Mixed Messages on Entrepreneurs & VC

Two stories, two messages yesterday. Still trying to find where they intersect.

On one hand, we have a piece from the Philadelphia Business Journal where Peter Key writes about a shakeup at Novotorium, a Bucks County business incubator.

The story states that Novotorium co-founder and general manager Mike Krupit will move on and the operation "will concentrate on developing companies in the wellness and healthy-lifestyle space, as well as companies that complement those types of businesses."

Big deal? Probably not, but there's a trouble quote from Krupit. Read the story to see the whole thing (it's worth the click), but the first line sets it up: "“The Philadelphia region is a pretty challenging startup environment."

Challenging is not the adjective we want attached to the Philadelphia startup community.

But take heart, someone seems to think that Krupit may not have an accurate picture. Because over at Philly.com, Joseph N. DiStefano posted a piece announcing a venture capital firm is moving from the suburbs into the city.

We're not talking nickels and dimes, either. The piece points out that First Round Capital is "the third-busiest venture-capital firm in the United States." And it's moving from the Main Line to 4040 Locust St., according to the article.

So is the glass half-empty or half-full? Seems like the latter, but only time will tell.

Why the Abington-Holy Redeemer Merger Failed

You'd think the folks behind a merger that was a year in the making would have taken all issues into account. It appears that wasn't the case in the failed attempt to merge Holy Redeemer and Abington hospitals.

In great detail, The Philadelphia Inquirer's Michael Vitez dissects the plan and where it went wrong. The analysis by Mr. Vitez zeroes in on several issues that led to the deal's collapse, but perhaps most interesting is the lack of involvement by the medical staff and the community.

Most business mergers are done at the highest levels of the corporate structure. Managers and often mid-level executives aren't really a part of the process. Why would it be different in the case of two hospitals?

City's Resurging, But Will Unions Help?

Regular readers of Philly.com certainly noticed the irony.

Tuesday, columnist Daniel Rubin posted an encouraging piece where Mayor Michael Nutter touted the site of numerous construction projects across the city.

The story centered on "30 major construction projects taking place now that represent more than $2.2 billion of investments in Philadelphia," as Mr. Rubin wrote. However, he touched on the speed bump on Philadelphia's race to recovery.

That'd be the city's infamous unions. More from Mr. Rubin's piece:

Kevin Gillen of Econsult Corp., an economic-research firm in town, figures that the $63 an hour that union workers here make, on average, is twice as much as their brethren get in Washington, and just $10 an hour less than the rate in New York.

He touched on the Pestronk brother project at 12th and Wood, something that fellow Inquirer columnist Inga Saffron touched on this morning. Ms. Saffron detailed a rather elaborate ruse employed by the Pestronks to sneak a crane onto their job site where they are using a mix of union and - gasp! - non-union workers.

If the city - and the region - are to sustain this momentum, there needs to be a strong truce with the labor unions. All of the construction and investment is encouraging, but long-term economic growth will only come with stability between developers and labor.

New Doctors Must Think Bottom Line

A thoughtful column by The Inquirer's Monica Yant Kinney focused on money as she checked out the Jefferson Medical College's "whitecoating" ceremony, where college graduates transform into doctors-in-training.

Years ago, we knew these people were on their way to big money. Now that's not such a sure thing. Ms. Kinney focused on one doctor-to-be who figured he'd have more than a quarter-million dollars in loans by the time he finished.

While big money isn't a sure thing, one thing is - there will be a growing demand for doctors. In addition to The Affordable Care Act increasing the number of insured Americans, it appears that at the same time, a lot of doctors are leaving the medical practice. That leaves some interesting math, doesn't it?

Olympic Envy

There has been plenty written about the impact of hosting the Olympics, including a rather scathing analysis on The Atlantic Cities Web site in late July. The jury is still out on how London will make out in its third effort of hosting the games, but on an emotional level, it's hard not to be jealous.

Watching all of the TV coverage, seeing London mentioned in so many tweets and Facebook status updates, it's hard to not wish that we could swap out Philadelphia for London and imagine that instead of London's once-depressed East End being revitalized, acres of vacant buildings across Philadelphia had been razed and replaced with glimmering new Olympic venues.

Gene Marks seems to think Philly is up to the task, writing on The Philly Post that, in a nutshell, if Atlanta can pull it off, as it did in 1996, than so can Philly. And also in late July, the Philly Shark took a pragmatic look at the possibility and it seems that 2024 would be the earliest Philly could get a bid and the work would have to start now.

If we want to be a world-class city, it's time to start thinking - and dreaming - big. And dreams don't get much bigger than Olympic dreams.

Mayor Nutter: A Turkey Shorti Kind of Guy

Philadelphia Magazine has a nice Q & A of Mayor Michael Nutter. Nothing deep or controversial, just some guy-next-door type of things like how he likes his eggs (sunny-side up with turkey bacon) and what he considers the most beautiful spot in Philadelphia (Belmont Plateau).

Indiana University President Likely to be Named to Top Spot at Temple

The Inquirer's Susan Snyder reports today that Indiana University president Neil D. Theobald will take over the top spot at Temple University in January. Multiple sources indicate he is the only finalist for the job and university trustees will vote on his hiring Tuesday. The university's Web site offers plenty of information on Dr. Theobald, including an extensive bio and a schedule of times when Temple staff and students can meet him. The university Web site also quotes him as saying: "If selected as Temple's next president, my immediate goal will be to understand what the trustees, faculty, students, staff and community leaders see as Temple's most pressing issues and what they believe the highest priorities should be for early presidential attention."