From May 5-11 a Dutch trade mission will visit California to present the latest developments of e-mobility in the Netherlands, and at the same time get insight about the e-mobility developments in California.

The main goal of the Dutch Trade Mission is to mutually explore business opportunities on e-mobility both in California and the Netherlands. Leading the trade mission will be Vice-Governor Mrs. Elisabeth Post of the Province of Noord-Holland, together with the Dutch Government, the Province of Noord-Brabant, FIER Automotive, and Amsterdam in Business.

Together they will host a true “Holland E-Mobility House” at EVS26 in Los Angeles (May 6-9, 2012). In this “Holland E-Mobility House”, the Netherlands will demonstrate its leading role on the introduction of E-Mobility.

In conjunction with the “Holland E-Mobility House”, the trade mission will also include various visits and round-table discussions. This program will run from May 8-11 and will include visits to Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, as well as Sacramento:

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 – Afternoon: Visit of the EVS Exibition by Vice-Governor Post. Evening: networking event for Dutch and US companies in the “Holland E-Mobility House” hosted by the Dutch Consul General of the Western United States, Bart van Bolhuis.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012 – Morning: Government to Government event at the LA Mayor’s Office. Afternoon: Round-table discussion “Holland – West Coast drives E-Mobility” at UCLA; this event is hosted to benefit (EV) companies from LA as well as from the Netherlands. Various speakers will look at the present policy developments and business opportunities around e-mobility. Evening: Dinner for invited companies and organizations hosted by the Vice-Governor Post, in the Presence of the Dutch Consul General, Bart van Bolhuis.

Thursday, May 10, 2012: Morning: Visit of the facilities of Coulomb Technologies, one of the largest companies in the charging industry. Afternoon: Visit of the facilities of ZERO Motorcycles, one of the premier global electric motorcycle companies that successfully set up their European Headquarters in the Netherlands (Province of Noord-Holland).  Evening: a networking diner in San Jose with “Holland in the Valley” and Rabobank N.A., the Consul General and the Vice-Governor.

Friday, May 11, 2012: Morning: Visit of the Tesla factory in the NUMMI plant where currently the Model S is being produced; test drive. Mid day: visit to the Plug-In Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Center (UC Davis). Afternoon: Visit and discussion with the Commissioner and staff of the California Energy Commission in Sacramento. Evening: Farewell dinner for invited guests.

On April 28 the Dutch will gather dressed in orange to celebrate the birthday of their Queen. This year the Dutch community in San Francisco invites everyone to celebrate Queen’s Day in San Francisco near the Dutch Windmill (map) in Golden Gate Park.

Queen’s Day will be filled with all things Dutch including pastries, cheese, and other delicacies, flea-market, live music, a beer garden, and special games for kids. Join the Dutch in the family-friendly celebration!

Program

11:00-11:30 am  Celebration of Murphy’s Windmill renovation

12:00-1:30 pm  Classical concert by laureates of the Princess Christina Concours at Park Chalet

1:30-4:30 pm  Children’s games and soccer

2:00-2:10 pm  Official opening by the Consul General Bart van Bolhuis

1:30-5:00 pm  Live music on stage by Once Again, Rick Vanderkleijn, and DJ Marc van Brabant

Bike tours

Join the Queen’s Day bike tour ‘Market to Mill’. Start at 9:30 am at My Dutch Bike on Market Street (map) and ends at 11:00 am at Murphy’s Windmill.

More info

For more information and to register for activities such as the bike tour, please visit the SFDutch website.

Op veler verzoek is besloten de deadline voor de aanmelding van ‘Bootcamp 2012’ van 1 april tot en met 15 mei te verlengen.

De Bootcamp vindt plaats de week van 15 oktober en is een jaarlijks terugkerend evenement waarbij innovatieve groeibedrijven uit Nederland de kans krijgen kennis te maken met Silicon Valley, het centrum voor hightech innovatie.

Tot verlenging is op veler verzoek besloten om meer bedrijven een kans te bieden zich voor te bereiden op de inschrijving, en mogelijke deelname aan de Bootcampweek.

Het programma bestaat uit een intensieve week van bedrijfsbezoeken, workshops, ontmoetingen met Silicon Valley entrepreneurs en andere insiders, pitchen voor investeerders en veel meer. Met als doelstelling jonge innovatieve bedrijven uit Nederland de gelegenheid te geven kennis en informatie over ondernemerschap op te doen en met die kennis en inzichten het ondernemersklimaat in Nederland verder
te stimuleren. Neem Silicon Valley mee naar huis!

Dus ben je de oprichter of mede oprichter van een innovatief jong bedrijf in Nederland en wil je weten wat een week meedoen met de Silicon Valley community voor jou en je bedrijf kan betekenen, schrijf je dan nu in! Inschrijven voor het Holland in the Valley Bootcamp kan nu tot en met 15 mei. Begin juni wordt
bekendgemaakt welke 15 startups gekozen zijn om deel te nemen.

Silicon Valley is grofweg het gebied tussen de steden San Jose en San Francisco, met Palo Alto, hoofdkwartier van Stanford University, als middelpunt. En ook het synoniem voor de Amerikaanse technologiesector.

Beroemde bedrijven die hun oorsprong in dit ICT mekka hebben zijn onder meer Intel, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard, Google, Facebook, Twitter en vele andere. Meer dan een derde van alle venture capitalinvesteringen komen er terecht. Bovendien, en niet toevallig, telt het gebied een groot aantal universiteiten die tot de top tien van de wereld gerekend worden.

Wil je meer weten over de Bootcamp en jezelf aanmelden, ga dan naar www.hollandinthevalley.com/bootcamp. Voor vragen neem contact op met Anne Donker, e-mail: Anne.Donker@minbuza.nl.

Silicon Valley staat al decennia lang wereldwijd bekend als de broedplaats voor een ongekend aantal succes verhalen zoals Apple, YouTube, Google, Facebook en Twitter.  Deze regio heeft een unieke aantrekkingskracht op ondernemers over de hele wereld die, net als Steve Jobs en Mark Zuckerberg, dromen over “The Next Big Thing”.

Dat deze bedrijven juist hier ontstaan is natuurlijk geen kwestie van toeval, ergo, wat kunnen Nederlandse ondernemers hiervan leren? Daarom organiseert het Nederlands Consulaat in San Francisco voor de vierde opeenvolgende keer het Holland in the Valley Bootcamp (voorheen Silicon Summit).  Van 15 tot en met 18 oktober 2012 krijgen 15 innovatieve Nederlandse startups de unieke gelegenheid om Silicon Valley en haar successen van dichtbij mee te maken.

“In order to understand Silicon Valley, you need to experience Silicon Valley!”

15 Nederlandse startups worden vier dagen lang overspoeld met kennis en informatie op het gebied van ondernemerschap in Silicon Valley. De deelnemers krijgen pitch trainingen en workshops en ontmoeten  interessante Silicon Valley ondernemingen, ondernemers en experts. Deze Silicon Valley insiders zullen de deelnemers laten ervaren waarom Silicon Valley bekend staat als een van de meest succesvolle high-tech regio’s ter wereld.  En niet alleen voor IT, maar ook voor schone energie, life sciences en andere baanbrekende ontwikkelingen.

De Bootcamp geeft de ondernemers toegang tot nieuwe inzichten en kennis die toegepast kunnen worden om hun bedrijf verder te laten groeien.  Ondernemers krijgen de  kans te leren van Silicon Valley en met die kennis het ondernemersklimaat in Nederland te stimuleren. Neem de Silicon Valley magie mee naar huis!

Ben je de oprichter of mede oprichter van een innovatief jong bedrijf in Nederland en wil je weten wat Silicon Valley voor jou kan betekenen, schrijf je dan nu in! Inschrijven voor het Holland in the Valley Bootcamp kan tot 1 april. 15 mei wordt bekendgemaakt welke 15 startups gekozen zijn om deel te nemen.

Wil je meer weten over de Bootcamp en jezelf aanmelden, ga dan naar www.hollandinthevalley.com/bootcamp.

It is perhaps unlikely that a Dutchman who only first signed up to use Facebook last year would now be one of the company’s most important employees — especially as Facebook heads toward a $75 to 100 billion IPO. But Dirk Stoop is.

Read more on Business Insider.

Mashable has posted a helpful article on How to Structure Your Startup to Avoid Double Taxation.

From the article:

Creating a legal entity for your startup will establish much-needed separation between you and your business. Shielding your personal assets is the first and foremost reason to think about incorporating.

But let’s face it. When it comes down to choosing a business structure, small business owners are typically concerned about one thing: taxes.

There are a whole host of reasons to incorporate as a C Corporation. For example, the C Corp is the preferred structure if you intend on seeking VC funding or taking the company public. But forming a C Corp involves more paperwork, legal fine print and potential double taxation.

Continue Reading…

Joint Venture Silicon Valley and Silicon Valley Community Foundation have released the 2012 Silicon Valley Index, providing a view on the state of the Valley.

From the article:

SAN JOSE and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – February 7, 2012 – Silicon Valley’s innovation engine is driving a recovery that leads the nation, but the persistent public sector fiscal crisis and other factors are slowing widespread economic gains, according to the 2012 Silicon Valley Index released today by Joint Venture Silicon Valley and Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

The comprehensive yearly study on the economic strength and overall health of Silicon Valley indicates the region that was the last to succumb to the recession now appears to be the first to emerge, paced by tech sector growth that is spawning new companies and creating jobs. Yet these narrow gains, the drag on public finance and housing and the constraints of Proposition 13 are keeping most residents from benefitting.

Continue reading…

An interesting article on SiliconValley.com describes the current landscape of VCs in Silicon Valley.

From the article:

Ever since the global stock meltdown of 2008, talk has simmered that the venture capital industry is headed for a shakeout that will result in fewer firms to fund startups.

But even as new numbers from the National Venture Capital Association show further evidence of consolidation, it’s increasingly clear this will be a quiet revolution, not a bloodletting.

“Venture firms don’t really die,” said Ashmeet Sidana of Menlo Park’s Foundation Capital. “They just fade away.”

With the pension funds and endowments that invest in venture firms becoming more choosy, many VCs are using a variety of tactics to stay afloat until — they hope — the stock markets become more receptive to initial public offerings.

Continue reading…

Feliene Hermans, CEO of Introtron, was interviewed on ‘De wereld draait door’, a popular TV talk show in the Netherlands. Her company participated in last year’s Silicon Summit Bootcamp organized by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in San Francisco. Fast forward to 9:14 minutes for Feliene’s part.

The world is changing at a meteoric rate, says ING Direct CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann. No longer can organizations spend years developing new products, getting everything right the first time. Today’s leaders need to make quick decisions that maximize new possibilities as they arise. Look at ING Direct, Facebook, Apple and Google. Leaders must be both business people and artists, comfortable making innovative decisions in the face of ambiguity, and these new ways of operating must be embedded in the cultural DNA of their organizations.

Hear ING Direct CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann speak to how these leadership philosophies challenged the financial services world even as they served to drive ING Direct. Then join our conversation with Kuhlmann about how to meld culture and finance and take your work in the world to a new level.

For more information and to register for this event please visit OdeNow’s website.

Read Ode’s interview, “Thinking outside the bank” with Mr. Kuhlmann.