A common misconception today is that innovators are innately creative people. Specifically, many people think that innovators are born with intuitive skills and views of the world that differsfrom the rest of the population. This is simply not true. Innovators aren’t born, they’re made. But we can learn from a few key attributes that leading innovators share.

America Abroad Media (AAM) will host a special Beyond the Broadcast panel discussion on Friday, May 31 from 12:00—2:00pm ET at AAM's offices on 19th and K NW Washington, D.C.

A panel of experts will discuss issues presented in AAM's latest America Abroad radio documentary:

Immigration and the Global Talent Search

It's the American dream – move to the United States, start your own business and build a successful life. But, is the U.S. losing the global race for the best and brightest entrepreneurial talent? Our panel will discuss the role immigrant entrepreneurs play in the American economy, as well as what other countries are doing to attract foreign talent and lift themselves out of the global recession.

It’s one thing to text to a colleague that you’ll be late for a meeting, but would you conduct a major business deal via SMS? Ari Zoldan did.

As CEO of Quantum Media Holdings, a technology incubator based in New York City, the company builds next-generation hardware and software for 3G and 4G end users and does a lot of business in Africa, Asia, and South America.

Convergence is both buzzword and marketing reality. Razorfish CEO Bob Lord outlines 5 ways creative companies can adapt to a converging world and create better brand experiences.

The word convergence has been picking up steam in the marketing world. It may even be the “big data” term of 2013. Yet, the word means different things to different people. At Razorfish, we use convergence to describe the coming together of three irresistible forces--media, technology and creativity--to create experiences that enrich the consumer’s relationship with the brand.

Gov. Scott Walker's troubled job-creating agency would be relieved of its duties in overseeing a venture capital fund for Wisconsin startups under an amended proposal a bipartisan group of lawmakers put forward Wednesday.

The change came weeks after a state audit found the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. did not follow state law or adequately track loans it awarded. The audit also said the agency sometimes gave money to companies that didn't qualify for tax breaks.

Some start-ups that complain about a lack of venture capital funding in Australia are not ready and should ask what else they can do with their business proposition, the head of a government business development body says.  

Commercialisation Australia chief executive Doron Ben-Meir told StartupSmart that while access to capital was an issue, “some people who lament the lack of investment opportunities are not ready”.

In famous tech startup stories like Facebook and Tumblr, venture investors have leading roles. Long Island entrepreneur Ryan Alovis, however, is using a different script.

The 30-year-old founder and CEO of ArkNet Media started his company with a magazine subscription website at the end of 2006. Since then he has added four other businesses under his company's banner, including a contact lens e-commerce website, an online party-booking business and a site selling home security systems.

Technology transfer offices are a university’s intellectual property hub. The technology transfer office acts as the caretaker for the intellectual property (IP) generated by universities: protecting, licensing, selling, and litigating intellectual property. Given the high intellectual output and the professorial flair for free exchange of ideas, these offices are often overwhelmed by their duties.

In doing their job, one task is to help creative university people get started in protecting their IP. Having met with some of these people in the last year, I asked them, a la Family Feud, “What are the top 5 things you wish your university start-ups knew about intellectual property?” Being a child of the 70s, I picture Richard Dawson in a ruffled powder blue suit asking the question, but no matter what your pop culture reference, here were their responses:

It never ceases to amaze me how much I learn when I travel.  I have been lucky enough to go on a few international trips, and each time I return home I feel like a new part of me has been awakened.  Travel sparks an insatiable desire in me to contribute to this breathtaking world and to be a part of innovative ideas that expand knowledge prompt social and economic progress.

My last trip was to Nicaragua with Under30Experiences.  Words cannot begin to capture how moved I was by the microfinance lessons I learned as well as the people I met.  I came back ready to take on the world and was excited to hermit with my work (yes, this often surprises people but my crazy propensity to work is the topic for another discussion).

When you look for articles online about starting a business, you’ll find many which talk about marketing, SEO, creating Facebook pages and a social media following, AdWords and so on.

In other words, they talk about technology, business skills and infrastructure.

Not many, however, talk about you.

Over the past several years we have heard hundreds of managers talk about the negative impact of complexity on both productivity and workplace morale. This message has been reinforced by the findings of major CEO surveys conducted by IBM and KPMG (PDF), both of which identified complexity as a key business challenge.

Agreeing on complexity as a problem is one thing, but doing something about it is quite another — particularly for managers who are already over-worked, stressed, and can barely keep up with their current workload. In fact, the Catch-22 of complexity is that most managers don't feel that they have the time to focus on it: Having the problem precludes the ability to solve it.

The other day I had a really sad meeting.  I was doing a favor for a friend and agreed to meet with a guy who was networking to find a new job.  We met in person at a coffee shop.  He showed up dressed in a suit and he had copies of his resume.  He did everything perfectly – if — if,  it was 1998.

Nothing about this meeting was working.

I came away committed to referring him to a client, friend or a fellow business owner who was looking for help.  But I just couldn’t get to the information that I needed to make the referral. What was he capable of that set him apart? How did he differ from all the other unemployed job seekers?

The Cedar Valley TechWorks is a step closer to becoming the physical location of an advanced manufacturing hub for the region and state, organizers announced Tuesday.

Nearly $4 million in state funding was included in the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) appropriations budget for improvements to the 30-acre research and development center, located in downtown Waterloo.  

The Cedar Valley Techworks is part of a $50 million downtown redevelopment project announced in January that will include a 100-room hotel, a restaurant complex and green office space.

According to Aneesh Chopra, former Chief Technology Officer of the United States, fixing the nation's broken immigration system will support American growth and innovation. Chopra shares his personal perspective on the issue, as his father was an engineer who immigrated to America for work. Chopra argues that it's time to explore new ideas to solve the immigration issue, including changes to the work visa system.

If the Internet is to reach everywhere—from the pills you swallow to the shoes on your feet—then computers will need to get a whole lot smaller. A new microchip that is two millimeters square and contains almost all the components of a tiny functioning computer is a promising start.

The KL02 chip, made by Freescale, is shorter on each side than most ants are long and crams in memory, RAM, a processor, and more. The genesis of the chip was a customer asking for help creating a wireless device small enough to be easily swallowed and cheap enough to be considered “digestible.” Freescale is now offering the chip for general sale, and also embarking on an R&D push to create more tiny computers that also include sensors and wireless data connections.

A research chemist has developed paints made from rice husks able to resist bullets, fire, bacteria or rust.

The paints were introduced by Nguyen Thi Hoe, chairman of Kova Paint Corporation, who says the main material used to make all four paints was the nano silica found in the rice husk. According to Hoe, the bulletproof paint vest requires less layers than conventional vests, so is lighter to wear, and was able to stop a bullet shot from 2 meters away. She also claims the flame-resistant paint can protect a surface for 2 to 6 hours, the anti-bacteria paint can kill up to 99 percent of bacteria, and the rustproof paint can keep an object under the sea rust-free for up to 10 years

How to prepare your students for the global innovation age? The answers should be found in every classroom!

There is a lot of buzz in today’s society about preparing students for the global workforce, and educating them to be tomorrow’s innovators. As most schools in the country are working to align curriculum with the new Common Core State Standards, which focus on college and career readiness, it makes sense to explore what teachers might do right away to prepare students for the world of work. The difficult question facing teachers is how to make the connection between classroom experience and work environment, and at the same time make learning meaningful.

You've been working at a small start-up for a while now when a large, deep-pocketed corporation comes knocking, asking you to join its innovation team. Should you take the job? Will this be the chance to exercise your entrepreneurial imagination in a more secure environment with ample assets? Or will you end up drowning in bureaucracy, pining for the white-knuckled start-up pace you're used to?

We have similar concerns whenever we consider accepting an innovation engagement. Since 2009 we've conducted close to 500 innovation-related projects with about 100 large companies. Drawing on that experience, we've developed a set of questions that helps us to determine how effective our innovation efforts are likely to be, before we agree to sign on. Asking the five questions below can give you a sense of how receptive a company is likely to be to the uncertainties, pace, and culture innovators need to do their best work.

Governor John Hickenlooper announced today the launch of the Glorious Failure: In Search of Success Innovation Challenge, a statewide business competition that encourages creativity and responsible risk-taking.

The Glorious Failure: In Search of Success Innovation Challenge, sponsored by the Governor and managed by the Colorado Innovation Network (COIN), seeks to foster economic growth through innovation in seven “advanced industries.” Colorado entrepreneurs operating with less than $1 million in annual revenue are invited to compete for a chance to win approximately $100,000 in cash and in-kind donations to accelerate their business venture.