Last Week In Entrepreneur News: 3/29/09 - 4/4/09

Metro Innovation Center provides incubator for University of Wiscon... - WSJ
April 3, 2009
A landmark Near East Side factory building has come back to life as a high-tech business incubator aimed at brewing the big ideas of University of Wisconsin-Madison students and faculty.
The Metro Innovation Center is open for business — a sleek set of 10 suites equipped with the latest voice and data technology as well as two conference rooms and a small kitchen. Read More...

Madison business owners offer advice for surviving 'depression' - WisBusiness
April 1, 2009
Property values are “too lousy to sell and too lousy to buy” for Madison developer Terrence Wall, who joined a panel of business officials at Edgewood College on Tuesday to describe how they are faring in what Wall termed the current “depression.”
“Nationally, we entered the recession deep and fast. This is a depression because of declining asset values,” Wall said. “Don’t be fooled by the recent blips in the stock and housing market. It’s part of the bottoming out process.” Read More...

Sales of Start-Ups Plummet, Along With Prices - NY TImes
April 1, 2009
Venture-backed start-ups hoping to go public or be acquired had a tough first quarter, according to data released Wednesday.
So you’d think that with start-up valuations down, corporate acquirers could be jumping on opportunities. Instead, they are becoming more selective, waiting to get the best price possible, said Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association. Read More...

Slump Hits Home for Venture Capitalists - Wall Street Journal
April 1, 2009
Along a one-mile stretch of road here dotted with trees and inconspicuous two-story buildings is one of the nation's priciest -- and supposedly recession-resistant -- commercial real-estate "micro-markets." Read More...

Angel Investors’ Wings Are Being Clipped - NY Times
March 31, 2009
Entrepreneurs had a harder time getting angel funding to get their start-up idea off the ground last year, according to a new report from the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire. In 2008, angel investors funded young companies at the same pace as they did the year before, but they invested significantly less in each start-up. Read More...

Online job postings down - The Business Journal of Milwaukee
March 30, 2009
New numbers from the Conference Board indicate that we’re not at the bottom of the employment cycle, but that declines in demand for labor are slowing.
The board’s Help-Wanted Online Data Series found online advertised job openings fell 100,000 to 3.2 million in March, including a drop in Wisconsin listings of 3,500. Read More...

SBA relaxes policies to encourage borrowing - Sheboygan Press
March 29, 2009
The government loosened the reins on Small Business Administration lending this month in an effort to stimulate credit markets and business borrowing.
President Barack Obama on March 16 announced changes to SBA loan programs designed to encourage lenders and borrowers to get off the sidelines. Read More...

Will a greener America create 5 million jobs? - The Capital Times
March 29, 2009
Just about every plan to help revive the American economy includes talk of green jobs.
President Barack Obama has used the phrase frequently in the past months, vowing to create 5 million "green collar jobs" during his first term in office. Read More...