How common it is to hear groans and complaints in the startup sector of the U.S. life sciences industry about the extreme difficulty facing entrepreneurs who are trying to finance the launch, development and growth of a drug discovery venture. We hear that angel investors – both individuals and funds — lack interest in investing…

So Facebook filed its IPO papers, and the numbers are eye-popping.  The company appears to be worth about $100 billion, or a bit more than the GDP of Tunisia.  Others shade it a bit lower, but one thing is certain: it’s good to be Facebook.   Facebook is special because, in network economic terms, its…

This blog post was prepared by Inna S. Wood and Michael Moradzadeh. The Private Company Flexibility and Growth Act (H.R. 2167), referred to as the “Facebook Rule” by many internet bloggers, was introduced in the House by Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) on June 14, 2011. Its main theme is to increase the shareholders of record…

After filing for an IPO in Februrary, 2011, streaming music company Pandora went public on June 15, 2011 with little fanfare.  In contrast to LinkedIn which went public last month with a soaring valuation, Pandora’s valuation has been largely as expected.  Off the heels of LinkedIn, this could be seen as disappointing. Here is a…

In recent years, the secondary market for stocks – a platform through which investors can buy and trade shares of private companies – has grown exponentially in size and use.  This year,    transactions on the online platforms of SharesPost and SecondMarket alone have totaled over $ 4.6 billion, and are projected to exceed $ 6.9…

Recently, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to give Twitter a 6 year break from the city’s 1.5% payroll tax – which also extends to stock options – to prevent them from leaving, losing their tax revenues, and to promote job creation in the city. Recently, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to…

Recently, LinkedIn went public.  LinkedIn is a professional social networking website with over 100 million users, as both alternative and companion to market-dominant Facebook. Recently, LinkedIn went public on the NYSE as LNKD.  LinkedIn is a professional social networking website that boasts over 100 million users, and has shown incredible user growth as both an…