Recruiting with Tacos, Cuba and McCain

A look at today's headlines from the entrepreneurial world:

An Inspiration. Alison Schuback is Inc.'s Entrepreneur of the Year. In our December issue, Leigh Buchanan lays out Alison's touching and inspiring story here.

Mr. Obama, Tear Down that Wall! Per Reuters, several business groups are hoping that the incoming Obama administration will loosen trade restrictions with Cuba. For more on this issue, check out Sarah Goldstein's piece in Inc. which discusses what a post-Castro Cuba could mean for U.S. entrepreneurs. What's your take? Are these Cold War era restrictions still needed?

What Me Worried? Small companies are cutting back spending in response to slowing sales according to the NFIB. Check out Angus Loten's story on the NFIB's optimism index.

Taco recruiting. Yesterday's Yahoo layoffs were a sad day in Silicon Valley, prompting blog post eulogies and tweets of solidarity. But for Tokbox it was an opportunity. The San Francisco-based video chat startup parked a taco truck outside of Yahoo's headquarters and handed out Mexican fare and job applications, TechCrunch reports. The stunt, an attempt to fill five vacancies, was similar to one tried by Cake Financial earlier this year, which involved a bit of restroom subterfuge.

Is YouTube finally helping to launch small companies? Well, sort of. As The New York Times reports, if you're creative and have mastered the elusive art of the viral — or have a snarky take on celebrity news — the the answer might be yes. One entrepreneur in Connecticut said he's pulling in over $100,000 per year making comedic YouTube videos.

McCain: His Prices are INSANE. "Run, don't walk, to John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign headquarters in Arlington, Va., for an amazing Blowout Sale! Computers, blackberries, televisions, desks, you name it—everything must go," writes Mary Ann Akers of the Washington Post. You don't have to be a former McCain staffer to get in on the action and credit cards are accepted! A sampling of the deals: a BlackBerry 8700c for $30, Dell laptops starting at $417, and folding chairs for $3.60 a pop.

Sign of the apocalypse, part I. A business group has cut an ad in praise of taxes. Advertising Age reports on a 60-second TV spot produced by the International Council of Shopping Centers which encourages consumers to shop in stores—rather than online shops—on the grounds that local governments need the sales tax revenue: "The group hopes to educate consumers about the importance of sales taxes to their communities, saying that more than 33% of a municipalities' annual revenue is generated by sales taxes and those funds go toward schools and hospitals, as well as police and fire departments." The spot stars, of all people, the mayor of Trenton, New Jersey, who proclaims that sales tax revenue is a community's "lifeblood."

Sign of the apocalypse, part II. The hottest company in Silicon Valley needs a bailout. That's the word from Silicon Alley Insider, which reports that Accel Parters, a high flying venture capital firm, just raised two more funds worth $1 billion. The blog predicts that one of those funds should give Facebook a cushion to get through the recession.

Layoff Central. Need the skinny on the latest layoffs? BusinessPundit has a compilation of the sites tracking layoffs and busted start-ups.

Look to Africa for growth. That's the message from the African Business Forum, held last month at the Wharton School: "Just as the African continent has enjoyed proportionally little of the global development that has ignited the economies of other developing regions in recent decades, it has also been slower to suffer the debilitating effects of the world financial crisis—so far."

A Christmas Rebranding. Working with Studio 360 and the journalist Kurt Andersen, the folks at Pentagram Design have given some classic Christmas images a makeover. More on Pentagram Design from Inc. here and here.

What a difference a (really awful) year makes. The New York Times checks back in with three start-ups they profiled in the beginning of 2008. A quick tally: one business failed, one's struggling and one is brimming with confidence.

What's the best corporate structure? A handy chart via Ask the VC.