Thebreakthrough.org

THE NEXT GREAT THING: Everybody is still watching for the next great thing which someone will invent -- that will turn the economy around and get the world, as we used to know it, moving again. That was before bureaucratic idiots got full Presidential permission to throw our money away on pipedreams, spend it lavishly on themselves, and useless unions were paid off by Harry Reid to avoid all of the taxes the rest of us pay. The AFL-CIO, the UAW, the SEIU and others have single-handedly turned China into an industrial powerhouse and destroyed U.S. manufacturing. Some UAW workers even have been promised jobs for their kids. Are you kidding me? Still, some things are going on:

VENTURE CAPITAL: Venture-capital fundraising endured a tumultuous 2009, but the news isn't all bad: According to VentureSource, startups in Silicon Valley secured a significant share of the VC dollars available in Q3 2009 -- $2.2 billion. That counts for approximately 45% of the total investment made by venture capitalists in U.S.-based companies during that time period.

But while the numbers appear to be somewhat healthy, it's a little premature to suggest this could be the start of another Silicon Valley boom. "It's worth remembering that Q1 2009 saw the lowest level of venture investment in many years," says Anand Sanwal, co-founder of ChubbyBrain, a New York City information services company that tracks venture capital, angel investment and high-growth private companies. "So while Q3 2009 and Q4 2009 were relatively better (compared) to earlier in the year, they still remain significantly below investment levels of years prior and are far from peak or boom levels."

INTERNET: Internet, health care, and green tech continue to dominate in the Bay Area. The Internet sector, especially, ended 2009 with a strong showing. VC funding levels of Internet companies in Q4 were up 40% over Q3, according to figures from ChubbyBrain. Some of the startups that scored funding include: Caring.com (San Mateo), an online destination for info on elder care; RepairPal (Emeryville), online auto repair and maintenance; SlideRocket (San Francisco), web-based presentation software; Zoosk (San Francisco), online dating; and Zynga (San Francisco), social gaming.

Last year, social dating site Thread.com (formerly called Frintro, from parent company Sofa Labs Inc.) was one of 18 companies to receive seed funding from Facebook and VCs as part of a competition. The $1.2 million, which may seem small compared to the double-digit investments typically seen, is part of a trend emerging in the Bay Area in particular.

"Seed is the new Series A," says Saad Khan, partner at CMEA Capital in San Francisco; 25% of the VC firm's investments in 2009 were in Bay Area companies. He points to the rise of "very capital efficient" Internet and tech firms (think digital media, mobile apps and social gaming) that can roll their products out on the cheap. "On this front, we're seeing many more small investments (in the $1 million to $2 million range) and larger dollars ($15 million-plus) only reserved for those companies that have achieved significant scale and profitability milestones."

HIGH-TECH HUB: The high-tech hub has seen a handful of investments in the first weeks of 2010 as well. CrowdFlower (a San Francisco provider of crowd-sourced labor on demand), iForem (a Redwood Shores-based provider of storage for digital information), and Boku (a mobile payment startup in San Francisco) are just a few examples. And as reported by TreeHugger, an impressive $113 million was raised in a single week in January by cleantech startups, including wind turbine business Nordic Windpower in Berkeley.

While Silicon Valley's boom-bust cycle is a familiar one, any kind of startup restart -- if there is one -- will likely differ from the dotcom boom and the subsequent blips of success we've seen in the past. "There are expectations that the industry overall will be 'right-sized,' with fewer venture firms overall," says Sanwal. "This will have definite implications on the number of deals and the amount of funding available to startups in the future. Of course, irrespective of the levels that VC reaches, the Valley will continue to be a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, and the venture dollars which come with that."

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ELECTRIC CARS: Geofff Williams of AOL Small Business reports that electric cars are suddenly on the radar. While it is become something of a cliché during this decade to point out that anyone who grew up watching The Jetsons, expected by now we'd all be driving hovercraft cars whizzing through the air, the future is finally approaching. It may not fly, but the electric car is definitely in that futuristic vein Baby Boomers and Generation Xers expected of the 21st century. So if you're wondering what's out there for entrepreneurs and commuters, here's what's on the market right now or coming soon.

Chevy Volt: It's coming in the latter half of 2010, but it will be unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Dec. 2. The tagline for the Chevy Volt goes, "Charge the battery, change the world," and it's easy to see what they mean. The car is expected to get 230 miles per gallon, driving around town.

They're marketing the Volt to Americans who have fairly short commutes -- because you can drive 40 miles at a stretch without using any gas. If you drive more than 40 miles, well, after 40 miles, a lithium ion battery with a gasoline-powered, range-extending engine then kicks in, according to the Chevy Volt website, creating electricity for the engine. If you're wondering exactly how that works, there is a video on YouTube.

Ford Transit Connect: Already on the market, the Transit Connect is a battery-powered electric commercial van designed for small businesses that do a lot of deliveries. Think: flower shops and catering services. The website AutoBlog is a fan, calling it, “a stout runabout and a testament to Ford’s engineering abilities.”

Toyota Prius: OK, everyone knows about these, and, yep, they're still around. The Prius came on the scene in Japan in 1997 and were introduced to the U.S. and the rest of the world in 2001. It's a hybrid electric midsize car and the most popular electric car in the U.S.; about half a million of them are estimated to be tooling around the country.

Nissan LEAF Electric Car: Not expected on the market until late 2010, the Nissan LEAF isn't a hybrid car -- it'll be a completely electric car with a reusable lithium-ion battery. It was just unveiled to the media earlier this month. Nissan CEP Carlos Ghosn raved at the time, "LEAF represents a totally new transformational technology that will change the way people drive, use and power their vehicles. And the time is right for this breakthrough."

Of course, just because electric cars are coming into the marketplace doesn't mean businesses will jump all over this. Daniel Burrus, CEO of Burrus Research is skeptical. Burrus Research monitors global advancements in technology trends to help businesses. He believes electric cars will be fairly common in five to 10 years, but he predicts the consumers are going to do the heavy lifting in buying electric cars, and not the typical small business owner. "Due to the high cost, and the slow recovery with the recession, businesses will be taking a wait-and-see approach to electric cars," says Burrus.

TAX CREDITS: That sentiment is probably why the Electrification Coalition just unveiled their plan for making electric vehicles pervasive across the U.S. (The Electrification Coalition is a non-profit organization made up of 13 for-profit businesses, including automakers, battery manufacturers, utility operators and shipping companies). If they have their way, for the next decade or so, the U.S. government will offer tax credits – in addition to what's already being offered -- for purchasing all-electric plug-in vehicles.

The EC is pushing for the U.S. government to select six to eight cities to act as test sites for electric vehicles. In that case, "faster chargers" would be at public facilities, like gas stations, where drivers could charge their cars while driving about. The EC's goal is to have each city with 50,000 to 100,000 electric car owners and shooting for a mission of 7 million plug-in cars by 2018.

The EC's idea just may work. They already have a catchy name for the proposed tax credit program -- a name that sounds vaguely familiar to the Cash for Clunkers program that fueled the auto industry earlier this summer: Cash for Volts.

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GREEN INVESTMENT: Charlotte Jensen of AOL Small Business adds that the Green Economy is drawing a good deal of money despite the scientific uncertainty. As we move closer to a green economy, entrepreneurs hope to lead the way -- and the availability of financial incentives makes it just that much easier. There's money to be had, whether you want to adopt sustainable business practices, sell an all-natural product, help businesses and consumers get "greenified," boost your company's own energy efficiency, innovate in the solar sector or create green-collar jobs. You just have to know where to look.

So if money (or lack thereof) is what's holding you back, check out the following sources of cash. The following loan programs -- mostly regional, some national -- can help forward-thinking, eco-minded entrepreneurs take another step toward achieving their grand green ambitions.

Georgia Green Loan: Entrepreneurs running or starting eco-friendly, sustainable businesses -- and even those hoping to build green practices into an existing company -- can apply for up to $35,000 from the Georgia Green Loan program. Founded in 2008 by non-profit lender Appalachian Community Enterprises Inc., the fund has already assisted small businesses, including a health food store, an organic diaper business and an architecture/interior design firm. If you're in the state of Georgia, you can apply here.

Green Business Loan Fund: The Initiative Foundation, a non-profit that works to reduce poverty and invest in the communities where it operates, offers a variety of loans to businesses in central Minnesota. One of those is the Green Business Loan Fund, which invests $50,000 to $250,000 in profitable companies that are environmentally responsible in both mission and business operations, and that offer green-collar job opportunities which pay a living wage with benefits. For information on eligibility requirements and how to apply, visit http://www.ifound.org/business_greenloan.php.

North Carolina Green Business Fund: Small businesses based in North Carolina with 100 or fewer employees can apply for a North Carolina Green Business Fund. The grant of $100,000 or less targets entrepreneurs innovating in the following areas: biofuels, green building, clean technology and renewable energy. Fourteen entrepreneurial companies won grants in 2009; applications for 2010 will be accepted starting in mid- to late November.

SBA 504 Loan Program: The SBA now offers incentives for small businesses that want to go green. Up to $4 million is available to entrepreneurs committed to lowering their energy costs by 10 percent or pursuing construction projects that generate renewable energy for their business. Business owners interested in retrofitting their building using sustainable design approaches can qualify for up to $2 million. For more information and to see if your business qualifies, go here.

Whole Foods Market: In 2006, Whole Foods Market announced its Local Producer Loan Program to support community businesses and bring organic, "animal compassionate" products to customers. Since then, food artisans, family farms, beekeepers, dairies and other sustainable businesses in the U.S., Canada and the UK have benefited from the low-interest loans, which range from $1,000 to $100,000. For details on how to submit an application (qualified applicants must live within a short driving distance to a Whole Foods location), click here.