ReadWriteWeb

Last night, we asked folks if they'd rather have cash or services (like marketing, development and HR services) to help their early stage startup grow.

While our readers' responses were pretty evenly split, the split between startups that seek capital first far outweigh those that seek to make equity-for-services deals. Also, the number of VC firms (well in excess of 700 in the U.S. alone) is far greater than firms offering services or a mix of cash and services.

Are we just too used to capital? Are "venture services" firms still too new? Why don't we have more services-for-equity programs?

Today, IBM will announce its plans to target Vietnam as a key market for new investments and partnerships with venture capital firms and affiliated startups in Southeast Asia. The hardware/software giant will open a new facility in Vietnam and will start joint research and curriculum programs with local universities.

Specific areas of interest for IBM investment include analytics, clean tech, cloud computing, smart grids, electronic health care, and green data centers. The company's expansion into Vietnam is a response to what they see as accelerated IT growth in that area.

A new startup services firm has reared its head in Bloomington, Indiana. Meet SproutBox, the brainchild of Marc Guyer, Mike Trotzke, and Brad Wisler.

Much like Remarkable Wit, a venture technology firm we recently covered, SproutBox focuses on product development and essential business services, investing talent in startup companies in exchange for equity.

In Nashville, Tennessee, Marcus Whitney, founder of venture technology firm Remarkable Wit, takes a moment to talk to us about the struggles and triumphs he's experienced in the wonderful world of tech startups.

Marcus explains a little bit about the differences between venture technology and venture capital models and how his firm adopts good ideas and "A team" executives-in-training to create living, breathing tech startups without blowing through ungodly amounts of cash. He also talks about the need for a solid revenue model for even the best of tech ideas.