Companies should understand what it is millennial employees are looking for or risk losing their talent, says Deloitte's Jeff Schwartz.

Every new entrepreneur who has not spent years in corporate life has the advantage of an unbiased look at business opportunities, but at the same time has the disadvantage of missing critical business experiences that can cost them dearly in their first startup venture. In my experience, building a successful business is more difficult than building an innovative solution.

Fortunately, despite their lack of basic business experience, the destined-to-be-great entrepreneurs never give up, following Bill Gates after his first failure with Traf-O-Data, and Jeff Bezos after early failure with his online auction site. All too many others are so discouraged or financially destroyed by their business learning experiences that they never try again.

“This whole internet thing doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon,” said a Cisco report from 2013 which was looking at growth trends in global traffic. According to that edition of the Cisco Visual Networking Index, global internet traffic was expected to increase threefold in the next five years, (2014- 2019) following a fourfold growth in the previous five.

The growth of global internet based brands like Facebook, Google, and the various internet based businesses show the tremendous potential and this is for me a warning to internet based entrepreneurs that the internet is the new reality and they have to buckle up if they will succeed.

Young people seeking adventure, career enrichment and personal fulfilment should consider an overseas stint.

At a time when there is increasing fear of “others” and “difference” – evidenced by Brexit and the success of Donald Trump – we wanted to take a closer look at the phenomenon of globalised talent. Firstly, what makes some leave the comforts of home, and secondly, how does that decision affect their career evolution over time? What kinds of permanent changes come about? Does the wanderlust endure? 

We interviewed four successful professionals, each at a different stage of his or her career. Their diverse life stories show that overseas experience provides irreplaceable career and personal enrichment that, contrary to xenophobic political rhetoric, ultimately works to everyone’s benefit. 

Image: http://knowledge.insead.edu

Nokia has started accepting ideas for its Nokia Open Innovation Challenge 2016 from all around the globe. Everyone including innovators, startups, and students from all around the globe can now submit ideas and compete to enter the Nokia Innovation Accelerator Program.

What is Nokia Open Innovation Challenge 2016? Nokia Open Innovation Challenge is a program formed by Nokia in partnership with its venture firm Nokia Growth Partners. Nokia Growth Partners is an independent fund of Nokia which invests and looks to offer strategic opportunities to the budding entrepreneurs in their growth stages. This year, Nokia Growth Partners has announced USD 350 million of funds for investment in technology companies.

Now that we finally have a government in Australia, we need to focus on how we can both prosper as a nation in the new technology-driven global economy and become a fairer and more equitable society.

One thing that was painfully absent from the election debate was any sustained focus on the role Australia’s research capacity could play in helping to meet these challenges.

When they are led by upper management, department heads, or project leaders, they usually get manipulated.

Because honchos and honchettes are so heavily invested in the topic being brainstormed, it is common for them to bend the collective genius of the group to their own particular point of view. Not a good idea.

Participants -- out of respect for the expertise (or position or parking space) of the facilitator -- will invariably moderate their input. The results? Same old same old.

The startup scene is a crowded place no matter what market you're trying to crack. And if you can't build industry credibility fast, you'll probably fail to crack it.

If you're going up against established players or launching a new technology solution, your prospective customers will likely have some healthy skepticism to overcome before buying whatever it is that you're selling. Same goes for investors. But in order to explain who you are, what your company can do for them, why they should believe in you, and the reasons to expect you'll be around for the long haul, you need to gain a credible platform from which to make your case. Here's how to do it when you're starting from zero.

Image: Flickr user Jared Tarbell

During the recent Fourth of July holiday I had great fun spending some time with my great-niece and great-nephew. I rarely get to see them as they live thousands of miles way so I was observing closely. Aria is just two while Caden is almost four-and-a-half.

There were a lot of big people fawning all over them, so at first they were understandably a bit shy. But once they got past that, they were energetic and talkative just like most young children.

Every entrepreneur believes in their heart that their startup is more innovative and creative than their competitors. Yet none knows exactly where creativity comes from within, or how to pick and motivate the most creative people for the team. Most believe and follow one or more of the popular myths on business creativity, even though none of them have much scientific evidence.

Crowdfunding watchdogs want to tighten up the rules to protect peer-to-peer lenders and equity investors.

As the value of crowdfunding investments increases with more than 100 platforms completing deals worth £2.7 billion last year, the Financial Conduct Authority wants to check the market is safe for lenders and backers.

Crowdfunding is a way for individuals to invest small amounts into financially supporting individuals, organisations or businesses.

Taxes are high in Australia. But when it comes to taxation policies, our government is too lenient on some large businesses and too hard on small business.

Some large multi-national companies have been able to utilise tax structures that allow them to avoid paying their required tax in Australia, which has enabled them to lower their tax obligations.

The fact some big businesses are paying minimal amounts of tax in Australia, compared with small businesses that are trying to do the right thing and pay their fair share of tax in Australia, is a clear example of the disparity in the tax treatment between large and small businesses.

Getting accepted into an accelerator like Y Combinator or Techstars is a major step forward for any startup. In fact, getting into any accelerator is beneficial for a startup. But how does a founder get their company into an accelerator, and when is the right time to apply?

While it is entirely possible for any startup to get accepted into an accelerator, there are numerous factors that need to be thought about before a founder decides to submit their company for consideration. Hopefully, our guide will help you decide applying to an accelerator is right for you, as well as what you can do to make sure your startup is accelerator-ready. 

A foundation affiliated with Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, is raising $10 million for a new venture fund that would help the school’s spinouts. That doesn’t seem like much, but Indiana companies received $53 million in total venture funding last year. Assuming Purdue’s spinouts stay local—according to the school, 75 percent of those founded in the past three years are still in Indiana—it would be a significant capital source.

Venture capital investment still looks healthy despite recent market volatility, but early-stage companies are seeing less of it than the unicorns.

That’s the gist of the latest quarterly MoneyTree Report released last week by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, using data from Thomson Reuters. Here are the key takeaways:

Image: http://www.forbes.com

Mumbai: India is evaluating an innovative model to allow foreign arms manufacturers to meet complex local sourcing obligations when striking a major deal with the world’s sixth biggest military spender.

The defence ministry’s idea is to float a venture capital (VC) fund that will infuse foreign funds into small defence firms in India.

Image: http://www.livemint.com

The Maine Economic Growth Council’s recently released Measures of Growth 2016, the 22nd annual edition, highlights 25 indicators that collectively measure the performance of Maine’s economy.

As a longtime member of the council who has had the privilege of serving as a co-chairman for the last two years, I appreciate the long-term perspective and objective data this report provides for the people of Maine. Our focus is on achieving a high quality of life for all Maine people, which we believe stems from a vibrant and sustainable economy, vital communities, and a healthy environment.

The African continent can cash in on its demographic dividend to drive huge growth over the next few decades and bring more people out of poverty, so long as focus is given to the three issues of malnourishment, education and economic opportunity. That’s the opinion of Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, who delivered the 14th Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture in Pretoria tonight.

In light of the recent tragedies across the U.S. and across the globe, it might be hard to maintain a sense of optimism for the future. However, there is a bright spot.

Despite slow economic growth and stagnant wages, PayScale’s survey of 425,219 U.S. workers over the course of the past two years revealed that the majority (59%) are optimistic about their employers' futures.

Image: http://www.fastcompany.com

With low labor-force participation, declining immigration levels, and the looming retirement of baby boomers on the horizon, the U.S. labor market is tightening and driving up wages. Over the next decade, the country will experience a labor shortage that will disproportionately affect some industries and professions, predicts an April 2016 report from The Conference Board.

"We may see policy or other changes over the next 10 years that could influence us greatly," says Phil Noftsinger, CPA, the creator of the CBIZ Small Business Employment Index (SBEI), which has tracked small companies’ hiring trends since 2009. He cites pushback on free trade that might increase domestic manufacturing jobs or the rate at which automation will change demand for jobs in clerical and accounting sectors, for example.

Image: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans/Released