Conventional wisdom says that middle-income economies need not focus on innovation because they can simply borrow technology from abroad. The reality is that the impact of innovation on growth for medium-income countries is disproportionately positive. Countries in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) have been struggling with this dichotomy for the past two decades.

Local economies in Eastern Europe have relied on multinational corporations (MNCs) for their new ideas and technologies but MNCs have failed to move their research and development sectors into Central Eastern Europe. This leaves Eastern European economies vulnerable if the multinationals should move towards lower-cost markets abroad. It is important for local companies to innovate independently, not only to lessen this dependency but also to increase their value to multinational investors. This type of local innovation also encourages MNCs to move their research and development sectors into the region.

Innovation in Central Eastern Europe has been weak and current forecasts indicate that the innovation gap between CEE and more developed countries in the European Union is unlikely to decrease over the next few years unless major changes are made. Among the obstacles being faced by the Central East European region is the lack of global CEE region and brand recognition. Another problem is the war for talent. Innovative local companies cite lack of university graduates, scientists, engineers and technical skills in the workforce as a major setback. (more…)

Whistletop number Five, in Sydney was a cracking event in a stunning location!

For a post-event wrap up and a quick interview with host Matt Jones, check out the video here…

“Little by little, one travels far” JRR Tolkien

If you tire easily, or prefer my destinations to come as a bit of a surprise, please look away now.

Right. It is Friday night, and tonight I fly to Sydney, arriving on Sunday morning. 

On Monday, Speednetworking Australia begins, at a location I think you’re going to like.  Later that same afternoon, I leave for Singapore, hosting an event the following morning, on the Tuesday. 

No sooner has the last whistle sounded, than I’ll be leaving to catch a flight to Kuala Lumpur, ready to blow the first whistle the very next day. 

By the end of Wednesday, I’ll have hosted three Speednetworking events.  Time for a break perhaps?  Certainly time for a new paragraph.

A coach will take me back to Singapore, so that I can fly to Hong Kong the following morning.  On Friday morning, the end of the week, I’ll be welcoming guests to whistlestop number eight, in the Kowloon Tong area of Hong Kong.  

In a parallel universe, the weekend is then clear to relax.  Except that I’ll be departing for my next destination on Saturday afternoon.  For where that will be and what happens between now and then, you’ll have to stay tuned… 

Everyone back in the room?  Excellent - there’s a plane to catch! 

Can it really be ten days since Speednetworking in Toronto? Time certainly flies when you’re on a whistlestop tour!

I’ve been catching up with Sarah Katyal of Impact (pictured, left), who hosted the Canadian event;

OB:  Hi Sarah! Can you remind us, briefly, what Impact does?

SK: Our mission is to create the next generation of entrepreneurs and help young entrepreneurs realize their true potential.  Impact connects people, knowledge and ideas, recognizing success and providing inspiration to leaders at every stage of their development.

The Impact Entrepreneurship Group is Canada’s largest non-profit, student-run organization dedicated to encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit amongst youth in Canada and becoming a starting point and catalyst for youth interested in entrepreneurship and leadership. Since 2004, Impact has developed programs both at the national and local level that reach over 10 000 young people each year. Consisting of over 100 student volunteers nationwide, Impact is dedicated to driving the entrepreneurial spirit.

OB:  Tell me, how are plans shaping up for Global Entrepreneurship Week?  What have you got planned and who are you working with? (more…)

The ingredients for a great glass of lemonade are water, ice, sugar, and, of course, lemons. But what are the ingredients for a great lemonade stand? Inc.com decided to find out and hosted the third annual Best Lemonade Stand in America Contest in 2008. Kids from across the nation

Once all the submissions were in, the editorial staff at Inc.com and their readers voted on the stands. There was one grand prize winner and a winner for both Best Design and Coolest Story About a Lemonade Stand. This year’s Grand Prize Winner was Lemon Sharks of North Carolina, run by Hunter and Gunnar, both age 11. They designed their stand around a beach hut and, with a little help from their dad, built it all by themselves. Serving three types of lemonade, made with their secret recipe the team earned one hundred and twenty-five dollars in their first weekend. The boys also helped fund the shark program at a local museum in Ocean Isle Beach by donating 20 percent of their profits.

This is just another example of how reaching out to get young people involved in entrepreneurship can have social benefits. For more information on Hunter and Gunnar’s stand or on the contest go to http://www.inc.com/lemonade/2008/index.html.

I’ve been catching up with Rebeca Hwang of YouNoodle, who masterminded last week’s San Francisco event, with a quick few questions;

OB:  Hi Rebeca, can you  tell our reader, briefly, what YouNoodle does?

RH: YouNoodle develops innovative ways to bring together the information, people and technology that help startups succeed.

We provide a platform for so far 50 of the world’s top university entrepreneurship clubs and competitions, serving tens of thousands of members and thousands of startups. Our tools help to effectively manage business competitions, events, mailing lists and community development.

Startup Predictor is the first in a series of decision-making tools YouNoodle plans to introduce for the startup industry. Our development team studied thousands of current and past startups, using both publicly available and proprietary data, to determine patterns of predictive factors for early-stage companies’ success.

YouNoodle is based in San Francisco, California.

OB:  Excellent! And how are plans for your involvement shaping up for Global Entrepreneurship Week?  What have you got planned and who are you working with? (more…)

It should have been obvious.  In much the same way as a diver should have known he was going to get wet, I should have seen it coming.  I was demonstrating Speednetworking in the world’s second largest city, the capital of Mexico.  Therefore there was only one way of doing things. Only one real conclusion; I was going to have to speak Spanish.

The good news for followers of my Curriculum Vitae is that I already speak Spanish.  The rather more amusing news, for followers of my life, is that I don’t.  That is to say, I have forgotten almost every single word once taught me.  Well, they say that the best way to learn a language is to spend some time there.  Although, I’m not sure that the time frame they had in mind was two days.  So I mastered ‘whistle’ (silbato) and I managed ‘three rules’ (tres reglas).  Beyond that, you will (if you really want a laugh at my expense), have to try your best to decipher as you go along. (more…)

“You’re five pounds over weight”, said the bag lady.  Call me ungentlemanly for using this moniker (or whatever her name was), but technically, she had just called me a fatty.  As I began blaming the burrito (I am still recovering), it transpired that it was my rather large suitcase which was causing the trouble.  As Monica back-pedalled, she began urging me to offload some of suitcase A into holdall B, to save myself the fifty dollar fine.  Fifty dollars if you please!  Just imagine how many burritos that buys!  Sucking my cheeks in, I lamented that holdall B was already full to bursting, and that any attempt to juggle the contents would end in disaster.  She looked at me with a mixture of sympathy and confusion as, defeated, I hobbled off up the aisle.
Facing a hefty fine, I glanced at my watch to see that I was also facing a hefty missing of flight.  Swivelling my head around and about, I caught the bag man’s eye (calm down, wait til you hear what he told me).  “Excuse me, will I be OK for the nine forty to LA?”  “Probably not”, he replied, and wandered off. (more…)

From the outset of this adventure, I had expected to have to keep my chin up.  Quite how literally this would turn out, I had not forseen.  For amongst the numerous attractions in the YouNoodle offices (including a piano, a large crash mat and a ping pong table) there sits none other than a chin up bar.  Or is it a chin-up machine?  I’m not sure.  In fact, my unfamiliarity with all equipment chin-up-like was about to be underlined once and for all, as business development director Kirill (yet another super-smart Brit out on the West Coast) gestured towards the league table on the white board.

In a parallel universe, I was about to be asked to see how quickly I could cook an omelette.  In another, I was putting on a crash helmet, ready to see if I could drive faster than Jools Holland round a racetrack.  Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, I was rolling my sleeves up, and assuming the gym-like position.  After a drink, I might add.  For, sympathetic reader, this endeavour followed, rather than preceded the speednetworking of earlier. Crucially, it followed the celebratory bar visit.  Which might well qualify this escapade (billed as a return to the office to ‘pick up my bags’), as entrapment.

  
By now, Make Your Mark’s Scott Cain will be itching to know whether my name slid above his on that fateful leader-board, beating his frankly impressive tally of nine.  Well Scott, as if the thought of me sitting on a plane for the majority of three weeks was not enough to have you smiling into your cornflakes, here’s another bonus;  Eight.  But that was after a small tipple.  And, more importantly, after a speednetwork which, as we all know, can be frankly exhausting.     And I’m not bitter about it.  Chin up, as they say.

Inspiration comes unexpectedly.  As Archimedes found, as he reclined in his Radox bath, before leaping out and dancing around the room with his rubber duck.  It was therefore a little surprising to find entrepreneurial enlightenment at 30,000ft, onboard an American Airlines flight to San Francisco.  Picking up the Skymall magazine, which showcases the latest and greatest gadgets on the market, I expected that the innovation contained within would peak at a pair of strap-on spikey sandals to aerate the garden.   They were there all right.  But so much more lay in wait!  Reader, it was a veritable Dragon’s delight.  Here is just a selection of the most eye-catching gems;

1. The Floating Wireless Speaker (hours of pool-time entertainment, Archimedes would have loved this)
2. The Dough-nu-matic  Mini-Doughnut Making Machine (Archimedes good friend Homer Simpson’s favourite)
3. The Digital Camera Swim Mask
4. The Discreet Hat Massager (an Indian head massage hidden under a baseball cap)
5. The Pet Ramp and Staircase
6. The Blinking-Eye Glasses (help you to look awake in meeting)
7. The ‘keep your distance’ Bug Vacuum (sucks up insects from over 2ft away)
8. The Marshmallow Shooter (fires marshmallows across the room – how useful)
9. The Pet’s Observation Porthole (now your dog can see through walls)
10. The Portable Swimwear Rotating Dryer
11. The Remote Grill Alert, which tells you when your food is ready, from up to 300ft away
12. The Rotating Washing Line with built in Umbrella, for those unexpected showers

OK I admit.  I may have made one or two of those up.  OK three.  But which three?  A special prize (OK a Souvenir Speednetworking Whistle) awaits the first person to correctly identify the three bluffs!