Finding, attracting and retaining world-class talent is increasingly difficult for many of Silicon Valley Bank’s technology and life science clients. In fact, our annual Startup Outlook survey revealed while nine in ten startup executives said they were hiring, an equal number said it is challenging – or extremely challenging – to find workers with the skills they need.

Every time I meet with a group of tech company CEOs they say the same thing: hiring world-class talent is one of their biggest challenges. They struggle to find, attract and retain the engineering, scientific and technical talent they need to grow their businesses.

So when I saw the results of our annual Startup Outlook survey this year, I was not surprised. While nine in ten startup executives said they were hiring, an equal number said it is challenging - or extremely challenging - to find workers with the skills they need.

You'll need some entertainment to get you geared up for LeWeb on your plane or train to Paris this weekend. We can help. We are always thrilled and amazed at the creativity of the submissions to LeWeb's " Adopt and Entrepreneur" program hosted this year by yours truly (@SVB_Financial) and Rackspace (@Rackspace).

   Silicon Valley Bank is thrilled to have hosted this amazing event! We worked with the members of the band Coverflow to create a singing contest that benefitted children’s charities, featuring some of the best amateur singers from the tech world, with tech celebrity judges including David Hornick, Dave McClure, Steven Jang and Alison Murdock.

Listen to our round table discussion of the JOBS Act and its implications for both early-stage and late-stage companies. Our panel, including Bill Hambrecht, discuss crowdfunding, the IPO on-ramp, and options for raising capital in this online webinar.