In the aftermath of the Theranos downfall, dozens of pundits have performed virtual autopsies of where CEO Elizabeth Holmes went wrong, generally highlighting a lack of full disclosure about the technology its labs were using. In the beginning of July, Interleukin Genetics announced that it was laying off more than half of its staff amid a decision to halt sales of its genetic test for periodontal disease risk. Just a few weeks later, Courtagen Life Sciences announced it would no longer offer its next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based tests for neurological disorders due to difficulties with reimbursement and the regulatory environment.

We make hundreds of big and small decisions every day. Many of these decisions are opportunities that can change your life, yet many of us don’t know how to assess a decision to yield a good outcome, says Mike Whitaker, author of The Decision Makeover: An Intentional Approach To Living The Life You Want.

Image: Flickr user Robert Couse-Baker

Fledgling businesses rarely command seed or venture funding right out of the gate. But they still need cash to get started.

While entrepreneurs have more capital sources than ever before, they're also faced with a ton of misinformation.

For example, a PwC report last month raved about crowdfunding and how it's helping female founders get ahead in business. The report lumps Kickstarter-style campaigns together with peer-to-peer lending and equity fundraising online. It regards these as a single source of capital, which it calls crowdfunding.

Image: Aly Song | Reuters

Company name: Coastal Risk Consulting

Headquarters: Plantation

Concept: Coastal Risk Consulting creates cloud-based technologies to help a billion coastal residents in the U.S. and around the world get climate-ready and storm-safe.

ADVERTISING

Story: It’s easy to see a need for this South Florida tech startup’s service, especially when last Tuesday’s torrential deluge flooded dozens of homes and businesses in the Miami area. Coastal Risk Consulting identifies an individual property’s vulnerability to flooding from extreme weather and tides, storm surge, ground water inundation and rising sea levels.

Image: A pedestrian walks along a flooded sidewalk along Alton Road near Michigan Avenue on Tuesday, Aug. 1. EMILY MICHOT This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - http://www.miamiherald.com

In a tough launch environment, four executives share insights on how to set your company apart—with a laser focus on patients, an agile approach, and an engaged organization.

Between now and 2020, we can expect to see a wave of innovation in pharma. But how will the coming drug launches fare in today’s challenging market? Consider these facts: the number of drugs per indication has risen by 37 percent since 2006, while the top company in an indication still commands at least half of the market. At the same time, restrictions to market access are rising in Europe, the United States, and emerging economies as advances in analytics and multichannel engagement open new opportunities to differentiate products.

Across the United States, data scientists, civic leaders, educators, and business leaders are laying the groundwork for using data to grow the economy and address a range of societal challenges. This report reviews a series of indicators that rank states on the degree to which they have achieved the key enablers of success in the data economy, including the availability of high-value datasets, the creation of important technologies, and the development of human and business capital. It then identifies a range of opportunities for state governments to maximize their potential for data-driven growth and progress.

Image: https://www.datainnovation.org

Georgia is expanding an initiative begun in 2011 to encourage investment in small businesses through crowdfunding.

Image: Brian Kemp created the Invest Georgia Exemption to seek crowdfunding investments. - https://www.bizjournals.com 

Next time your boss or friend from Lehi tells you that Utah companies innovate, believe them.

The Center for Data Innovation recently ranked the Beehive State within the top 10 states for data innovation.

Utah finished at the No 6. spot, right behind Delaware, just missing out on the top five.

Massachusetts led the nation, beating out Washington, Maryland, California and Delaware.

Innovation is increasingly important for both developed and emerging economies as they seek to develop solutions to complex challenges, gain competitive advantage in key industries and technologies and provide better living standards for their citizens.

The race to the top in innovation is epitomised by the keen attention given to the annual Global Innovation Index, in which higher education, and education more broadly, are crucial and enduring building blocks.

Some lawmakers in Albany have been asking whether a big pot of grants and tax breaks actually leads to new jobs. Gannett newspapers reporter Joseph Spector spent six months trying to find an answer to "whether New Yorkers are getting a bang for the buck." ProPublica, the Columbia School of Journalism, and Buffalo's Investigative Post also pitched in.

"And what we found is that often that wasn’t the case," Spector said. "A lot of times it was difficult to get your arms around where this money’s going."

Image: Gov. Cuomo announcing 2016 Regional Economic Development Council grants to the North Country. Photo: Office of Gov. Cuomo

The University of Arizona’s technology commercialization arm posted across-the-board increases in startup companies, license agreements and other measures in fiscal 2017.

The results for the fiscal year ended June 30 mark five years of continual year-to-year improvements in nearly all areas since Tech Launch Arizona was formed in 2013.

The UA reported 261 invention disclosures filed by faculty members last fiscal year, up from 250 in 2016.

The school filed for 334 U.S. patents, up from 278 in 2016; posted 105 licenses (up from 97 in the prior year); and formed 15 startup licensee companies, one more than in 2016.

Image: Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star

We're one year removed from the start of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

While the Games were a success from a competitive standpoint, Rio's facilities frequently came under fire. The Olympic Village was called "uninhabitable," while a ramp at the sailing venue was destroyed by 10-foot waves – and that was before the competition even started.

Image: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Everyone used to read Samuel Johnson. Now it seems hardly anyone does. That’s a shame. Johnson understood the human mind, its sadly amusing frailties and its double-blind alleys. He understood the nature of that mysterious act we casually refer to as “creativity." It is not the kind of thing one lucks into or masters after a seminar or lecture series. It requires discipline and a mind free of distraction. “My dear friend,” said Johnson in 1783, according to his biographer and secretary Boswell, “clear your mind of cant.”

Image: Flickr Commons photo by J Stimp

Starting a family requires a lot of time, attention, and care, but it certainly doesn't have to be a reason to dampen anyone's entrepreneurial spirit. 

Rosie Pope is an entrepreneur, designer, educator, TV personality and the creative force behind Rosie Pope Maternity & Baby, one of the leading brands in the maternity and parenting industry, also coined as the "Martha Stewart of maternity." Over the years, motherhood has taught Rosie a lot of invaluable tips of how to juggle a number of responsibilities varying from boardroom to baby room.

I developed the Play-to-Win Canvas, a large wall map, to help teams explore strategic possibilities. (Click HERE to download a full size PDF, or HERE for a personal A3 size, both sharable under a Creative Commons license.)

So, you’ve decided you need to shift strategy. You’ve drafted your current strategy using the Roger Martin Playing to Win five-question strategic question cascade (What’s Our Winning Aspiration? Where do we play? How do we win? What capabilities do we need? What systems are required?) You’ve defined the most worrisome problem or strategic issue, and you’ve reframed it as a choice between at least two mutually exclusive options.

Image: http://innovationexcellence.com

Writing a business plan is hard work, so I get lots of pushback from prospective new venture founders that it’s just a waste of their valuable time in this rapidly changing environment. They all claim to have the plan in their head, and writing it down will only slow down their success. In my experience to the contrary, first-time entrepreneurs without a written plan almost always fail.

Image: http://blog.startupprofessionals.com

As far as healthcare goes, Boston has historically focused on biotechnology, life sciences, and pharmaceuticals. Until a few years ago, digital health wasn’t a big talking point in the Boston healthcare scene. After a multilateral initiative launched in 2016, however, Boston wants to be regarded as a national leader in digital healthcare investment and activity.

San Diego entrepreneurs launched a record 477 new technology companies in 2016 with $700 million in venture capital financing, according to CONNECT‘s widely followed annual innovation report released Thursday.

It was the largest number of startups created in a year since CONNECT, San Diego’s original technology incubator, began reporting the data in 2005.

Image: Jennifer Worrall, whose company Iteros just graduated from CONNECT’s program.

With a focus on improving health, driving economic growth, and expanding the country’s research capacity, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. Because of NIH’s central role in supporting science, technology, and innovation, a better understanding of the agency’s footprint may be helpful to the technology-based economic development practitioner community. This edition of Useful Stats utilizes data from NIH’s Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT) and covers each year from 2007 to 2016. The data does not include projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Researchers in Germany have developed solar sunglasses using technology that could transform the way buildings are powered.

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) team demonstrated the potential of the organic solar cells, which are lightweight, flexible and can be manufactured in shapes and colours that suit a specific scenario – on a pair of sunglasses. It is an innovative example of how clean energy can be incorporated into mobile applications. Even in office conditions these glasses would generate enough energy to power devices like a hearing aid.

Image: Credit: KIT