Number 3: Over There -- and Staying

Once upon a time, the United States nurtured innovation and then exported it to the rest of the world. But American venture capitalists say that more and more technology is being developed abroad and marketed to burgeoning regions, bypassing our own shores completely. Partly it's because the United States lags in crucial areas such as mobile communications. And Asia isn't just a source of cheaper labor for U.S. companies -- it's a huge end market of its own, accounting for 22% of worldwide info-tech consumption. India, especially, is beginning to develop its own entrepreneurial culture. Leading Silicon Valley VCs from firms such as Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins are rushing over to hunt for deals. The risk is that the influx of talent that used to come to America, bringing with it great energy and innovation, will start to stay home.