start-ups

You'd think start-ups would jump at any media hype they could get. Not so, says CNET News.com reporter Caroline McCarthy. She joins the podcast to talk about technology companies that generated huge amounts of hype--and then suffered from it later. Knowing how the new-media machine can work, some companies are even trying to fly under the media radar.

That, and the day's headlines, in today's daily podcast. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

Yahoo shares jump on latest Microsoft report

FAQ: antitrust eyes on Yahoo-Google ad deal

Office subscription service ready to go… Read more

Here's a tip for East Coast geeks who are gearing up for this week's Internet Week New York: Make a schedule. And leave room for last-minute additions.

The first citywide tribute to the Web revolution, sanctioned by the office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and set to run June 3-10, isn't a cohesive weeklong event, nor is it a central nucleus with satellite events like the South by Southwest Interactive Festival or the city's own biannual Fashion Week. There are a few anchors like the Webby Awards ceremony, the Advertising 2.0 conference, and Federated Media's … Read more

Have you founded a tech company?

Chances are, if you're a U.S. entrepreneur, you're about 39 years old and hold a bachelor's degree, and there's a good chance your company was started in the same state where you received your education, according to a study released Thursday by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and researchers from Duke and Harvard universities.

Based on a study of U.S. entrepreneurs who started their companies between 1995 and 2005, the findings show the median age of U.S.-born founders was 39 years old, with only 1 percent … Read more

Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers is forming a "Green Growth" fund for green-tech start-ups looking to scale up their operations.

PEWeek reported on Thursday that the fund will be over $400 million and have input from Kleiner Perkins partner Al Gore.

The idea behind a late-stage funds such as this is to give up-and-coming companies the money to ramp up, rather than develop their core technology.

This late-stage funding is particularly important in the energy business because companies require a large amount of capital to test their technology at commercial scale.

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, … Read more

Solar power start-up eSolar has raised $130 million in funding, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

The Journal says one of eSolar's investors is Google, which announced last November that it would begin investing in alternative energy companies in an effort called RE

Pasadena, Calif.-based eSolar has plans to build large solar-thermal plants using the heliostat design, which utilizes an array of flat mirrors that direct sunlight onto a water tower, turning the water inside to steam, which then turns a turbine to make electricity.

Now, the company says, it has come up … Read more

My buddy Jason had a GREAT post about rules for startups. Read it, love it learn it.

Of course, anyone who has started a company has their own rules and guidelines, so I thought i would add to the meme with my own. My "rules" below aren't just for those founding the companies, but for those who are considering going to work for them as well.

1. Don't start a company unless its an obsession and something you love.

2. If you have an exit strategy, its not an obsession.

3. Hire people who you think … Read more

There was a time when working at a start-up meant scrimping and saving one's way to untold wealth...or simply a self-inflicted pink slip. No more.

With all the VC money washing entrepreneurs' cars these days, it's hard to find much frugality in the Silicon Valley start-up.

As it turns out, however, there are great ways to save money without being an obnoxious miser, and Jason Calacanis, CEO of Maholo, has listed 18 of them. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Buy Macintosh computers, save money on an IT department....

16. Don't waste money on … Read more

Want to know how to invent successful start-ups, improve collaboration, and drink coffee--all at the same time?

Read Michael Kanellos' story on News.com: "Better science through coffee"

CORK, Ireland--A radiation detector initially created to protect orbiting satellites has found a new purpose inside cancer patients.

The Tyndall National Institute--a scientific research institute and graduate school in Cork, Ireland--has come up with a radiation detector that fits inside an implantable medical device that measures how well radiation therapy is working. The FDA approved the use of the DVS (Dose Verification System) from North Carolina's Sicel Technologies last August for breast cancer and prostate cancer patients, said Brendan O'Neill, head of the central fabrication facility at Tyndall.

The DVS collects information about patients and then transmits … Read more