This is a guest post by entrepreneur Roman Stanek.

I love Silicon Valley. I love the venture and social infrastructure that nurtures startups. I love its drama as companies create innovative products, become attractive acquisition targets, and then decide whether to sell or go it alone. But most of all, I’m fascinated by Silicon Valley’s unique dynamics that produce a constant stream of innovation — which my good friend John Seely Brown defines as “invention implemented.”

That implementation of innovation is key because it’s what makes Silicon Valley special. It’s the fuel that creates value, drives M&A, and builds companies. It’s also the fuel that creates whole new markets and, by extension, jobs.

Honest.

I realize Silicon Valley might not exactly appear like a jobs-making machine. Even last year’s 3.6 percent employment growth rate, returning the area to job levels last seen in the dot-com era, seems sluggish to the thousands of people still looking for good jobs. I believe we’re on the threshold of far greater growth — growth that will impact more people, in more age groups, and across more industries than ever before.

Over the years, I’ve watched this area produce more jobs than elsewhere in the country — even amid our downturn — and I believe we are once again on the upward curve of a five-year cycle. That’s because Silicon Valley’s innovation generates new markets, even as old ones decline. We saw that clearly with Facebook, and the rise of the social media market. And we witnessed a similar jobs surge about 10 years, when VMware gave birth to the virtualization market.

Now I believe the entire Silicon Valley community is poised to benefit from new innovations aimed at business customers. Already, we’re seeing enormous funding rounds for companies that help businesses sift through and make sense of mountains of data, set up software-based networks, manage help desks via the Web, and communicate more easily with suppliers, partners and customers over the Internet.

Some of these startups will become successful in their own right. Some will go public. Some probably won’t make it. And a portion will be acquired by larger companies eager to deliver important innovations faster than they could with their own research and development.

I believe that, regardless of the outcome, it’s all good news for people who live and work here. Here’s why: New markets form around disruptive technologies and services that, in turn, give rise to more companies catering to these new markets. And with over 2 billion people around the world using broadband Internet (up from approximately 50 million a decade ago) many of those markets are global — creating even more demand for new employees. It’s a virtuous cycle if ever there was one.

What’s more, venture funding for business-focused startups is on the rise. Andreessen Horowitz, which manages $2.7 billion in funds, has made enterprise a big part of its investment strategy. Kleiner Perkins has said it will invest at least $200 million this year in companies targeting business customers. In fact, just about every major VC firm is now investing in the so-called enterprise space.

Related: Read analyst predictions for enterprise companies that are set to IPO in 2013.

And the best part? Long before a company can even dream of customers, it has to hire an army of highly expert developers who understand business needs and are proficient at building modern, enterprise-hardened systems that meet stringent corporate demands.  But it doesn’t stop with engineers.

Business-focused companies also need to hire experienced sales people who understand how new services work with current products. Good salespeople also have a deep understanding of customers’ industries, the problems they need to solve to better compete, and their biggest concerns. This is not the job description of someone just out of college.

All this new enterprise activity is translating into a real boom for the area — increasing local restaurant business, driving companies’ marketing efforts (have you noticed all the new billboards along 101 lately?), and spurring retail sales. The 280 and 101 highways are now populated by brand new BMWs, Mercedes-Benz and Teslas.

And maybe the best news of all?

In an area that is known for valuing youth over experience, we’ve entered a cycle of enterprise-focused innovation that holds the promise of creating jobs for everyone, regardless of age. If that promise proves true, then Silicon Valley’s economic contribution will be immeasurable.

Roman Stanek is the founder and CEO of GoodData, a company that offers a range of business intelligence software and reporting tools to help companies monetize big data. Prior to this, he was the founder of NetBeans.org, sold to Sun Microsystems, and Systinet, which was acquired by HP. Follow him on Twitter @RomanStanek.

Photo credit: Not Quite a Photographr via photopin cc

For technology founders, an IPO is like marriage: It takes years of preparation, and it’s a pain to have to report to someone, but it’s usually the ultimate goal.

Equidity‘s outspoken founder and CEO, Mona DeFrawi, sees some major structural problems with the IPO process. Namely, she said that markets have shifted from being investor-focused to trader-focused, and “no one has noticed.”

Mona DeFrawi believes the IPO process is broken.

This has resulted in tech companies failing to attract the “right buyers,” according to DeFrawi.  Traders will typically only hold on to stock for less than 24 hours so they can make money if the stock pops or drops. Meanwhile, long-term growth investors care about the “fundamentals,” meaning the company is less likely to crash.

To support private companies that are readying for an IPO, DeFrawi (a serial entrepreneur and former lecturer at Johns Hopkins University) is distributing invitations for 130 high-growth companies to participate in a beta service called “Equidity 360 degrees.”

Related: Read our IPO predictions for 2013.

The private companies that accept the invitation will be connected with long-term growth investors; they can securely share financials and key company information in advance of an IPO.

Equidity will make money through selling its advisory services. It’s a similar business model to DeFrawi’s previous company, InsideVentures, which was acquired by investment platform SecondMarket in 2009.

DeFrawi will help these pre-IPO companies line up investors that are in it for the long haul and not just for a few short hours.

“These companies wouldn’t put their software out without sales and marketing, but they do it with their stock all the time,” said DeFrawi. During her career, she has also worked in investor relations — a role which believes is undervalued, misunderstood, and that some consider as a “chick job.”

She said most investor relations professionals are adept at paperwork and scheduling conference calls with analysts but forget about the marketing and business development work that is needed to attract growth investors.

With companies like Dell going private, DeFrawi fears that tech startups will delay an IPO for as long as possible. She cites research that over 90 percent of job growth occurs post-IPO (although media reports suggest this may be overblown).

As part of the beta launch, DeFrawi compiled a list of tech companies that are in a strong position to IPO, which she shared with us. They include:

• Cloud storage and CRM: Dropbox, Sugar CRM, Box
• Consumer tech: Eventbrite, Gilt Groupe, Living Social
• Business software services: Docusign, SurveyMonkey, Marketo, and Evernote
• Next generation storage: Violin Memory and Nimble Storage
• Wearable computing and health: Jawbone and Zocdoc

The speech focused heavily on leveling the playing field between the U.S. and other countries so that America’s economy could be more competitive, and included key calls to action that would directly affect the startup community. He asked for an end to regulations that prevent entrepreneurs from getting financing, tax breaks for small businesses creating jobs, immigration reform, and more training for technology jobs.

There were some Silicon Valley notables in the audience. Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger was a guest, mostly likely invited to drive home the dual points that startups create jobs and responsible immigration reform creates startups. Also in the First Lady’s box was Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs’ widow. Obama name-checked the Apple co-founder while talking about the importance of encouraging talented people in business:

An economy built to last is one where we encourage the talent and ingenuity of every person in this country… we should support everyone who’s willing to work; and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.

Obama wasn’t the only one to drop the late Steve Jobs’ name for dramatic effect. In the Republican response immediately following the State of the Union, Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana used him as an example of the kind of businessman Obama is supposedly against.

Contrary to the President’s constant disparagement of people in business, it’s one of the noblest of human pursuits. The late Steve Jobs, what a fitting name he had, created more of them than all those stimulus dollars the President borrowed and blew.

On the topic of startups and innovation creating jobs, Obama had this to say:

Innovation is what America has always been about. Most new jobs are created in start-ups and small businesses. So let’s pass an agenda that helps them succeed. Tear down regulations that prevent aspiring entrepreneurs from getting the financing to grow. Expand tax relief to small businesses that are raising wages and creating good jobs.

Obama cited the need for job training to meet our current needs, applauding existing partnerships, like those between companies such as Siemens and community colleges, that provide specialized job training:

Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job.

Obama asked for immigration reform for non-citizens already in the country, especially children and educated immigrants with skills and ideas that could contribute to the economy. The solution, a law that allows them to earn citizenship, isn’t a new idea. The DREAM Act, which would give some immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as minors a path to citizenship, was reintroduced to the Senate in May 2011.

Hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge: The fact that they aren’t yet American citizens. Many were brought here as small children, are American through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others came more recently, to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else.

The President also announced the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit to crack down on practices by other countries that he feels have negative impact on the U.S. economy. The unit will focus on counterfeit goods and monitoring unfair trade between the U.S. and other countries, with a special focus on China.

It’s not right when another country let our movies, music, and software be pirated.

No mention was made of the recent pushes by lawmakers to crack down on pirating of American movies, music, and software with the SOPA and PIPA bills.