Here we highlight selected innovation related articles from around the world on a daily basis. These articles related to innovation and funding for innovative companies, and best practices for innovation based economic development.
Trust me – this month’s multi-part topic of Ford’s history had been scheduled long before the Ford Expedition became famous in Ghana for all sorts of reasons. But it sure does help for all of us to recall our experience of this iconic American brand, fifth largest in the world by sales volume. Where did it all begin?
If you visit the slums along the Red River in Vietnam, you might see an interesting sight. One community uses a makeshift wind turbine, which is built from plastic buckets, old printer motors and motorcycle batteries to provide electricity to the residents.
Yes, entrepreneurship is naturally exciting. Most of us get involved because we’re thrilled at the notion of getting to build our own enterprise, and the thought of building wealth keeps us going through a lot of challenges — but some days are harder than others, and inevitably, you’ll hit a wall when all that motivation and passion seems to slip away from you. It may not happen often, and it may not consume you completely, but it will compromise the energy and creativity you pour into your business. Furthermore, if you aren’t careful, it could escalate to become a real problem.
In the new movie Concussion, Will Smith plays a neuropathologist who performed a game-changing autopsy on former Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster in 2002. After a career in which Webster earned four Super Bowl rings and a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he suffered from memory loss, depression, and dementia, was homeless at times, and died at age 50. (The movie is based on a GQ article that describes Webster’s psychiatric symptoms, including “pissing in his oven and squirting Super Glue on his rotting teeth.”) When the neuropathologist, Bennet Omalu, analyzed Webster’s brain tissue, he discovered clumps of tau proteins, generally associated with neuro degeneration.
"Serious sport is war minus the shooting.” Many athletes will agree with George Orwell’s famous observation. But many fans might add that the best sport is a form of unscripted storytelling: the dominant one-sided thrashing, the back-and forth struggle, the improbable comeback, and so on.
This week, the New American Economy issued a report on the economic impact of immigrants in every state, highlighting the role immigrants play as entrepreneurs. One place where immigrants are starting new companies in Wyoming is the Wyoming Technology Business Center – a business incubator for start-ups.
All too often as a startup investor, I hear the term “disruptive technology” from an entrepreneur, played like a trump card that should override any other potential business qualms. In fact, most investors avoid disruptive technologies as extremely risky, with long waits for a payback. They can point to the many examples of innovative technologies that have failed in the marketplace.
At this moment, 129 American track and field athletes are settling into their living quarters in Rio de Janeiro as part of the 555-person strong Team U.S.A. They are getting acclimated to the weather and training daily, using every last minute to prepare physically and mentally for one of the most important events of their lives. But behind the scenes, Max Siegel has been planning this moment for years.
If immunotherapy has the cancer community riveted on the treatment side, liquid biopsies are equally exciting on the diagnostics end. And IBM is bringing its research heft to bear on the world of liquid biopsy with an intent to build a lab-on-a-chip technology that can separate particles at the nanoscale.
Ethan Mollick, a professor and researcher at Wharton, recently published new research on Kickstarter. Mollick focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation and is one of a few academians focusing their attention on alternative finance. His most recent research, entitled “Containing Multitudes: The Many Impacts of Kickstarter Funding” addresses the economic impact created by the rewards-based crowdfunding platform. According to Mollick’s research of 61,654 successful Kickstarter projects:
As the opening ceremony for the 31st Olympic Games kicked off in Rio de Janeiro Friday night, 207 nations joined to celebrate this pinnacle of sportsmanship, dedication, and talent. More than 10,000 athletes will bring their unique stories of personal trial and overcoming odds to live their passion.
As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. It’s at this stage that the job changes from creative and tactical to managerial and strategic. Many don’t survive the change.
A new research replication project, involving 24 labs and over 2100 participants, failed to reproduce findings from a previous study that suggested that self-control is a depletable resource. The findings are published as part of a Registered Replication Report in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Over the last twenty years, numerous studies have provided evidence supporting the idea that our capacity for self-control is finite – using self-control on one task reduces an individual’s ability to exert self-control on a subsequent task. But recent analyses have challenged the strength of this so-called ego depletion effect.
Along with job applications, resumes, and interviews, a reference check is one of the most common parts of the hiring process. It remains the one piece of information that is not provided by the applicant him or herself, alleviating some of the problems with information that is provided by the applicant— faking, embellishment, and omissions of previous work or other related experience.
This week we recognize August 4th as Startup Day Across America, a time to celebrate entrepreneurs and the jobs they create. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on the challenges that our entrepreneurs face and explore solutions to allow the best and brightest minds to succeed.
Our country’s entrepreneurial spirit and innovative minds are the lifeblood of the American economy.
Our country’s entrepreneurial spirit and innovative minds are the lifeblood of the American economy. America’s startups are the driving force behind new job creation in the United States. In fact, companies less than one year old have created an average of 1.5 million jobs per year over the past three decades, fueling both local and national economic growth.
As I noted in a previous blog, entrepreneurs pay a high cost for capital. As an entrepreneur, your cost of capital includes many aspects (some of which overlap).
In the time of Trump, the concerns of America’s “Rust Belt” are fixed in the national spotlight. Whatever you think of the candidate and his claims, it’s hard to mistake the economic troubles affecting wide swaths of the Midwest and Northeast.
In cities like Detroit and Buffalo, racially diverse populations—including what's left of the traditional white working class—struggle in a business environment that offers few opportunities for employment or investment.
Image: Jschnalzer via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Man, failure can sting sometimes.
I’m reminded of this every day because it seems like it happens to me every day! As you can see, I’m not afraid to admit it.
An employee shared an article with me this morning of an interview with Kevin O’Leary. You know, Mr. Wonderful off of Shark Tank. It was a simple piece: “Kevin O’Leary’s 7 Golden Tips For Startups.” Number two on the list was about failure, and it immediately made my stomach tighten up a bit.
Startupbootcamp, a leading accelerator group with 14 industry-focused accelerator programs, has today announced a new global collaboration with Cisco. Cisco will be expanding its work with Startupbootcamp from its Amsterdam and Berlin accelerator programs to support its 14 physical locations and 325+ portfolio companies.
“Adding Cisco as one of our core Global Partners is a huge win for Startupbootcamp’s community of startup founders, mentors, investors, and partners, all of whom will be able to form even closer relationships with the tech leader,” commented Head of Startupbootcamp Global Andy Shannon.
Cisco engaged closely with the Startupbootcamp Amsterdam classes in 2015 and 2016, providing four Cisco executives as mentors to the startups involved and enabling two Internet of Things (IoT) startups to become certified partners working with Cisco’s own IoT solutions, according to the company.
There are entrepreneur characteristics, like commitment, goal-orientation and hands-on involvement. But there are different types of entrepreneurs, and knowing which type you are can help you make the most of your positive characteristics while side-stepping potential landmines.
Here are some of the different types of entrepreneurs.
The Millennial Entrepreneur
Millennials are often criticized for being lazy or entitled, or for having a poor work ethic. The truth is, the millennial work ethic is different, not necessarily better or worse. Millennials are shying away from the idea of punching in at 9 and punching out at 5; rather, they view work as more task- or project-based.
