Good morning, All,

In case you hadn’t heard, Google reportedly offered a star engineer $3.5 million not to join FB (http://current.com/1j5gl4c). Gotta love the bubble, and according to Dave Winer, who pioneered the development of weblogs, syndication (RSS), podcasting, outlining, and web content management software, when you see a bubble about to burst, get ready to invest. Good times!

Anyway, the holiday season is officially underway – our favorite time of year – and since so many people do unplug this week, today we’re offering something different. Some holiday reading – both inspirational and cautionary. First up: 14 Reasons Why You Need to Start a Startup. Including that you will have the time of your life, and you will create something from nothing (http://bit.ly/aggU1S). Maybe you should skip his 11 Harsh Realities of Being an Entrepreneur. Save it for another week and nope, not even giving you the link. Although it’s easy enough to find.

Next: A Cautionary Tale from the Startup World http://bit.ly/dkTWwQ – a tale of hubris, folly and my favorite – you can be an (un)successful entrepreneur, but as long as you can personally walk away with millions and oh, well to the rest of them, the industry will perceive you as a success and you will survive to found another startup. No names are mentioned (aren’t they always changed to protect the guilty?), but as a former gossip columnist, we could venture a very educated guess.

But won’t.

BTW, if you are traveling this week and find yourself getting a bit more attention than you expected while going through security, of course, there’s an app for that: (http://bit.ly/4TRsvD) and more information, always: http://www.privacyrevolution.org/. Don’t you just love the web!

No matter where in the world you end up this week, note that November 27 is Small Business Saturday – a day to support the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. Small businesses have accounted for 60-80% of all new jobs. American Express is even giving you a chance to promote your small business – if you have one – or give a shout out to your favorite small business. You can even get a $25 credit on your Amex statement for participating – and shopping, of course. Here’s the FB page: http://on.fb.me/bAZv0p

Since rust – and entrepreneurs – never sleep or take a holiday, deadlines are upon us. We did tweet a last minute reminder than Sunday was the deadline for techstars NY, but there are other techstars deadlines coming up in other cities (techstars.com to find your city and deadline) and life after the techstars deadline, so stay tuned. Founder Labs: Mobile Edition (Menlo Park) is this January and deadline to enter is December 1, 2010. Click here to apply, and it’s open to men and women, despite the fact that it’s a Woman 2.0 event: http://bit.ly/cctiqX.
How is Founder Labs different:
– We are focused on rapid prototyping.
– You work hands-on with potential team members.
– You don’t have to quit your day job or drop out of school. Come with enough energy to burn the midnight oil after work/school hours.
– There is no formal curriculum.
More information here: http://bit.ly/bmf2X0

Finally, for balance and perspective, we leave you with: Venture or Angel Capital Isn’t the End—It’s the Means: http://tcrn.ch/cmcY60) and sage words from Vivek Wadhwa, who observed that 90% of 2000+ ventures garnered the interest of fewer than 10 angels, meaning they had no chance of receiving financing. Two percent of the ventures received interest from between 35 and 191 angels—giving them, on average, a 40% chance of getting funded. In other words, most entrepreneurs simply wasted their time pitching to these groups. The good news: his team researched a sample of 549: only 9% had raised any angel capital and 11% percent had raised venture capital at the later stages of their growth. Bottom line: such funding is not a prerequisite for success and that entrepreneurship isn’t all about raising money. And don’t we know it!

Next week we’ll go back to posting what you need and what you can offer and as always, do feel free to enter your post at startuponestop.com. We do have two surveys for you, which won’t take much of your time, and some interesting reading you might want to peruse in your downtime – pieces that are hopefully – helpful. In the meantime, keep doing what you’re doing – and have a happy and safe holiday. And see you in December!