TRENTON — State Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) is pushing for a bill that would expand the state's innovation zones into the capital city region with the hopes of attracting more businesses and jobs.

"We know New Jersey is one of the states that are not showing the kind of economic growth that other states are," she said. "We need to do more and come up with more ways to put people back to work and spur economic growth, particularly in the capital city."

With every new tectonic shift in technology comes a new workplace response; a new experience that eventually snowballs into a larger cultural transformation down the road and impacts how people experience their everyday routine.

That’s right, disruption is here to stay.

An increase in early stage seed and angel investments could propel more Charleston startups to be acquired or go public, which would attract further venture capital to the region, according to several investors.

Bobby Ocampo — a partner at Washington, D.C.-based Revolution Ventures, which is AOL co-founder Steve Case’s venture capital firm — said more progressive angel groups willing to assume the risk of investing in tech-focused startups in Charleston would help those companies grow to a stage that attracts venture capital.

Correlation Ventures and WR Hambrecht Ventures, both small to midsize firms, started using algorithms to guide investing about seven years ago. Hambrecht, a boutique firm in San Francisco that’s currently raising its fourth fund, uses algorithms as a second screen once companies have made it through initial vetting and are being considered for investment.

Managing director and data scientist Thomas Thurston takes each startup’s pitch deck and runs it through his algorithm, which draws on both proprietary and public data sources.

Even as smartphones largely replace point-and-shoot cameras, there’s plenty of interesting experimentation happening in photography. One example is the Light L16 camera, a futuristic-looking shooter that’s really 16 separate cameras in one. For each image, the L16 uses up to 10 of its lenses at once, then blends those shots into a high-quality amalgamation. Shooters can also adjust the depth of field of their image after it was taken, impossible with most cameras.

Image: Light.co

Startup-focused policymakers and advisers gathered this weekend in Monterrey, Mexico, for the Startup Nations Summit (SNS) – and the official closing of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

The Startup Nations community has doubled in size this year, reflecting an increase in government interest to benchmark their efforts and properly evaluate the policies and programs being implemented around the world. The SNS produced a wealth of ideas from policymakers in more than 60 countries and in the weeks ahead, we hope to be able to share with you some of the most effective policies and programs being implemented – as well as new possibilities that can help communities around the world.

Image: http://www.kauffman.org

Over the last five years, entrepreneurship has exploded in popularity. With TV shows, news features about unicorn start-ups and all sorts of communities popping up around the concept - everyone seems to have their own definition of exactly what an entrepreneur does.

To make students more motivated towards science subjects in schools and to pursue related careers later in life, educators must have access to high quality training opportunities, follow-up and teaching resources throughout their careers.

Image: Marc Durando (European Schoolnet)

How often have you felt frustrated that a crucial conversation in the business and work arena did not go the way you wanted?

A crucial conversation is where the outcome is really important to you. Opinions, views and priorities may vary and emotions are high. These conversations can often be stressful for all involved.

I regularly get the honour of coaching executive clients on how to get results from their crucial conversations. Sometimes it's one they’ve already had that didn’t go well, but they have an opportunity to take up the conversation again. On other occasions it’s a crucial conversation that’s on the horizon.

In 1999, when China’s per capita income was just $850 a year, a 31-year-old entrepreneur named Neil Shen and three friends nevertheless bet that China would soon develop a huge domestic tourism industry. They created a travel-booking website, Ctrip.com. China’s per capita GDP has since grown ninefold, and the domestic tourism market has ballooned to more than $400 billion. Ctrip, which had an initial public offering on Nasdaq in 2003 (and nearly doubled its price on the first day of trading), now has a market capitalization of over $10 billion—and Shen, who went on to found other travel-related companies in China, is a billionaire.

Only a few decades ago, Israel was a virtual ghost town for business. Now, it’s considered one of the most innovative and energetic economies in the world, earning the nickname “Start-up Nation.”

In November, a group of Michigan CEOs traveled to Israel to see firsthand what makes the country so ideal for new businesses — and what lessons we might take to heart here in Michigan.

The Times’s Florence Fabricant gives etiquette advice for entertaining on Thanksgiving.

Most millionaires aren’t born; they’re self-made. In a survey by Fidelity Investments, approximately 80% of people who have a net worth of $1 million or more did it without a trust fund or inheritance. As the classic Smith Barney commercial from the ‘70s used to say, "They make money the old-fashioned way . . . they earn it."

They also have habits that help them accumulate wealth: "Your habits are the reason why you’re rich or poor," says Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals. "In fact, it’s often two or three habits that separate the wealthy from those who are financially challenged."

Silicon Valley is the undisputed centre of technology in the world — and a big part of that is the sheer amount of money being thrown at startups.

Analysis by White Star Capital, a tech fund based in New York and London, shows that Silicon Valley has over three times as many early stage tech investors as Europe. That means there's far more money going into companies at the idea stage, which of course means there are far more companies being created.

There’s no one right way to stand out in business. It takes creativity and innovation. The methods vary but the goal is the same — to distinguish yourself and beat out the competition. Members of the online small business community have plenty of insights into what makes different businesses stand out. Read on for a full list of tips in this week’s Small Business Trends Community News and Information Roundup.

Q: I’m the founder of a small business that, though successful, will require an additional infusion of capital if operations are going to continue to grow. I’ve exhausted my current network of investors, primarily friends and family, leaving me to consider other alternatives to finance the company’s growth. Is crowdfunding a viable option?

A: On Oct. 30, in what has been hailed by some as a seismic shift in federal securities regulation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted long-awaited rules to permit companies to sell unregistered securities to the general public through so-called “equity crowdfunding” offerings, limited to $1 million during a 12-month period.

You know your idea is good. You’ve done your homework, and your arguments are well researched and founded. So why isn’t your client or coworker agreeing?

Fear of change is the gorilla in the room, says Rob Jolles, author of How to Change Minds: The Art of Influence Without Manipulation. "It’s the ultimate nemesis to persuasion," he says. "If it’s a small problem in another person’s eyes, fear of change will shoot down any solution. If it’s a big problem, you have to help others move past their fear of change."

I was purchasing a sandwich in a cafe recently when the clerk asked me this: "How has your day been so far? Busy?"

The truth is that I had just woken up from a nap. It wasn’t a particularly busy day. Yet "busy" is the modern equivalent of "good," and the assumption underlying much modern conversation, even a transaction in a sandwich shop, is that we are all busier than people have been in the past. With smartphones and the constant demands of work and family, we are the busiest we have ever been.

With millennials making their way through the leadership ranks, a growing number find themselves in the predicament of managing employees who have been in the field since they were in diapers.

Millennial media executive Nicole Laraurri manages 65 full-time employees at The EGC Group, a digital marketing agency. Many of her staff have more years of service than she does. Facing down skepticism among older employees that she has the right stuff to do the job simply because of her age, Laraurri offers up a few of her tips for millennial managers to gain respect and cooperation from a more seasoned workforce.

Whenever a company embarks on a process to create a culture that delights customers and creates loyalty, we usually recognise four very distinct phases in the process:

First there is awareness, where people at all levels realise that change is important and imminent. Managers usually start reading up and enquiring about what to do next Then there is the evangelical phase, with bands and balloons and a lot of “Rah! Rah!” It is usually during this phase that the company carries out lots and lots of activities, including a launch event and training for everybody. Many systems and processes are established, and there seems a new way to do everything.

Image: http://ventureburn.com