Category: San Diego

Apple Textbook Controversy Isn’t About Books-It’s About Teaching

I don’t think there’s ever been a textbook that made it this easy to be a good student. —Roger Rosner, vice president of productivity applications, Apple Whenever a company as powerful as Apple, Facebook, or Google announces a big new product push, it evokes wonder and acclaim from some observers, head-scratching and horror from others, … Continue reading “Apple Textbook Controversy Isn’t About Books-It’s About Teaching”

The Other 99 Percent: Entrepreneurs

In my recent piece Reengineering Capitalism I highlighted a phenomenon that the global entrepreneurship ecosystem is paying very little attention to: Over 99 percent of entrepreneurs who seek funding get rejected. Yet, the entire world is focused on the 1 percent that is “fundable.” The media, when pitched a startup story, is interested in who … Continue reading “The Other 99 Percent: Entrepreneurs”

2012 Venture Outlook: Some Bright Spots and Some Gloom

It’s that outlook time of year, and Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), was in San Diego earlier this week, talking about the 2012 outlook for venture capital. Today he’ll make a similar presentation to the New Jersey Technology Council. Next week,  John Taylor, the NVCA’s director of research is set … Continue reading “2012 Venture Outlook: Some Bright Spots and Some Gloom”

Assholicism: Do CEOs Need to Be Jerks to Be Successful?

It’s a question as old as human nature. You’ve heard the stories, you know all the famous examples. Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Michael Eisner, the list goes on. All difficult characters with strong personalities—and hugely successful companies. So, in today’s ultra-competitive tech and business world, does a CEO have to be an asshole to be … Continue reading “Assholicism: Do CEOs Need to Be Jerks to Be Successful?”

Why Biogen Idec Got Out of the Corporate VC Business

Steve Holtzman got his first taste of corporate venture capital back in 1987, when he raised money from SR One, back when it was part of an old company known as Smith, Kline & French. The concept was unorthodox 25 years ago, yet over time, most every Big Pharma company has become an active equity … Continue reading “Why Biogen Idec Got Out of the Corporate VC Business”

Xconomy and Connect present: The Rock Stars of Innovation

In its fourth year, this program (previously known as The La Jolla Research & Innovation Summit) showcases the scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors who are ROCK STARS in their fields to an exclusive audience limited to venture capital partners, institutional investors, academic leaders, and technology and life sciences executives. This marquee event kicks off with a … Continue reading “Xconomy and Connect present: The Rock Stars of Innovation”

J&J’s Janssen Launches $250,000 Challenge to Improve Transition Care

Janssen Healthcare Innovation, part of Johnson & Johnson’s reconstituted R&D operation in San Diego, is announcing an incentive prize challenge with awards totaling $250,000 for technology solutions that improve care for patients who’ve just been discharged from a hospital. Janssen says it’s working with the National Transitions of Care Coalition to establish criteria and to … Continue reading “J&J’s Janssen Launches $250,000 Challenge to Improve Transition Care”

Xconomist of the Week: Mark Lowenstein on Mobile’s Next Waves

Mark Lowenstein has made some pretty bold statements about what’s going to happen in the wireless industry this year. More mergers and acquisitions among mobile operators. Same goes for the handset makers. Mobile payments won’t take off just yet. And enterprises may have jumped the gun on tablets. Lowenstein, a Verizon Wireless veteran and now … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Mark Lowenstein on Mobile’s Next Waves”

Not Your Grandfather’s War

War really is going out of style. At least that’s what Joshua Goldstein, professor emeritus of international relations at American University, and Steven Pinker, a psychology professor at Harvard wrote in a New York Times op-ed piece last month. Throughout the editorial, Goldstein and Pinker dissect the meaning of “war” today, its various categorizations, and … Continue reading “Not Your Grandfather’s War”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Sequenom, Acutus, & More

The unsolicited $5.7 billion offer that Roche made for Illumina will no doubt dominate San Diego’s biotech news for weeks to come. We have it and more. —Switzerland’s Roche offered $5.7 billion, or $44.50 a share, for San Diego-based Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]] in a hostile bid disclosed yesterday. Roche’s bid to stake a claim in … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Sequenom, Acutus, & More”

BeachMint Garners $35,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1c14c82d-73a0-456f-8216-431881cf62e4&Preview=1 Date 1/26/2012 Company Name BeachMint Mailing Address 1411 2th Street Fl 2 Santa Monica, CA 90401 Company Description The company is developing social commerce sites catering to individual vertical markets. Website http://www.beachmint.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $35,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes This new funding round, which brings BeachMint’s … Continue reading “BeachMint Garners $35,000,000 New Funding”

Roche Makes $5.7B Hostile Takeover Bid for Illumina

San Diego-based Illumina, the market leading maker of DNA sequencing instruments, has just made it through a rough year, and now it may be entering its final chapters as an independent company. Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) said last night that it has gotten an unsolicited (that’s polite PR language for hostile) takeover bid from Switzerland-based Roche. … Continue reading “Roche Makes $5.7B Hostile Takeover Bid for Illumina”

EarthRisk Figures Odds in Long-Range Forecasts of “Extreme Weather”

If you were in the business of supplying heating oil in the Northeast, do you think it would be useful to know if a big winter snowstorm is likely to arrive with sub-zero temperatures in Massachusetts next month? How would fire chiefs in the brushy backcountry of Southern California react if they knew the odds … Continue reading “EarthRisk Figures Odds in Long-Range Forecasts of “Extreme Weather””

“Vulture” Capital? Far From It

They say the first casualty of war is the truth. Based upon recent events in the U.S. presidential elections, it looks like the truth is a casualty in politics as well. Whether out of desperation, ignorance, or political convenience, current and former contenders for the Republican presidential nomination have been questioning the long-term economic value … Continue reading ““Vulture” Capital? Far From It”

Vertex Vows to Fight On With Alios Drugs in High-Stakes Hepatitis C Race

Vertex Pharmaceuticals went from king of the hill in the treatment of hepatitis C to yesterday’s news in about six wild months. But while many on Wall Street say Vertex’s big drug will soon become obsolete, Vertex and its small partner in South San Francisco have quietly put themselves in position to defend a big … Continue reading “Vertex Vows to Fight On With Alios Drugs in High-Stakes Hepatitis C Race”

Gobbler Obtains $1,750,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9c9986d8-5b48-48a2-8a61-6552dab75592&Preview=1 Date 1/24/2012 Company Name Gobbler Mailing Address 8033 Sunset Blvd Hollywood, CA 90046 Company Description Gobbler is an independent, privately held company headquartered in the heart of the recording industry in Hollywood, California. Our team is made up of leaders in music production, technology and digital media. Website http://www.gobbler.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Gobbler Obtains $1,750,000 New Funding”

San Diego Tech Roundup: Venture Capital, Tealium, Qualcomm, & More

—Venture capitalists invested $269 million in 23 deals in the San Diego area during the last three months of 2011, according to the MoneyTree Report from the National Venture Capital Association, PwC, and Thomson Reuters. That was almost a 20 percent gain in dollars, but a 28 percent slide in deal count from MoneyTree data … Continue reading “San Diego Tech Roundup: Venture Capital, Tealium, Qualcomm, & More”

Biotech Is Raising More Cash, But Don’t Be Fooled: Startups are Hurting

Mark Twain used to toss around a saying about three kinds of lies. There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. This week in biotech, we saw some statistics that could lead some people to get a false impression that everything is just peachy in biotechland. If you measure the state of life science innovation by … Continue reading “Biotech Is Raising More Cash, But Don’t Be Fooled: Startups are Hurting”

In Life Sciences Partnerships, You Must be Smart from the Beginning

As early stage biotech startups advance their drug candidates into pre-clinical development, many must decide at some point whether to start working with a big pharmaceutical or biotech partner to continue to pursue their program through clinical trials. It’s no small decision, and a topic of increasing industry interest, especially since initial public offerings (IPOs) … Continue reading “In Life Sciences Partnerships, You Must be Smart from the Beginning”

Tweet Chat Today with John Seely Brown on Education and the Future

There is hardly a more important topic to society than the future education. So I’m really looking forward to hosting a Tweetchat later today on education and the future. My guest will be John Seely Brown (@jseelybrown), the technology visionary who previously served as chief scientist of Xerox and also director of Xerox PARC, the … Continue reading “Tweet Chat Today with John Seely Brown on Education and the Future”

The 10 Social News Apps You Need to Try

Once upon a time, there was a magical innovation called RSS, for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication. It freed news articles, podcasts, and other content from their original homes on the Web and allowed news junkies to follow their favorite publications and blogs through story streams called news feeds, which could be bundled … Continue reading “The 10 Social News Apps You Need to Try”

Clarus Ventures Adjusts to Unpredictable Biotech World

[[Correction: 11:20 am ET]] It’s never been easy to make a buck in biotech venture capital, but there used to be more predictability and logic to it, according to Clarus Ventures’ Nick Galakatos. You’d invest a few million, or tens of millions, and push a new drug or device toward some scientific validation in a … Continue reading “Clarus Ventures Adjusts to Unpredictable Biotech World”

San Diego VC Activity at Ebb Tide in 2011 and Top 10 Local Deals

Money pumped into San Diego’s regional economy by venture capital firms hit an eight-year low in 2011, with a total of $829 million invested in 104 startups throughout the year, according to the MoneyTree VC survey being released today. The 2011 deal count was the lowest seen in San Diego since 1997. The 2011 numbers … Continue reading “San Diego VC Activity at Ebb Tide in 2011 and Top 10 Local Deals”

SD Life Sciences News: Auspex, BrainCells, and J&J’s Startup Center

Here’s our weekly roundup of San Diego’s life sciences news. —Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), briefed reporters in San Diego on his efforts to make the regulatory review of new medical devices more predictable, transparent, and efficient. Shuren is undertaking reforms at a time when eight out … Continue reading “SD Life Sciences News: Auspex, BrainCells, and J&J’s Startup Center”

Xconomist of the Week Chris Rizik: Who Says A VC Has No Soul?

Chris Rizik is one of Michigan’s most important and successful venture capitalists. He’s the CEO and fund manager of Renaissance Venture Capital, a fund of funds that is perhaps best known for its early backing of the medical device company HandyLab, a University of Michigan spinout that was later purchased by New Jersey’s Becton Dickinson … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week Chris Rizik: Who Says A VC Has No Soul?”

Frazier Healthcare Aims for First Biotech VC Fund After Financial Crisis

Alan Frazier has been on record for a long time saying that the traditional biotech venture model is broken, and in severe need of updating. He’s been working on a new strategy for the past seven years or so, but the approach is facing its biggest test ever as Frazier prepares to raise his first … Continue reading “Frazier Healthcare Aims for First Biotech VC Fund After Financial Crisis”

ZestCash Garners $73,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5bf2e4b1-7163-4426-aa13-d39a3d73789c&Preview=1 Date 1/19/2012 Company Name ZestCash Mailing Address 6427 West Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90028 Company Description ZestCash offers a fair and transparent alternative for people who need short-term loans but do not have access to traditional credit. We designed ZestCash loans to help people meet their basic life needs without … Continue reading “ZestCash Garners $73,000,000 New Funding”

FDA’s Shuren Makes West Coast Swing, Talks About Regulatory Reform

Since he set out last year to revamp the way the FDA reviews medical devices, Jeff Shuren of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) has often met with industry leaders to hear their feedback and ideas for how to improve medical device regulation. Last week, he met with industry leaders in San … Continue reading “FDA’s Shuren Makes West Coast Swing, Talks About Regulatory Reform”

SOPA-PIPA Protests Blossom Across the Country

It’s not just Wikipedia that’s throwing its weight today behind the movement to stop the controversial anti-piracy bills moving through the U.S. Congress. While the English version of the world’s most-visited encyclopedia site has gone dark for the day to call attention to the perceived dangers of the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect … Continue reading “SOPA-PIPA Protests Blossom Across the Country”

J&J Opens San Diego Biotech Startup Center, Says ‘No Strings Attached’

Johnson & Johnson’s West Coast research leader, Diego Miralles, has met with a lot of biotech entrepreneurs who are curious about what J&J is doing to foster more startups at its facility in San Diego. At some point, a skeptical question usually comes up. “What’s the catch?” Miralles says he’s sometimes asked. He insists there … Continue reading “J&J Opens San Diego Biotech Startup Center, Says ‘No Strings Attached’”

What Should Students Study? Read the Xconomist Report on Education

Yesterday Bob told you about a special report we put together by canvassing the Xconomists—some of the world’s leading innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors—for their thoughts on what students should study to be prepared for the future. Well, the report is now live, here, with 22 thought-provoking responses. Computing, the scientific method, culture, Chinese, and how to start … Continue reading “What Should Students Study? Read the Xconomist Report on Education”

The World is Your Campus: Study with Rigor, Be Entrepreneurial

Two trends are driving the current job market: globalization, where everybody is becoming part of the economy, and innovation, which increases productivity and allows fewer people to do the same jobs. These two trends will not slow down during the next few decades. How should students train in college to build careers under these conditions? … Continue reading “The World is Your Campus: Study with Rigor, Be Entrepreneurial”

Critical Thinking and the Scientific Process First—Humanities Later

If luck favors the prepared mind, as Louis Pasteur is credited with saying, we’re in danger of becoming a very unlucky nation. Little of the material taught in schools today is relevant to the future. Consider all the science and economics that has been updated, the shifting theories of psychology, the programming languages, political theories, … Continue reading “Critical Thinking and the Scientific Process First—Humanities Later”

Learning Across Disciplines and Cultures

The world is only going to become more technological and more global in the next decade. Students should be getting a solid enough grounding in mathematics, probabilistic thinking, physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering that they understand these ways of thinking and the values of these fields. They also need a liberal arts grounding and, particularly, … Continue reading “Learning Across Disciplines and Cultures”

CS + X, for all X

The impact of information-based technologies will continue to grow—probably at an accelerating rate. In nearly every segment of society, we see both quality and productivity improvements because of increased use of automation and digital communication. The impact is obviously huge in some sectors such as finance and publishing. And it will only grow in the … Continue reading “CS + X, for all X”

From AI to Bioengineering

First of all, students should be studying what they are passionate about. Clearly, computer science will continue to spread into all aspects of human life. Within computer science, I believe machine learning and AI are perhaps the biggest study opportunity today. Biology and medicine are also undergoing vast changes. Personalized medicine will become a big … Continue reading “From AI to Bioengineering”

The Convergence of Biology, Medicine, and Engineering

I think learning the fundamentals of a discipline is the most important thing that students can do to prepare themselves for jobs both today and tomorrow. That discipline may be biology, bioengineering, chemistry, chemical engineering or others. I also think doing research is great preparatory experience. Furthermore, I believe the opportunities offered by the convergence … Continue reading “The Convergence of Biology, Medicine, and Engineering”

Computing and-Chinese

My initial response to this question was, “Chinese!” I was only half joking. English is the most popular second language in the world and in our increasingly connected world, the people who have an understanding of other languages—particularly Chinese—will be better equipped. As far as computers go, I studied computer languages in school and even … Continue reading “Computing and-Chinese”

Writing, Literature, and Computer Science

Whether you major in it or not, a fairly non-trivial amount of computer science would be helpful. The other thing is communication. One of the main things we look for when we are hiring people is their ability to write. It’s something that the average person is pretty poor at, but so much of every … Continue reading “Writing, Literature, and Computer Science”

Learn to Learn, and Embrace Serendipity

Here is my advice to students considering pursuing science: —Learn how to learn (science is progressing so rapidly that whatever field you are focused on today will inevitably be different 10 years from now) —Learn how to develop focused attention (i.e. avoid modern day distractions like Twitter) —Master multiple science disciplines—If you can bridge disciplines … Continue reading “Learn to Learn, and Embrace Serendipity”

Marrying the Humanities and the Sciences

Liberal science and technology. We need a new major that prepares the future workforce for constant change by teaching broad-based knowledge in many disciplines. This major would consist of, among other disciplines, the basics of engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, law, business, humanities and communications. This curriculum should be group-based, where students teach each other, which … Continue reading “Marrying the Humanities and the Sciences”

Engaging “Productive Stupidity”

I recently came across an article in Cell Science that intrigued me and gets to the core of this question. The title—“The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research”—was reason alone to pique my curiosity. What I didn’t expect was to find a powerful insight into student learning in today’s highly uncertain world. Martin A. Schwartz, … Continue reading “Engaging “Productive Stupidity””