State New Economy Index compiled by the Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, Wisconsin fell a few spots and still ranks in the lower half of states in terms of overall score, prompting a key lawmaker to call for amped up entrepreneurial initiatives.

Part crisis, part opportunity: Budget deficit defines Wisconsin's urgent need to grow

Inside Wisconsin/Tom Still: Budget cuts alone won't get Wisconsin out of its projected $5 billion budget hole, opines columnist Tom Still. In this edition of Inside Wisconsin, he says the state must also promote the economic growth that boosts tax receipts, and there is no better place to start than by enacting Gov. Jim Doyle's capital-formation and investment proposals.

Lessons in due diligence: Start-ups must get their IP house in order

Guest Column/Sverre Roang: For most technology and life-science companies, intellectual property is a critical business asset, according to attorney and WTN guest columnist Sverre Roang. He asserts that intellectual property can be worth millions if it's handled the right way; unfortunately, that's a big IF, and entrepreneurs must be prepared to answer detailed questions about their IP, especially if they are in search of capital or interested buyers.

American Family appoints Kristin Kirkconnell senior VP of information services

Kristin Kirkconnell, a former senior VP for the Atlanta-based AGL Resources, has been selected as the new senior vice president of information services at American Family Insurance, the nation's third largest property-casualty insurance company. The Madison-based American Family, which has restructured its information services division, said Kirkconnell will begin on Nov. 29.

CIO Leadership: Acuity's Neal Ruffalo stresses internal systems development

Neal Ruffalo, vice president and CIO of the Sheboygan-based Acuity Insurance, likes to develop internal technology tools, and his IT staff has done this with 90 percent of the company's business systems. In this CIO Leadership Profile, Ruffalo talks about the merits of internally developed software, especially to assist insurance agents and derive actionable business analytics, and he touts the value of having people throughout the organization drive information technology transformation.

Press releases and other news

• Brownie points for green IT will go away... and then?
  Source: Total CIO
• From jokes to jobs: Comic Wonder changes course
  Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Cellular Dynamics International lands $500,000 SBIR grant

Cellular Dynamics International, the Madison-based biotechnology company co-founded in 2006 by stem cell research pioneer James Thomson, has received another small business innovation research grant to develop human cardiomyocytes, or heart cells, for drug toxicity screening. The grant, worth nearly $500,000, is the second SBIR grant awarded to CDI this year.

U.S. rescue plan vs. China's infrastructure investment: Who's got a better deal?

Carlini's Comments/James Carlini: China is going to spend $586 billion on infrastructure improvements - including fiber for high-speed broadband - so is that a better long-term investment than our $700 billion bailout?” asks James Carlini. In this edition of Carlini's Comments, he predicts that China's investment will work out much better than our rescue plan, which already is undergoing revisions.

Press releases and other news

• Entrepreneurism on (and off) campus is topic of Nov. 20 WIN-Northeast meeting
  Source: Wisconsin Technology Council

BP Solar executive Lee Edwards to head Virent Energy Systems

Virent Energy Systems has announced its new chief executive to succeed Eric Apfelbach, and it's someone with ample knowledge of energy markets. The new man is long-time petroleum industry executive Lee Edwards, a former chief information officer who also has experience with alternative energy at BP Solar. Virent announced that Edwards will take over on Jan. 2, and that Dr. Jay Kouba of Tetravitae Biosciences has been appointed to chair its board of directors.

Obama plan could boost U.S. solar energy development: Gartner

Advocates of solar energy took heart in the election of Barack Obama, but economic realities could still be a barrier to widespread commercial adoption, according to Gartner, Inc. The extension of the 30 percent investment tax credit for solar projects was passed last month, and Gartner believes a federal renewable portfolio standard is the most likely part of Obama's plan to pass next year.