In March of last year, our GV engineering team analyzed market data to assess whether or not the tech industry was experiencing a bubble.

That question was being asked a lot at the time (it’s less prevalent now, in light of some changes in the market). During our research, we uncovered ample evidence to argue both sides of the coin. And even with a great deal of number crunching, we didn’t arrive at a definitive answer.

WORCESTER – When David R. Tabatadze’s small biotechnology venture ran out of money in 2013, he almost gave up on it. He went to pharmaceutical companies and “angel” investors, those individuals willing to put modest amounts of money into new businesses. None were interested in funding his research into potential genetic medicines. “That was a very rough time,” Mr. Tabatadze said. Now, however, Mr. Tabatadze is expanding ZATA Pharmaceuticals Inc. The National Institutes of Health awarded ZATA a Small Business Innovation Research grant of about $360,000 in 2014, according to federal records, which kept the company going.

Image: Boris Zavizion, David Tabatadze and Brielle Weiner in their laboratory at MBI Incubator center in Worcester, Tuesday June 14, 2016. T&G Staff/Rick Cinclair

Technical entrepreneurs love their technology, and often are driven to launch a startup on the assumption that everyone will buy any solution which highlights this technology. Instead, they need to validate a customer problem and real market need first. Don’t create solutions looking for a problem, since investors ignore these, and customers other than early adopters may be hard to find.

Image: http://blog.startupprofessionals.com

If you’ve tried out any of the new virtual-reality devices, you’ll know that they can be incredibly convincing—but they can also cause you to lose touch with your lunch. Now a new trick adjusts the user’s field of view on the fly to help alleviate the issue.

Motion sickness can occur when the body receives mixed messages about movement: the eyes may see one thing, while the fluid swilling around within the inner ear might tell another story. When the two don’t marry up, people feel uncomfortable, disoriented, and sometimes nauseated. So a Columbia University team decided to focus on what could be done to change the visual cues a user sees when a VR environment doesn't tally with the real-world situation.

Image: https://www.technologyreview.com

No less than Albert Einstein once remarked that “a person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so.” Or, as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a mere 22 years old at the time, put it to a Stanford audience in 2007, “Young people are just smarter. Why are most chess masters under 30?”

Einstein and Zuckerberg, whiz kids in their own right, are hardly alone in their belief that creativity, innovation and even genius are the near-exclusive domains of the young. Sure, the silver-haired have the advantage of wisdom and experience, but once you pass the age of 30, you might as well give up on ever entering the hallowed halls of genius.

The backbone of the economy rests on the creation of new businesses, and yet, not enough of them are starting or surviving. But a model of innovation and entrepreneurialism isn’t limited to just startups. Existing companies are scrambling to find new growth platforms. How can existing companies increase profits and find new customers?

Image: http://coaching.gallup.com

A prevailing narrative that serves as a backdrop for the 2016 presidential campaign is that Americans now live in an economy of perpetual job insecurity, in which they are easily and frequently laid off. Indeed, job satisfaction surveys conducted by the Conference Board confirm this sense of insecurity. In 1987, a solid majority of U.S. workers (59 percent) said they felt their jobs were secure; by 2014, less than half felt that way (47 percent). 

Yet while people feel less secure now than in the past, employment data tell a different story. Job security has in fact steadily increased since the 1990s: The number of workers losing their jobs because their companies have downsized or closed has dropped steadily. Meanwhile, the number of new job postings, as a share of all jobs in the economy, has surged since the Great Recession.

Entrepreneurial spirit is necessary to being a successful salesperson.

Sure, you won’t be building your own product or seeking out funding as a quota-carrying rep. But you’re still building your own book of business, and that requires dedication, resilience. strong work ethic, and perseverance -- all characteristics that entrepreneurs share.

Entrepreneurship may not be a walk in the park but, in the long run, it does have its benefits. While different business owners may go through different hardships, there are difficulties that every entrepreneur will have to face one way or another. Inc. listed three difficulties that entrepreneurs will experience. These hardships are universal and something that business owners have to learn to overcome.

When roller coasters made their way from Russia to France nearly 200 years ago, they quickly outshone the more routine amusements at park promenades. They are no less central to modern American theme parks, which by definition seek to unify the thrills under a setting or idea (or commercial brand). But do roller coasters ever stick to an actual theme?

Image: http://www.nytimes.com 

PHOENIX — On “King of the Hill,” the animated sitcom that aired for 13 years on Fox, the character named Peggy Hill once called Phoenix “a monument to man’s arrogance.” Last summer, on a day the temperature broke records at 115 degrees, someone posted a segment on Reddit under the thread “Phoenix, Arizona, should not exist.”

And that is just a small taste of the disrespect often heaped on the nation’s sixth-largest city.

Image: A view of downtown from the revolving Compass Arizona Grill restaurant atop the Hyatt Regency Phoenix hotel. Credit Caitlin O'Hara for The New York Times 

In talking about entrepreneurship, the talk is often about what is left to be done

Lower this tax rate.

Remove that regulation.

Organize this kind of incubator.

With this focus, it may appear that entrepreneurship faces a daunting and unending uphill battle. A policymaker, hearing all of needs of the entrepreneurship community, may struggle to know where to start.

Just start.

The Kauffman Foundation has published a number of policy digests, aiming to get policymakers up to speed on the issues that matter to entrepreneurs. There isn’t one path. There isn’t a checklist for cities, states, or the entire country to follow to fix barriers to entrepreneurship one by one.

Entrepreneurs face challenges every step of the way when opening a new business; even seasoned business owners have issues. By using resources such as Michigan State University Extension, local economic development groups and certified business counselors, aspiring entrepreneurs increase their likelihood of success.

Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) offers a presence in every Michigan County where Extension faculty and staff members can provide tools to help businesses. MSUE also partners with local economic development groups such as Northern Lakes Economic Alliance (NLEA) to assist entrepreneurs and growth stage companies to work through their challenges.

The US still dominates the world when it comes to entrepreneurship. It may be lagging a little on the start-up scene these days, but its venture capital firms and scale-ups are second to none. Having previously spoken to Lord Bilimoria about what the UK can learn from the India (and visa versa), I caught up Michael Hayman – who has been back and forth between the UK and US meeting some of the world’s most impressive entrepreneurs for his book Mission – to find out how the New and Old Worlds compare.

Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College for Administration and Entrepreneurship will be established at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Rabigh in collaboration with the American partners who are the world’s leaders in administration and entrepreneurship education. A cooperation agreement has been signed by Muhammad Bin Salman Foundation (Misk Foundation) and King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) with American giants Babson Global and Lockheed Martin at a ceremony held in the presence of Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, in Washington.

Image: Prince Mohammed shakes hands with Thomas Donohue, president of the US Chamber of Commerce, in Washington. (Saudi Gazette) 

In an article published in the Financial Post on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, Kristine Owram reported on Florida U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom, who ordered BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products), the maker of Ski-Doos and Sea-Doos, to pay Arctic Cat $46 million for patent infringement.

We felt this judgement was well worth commenting on as Intellectual Property (IP) is of particular importance for two of The Howard Group’s clients and is a key reason why we are invested in both companies, being Clean Seed (CSX.V) and FLYHT Aerospace (FLY.V).

Though Europe is currently battered by a refugee crisis, economic laggards and Britain’s potential exit, some argue that its future smart cities will still be more innovative than those in the US.

In the global entrepreneurial landscape, the EU has a reputation as an overly bureaucratic, risk averse zone with poorer access to venture capital than America. But over at FastCompany, Boyd Cohen argues that the old continent is nonetheless poised to steal the innovation crown from a US that offers dimmer prospects in its entrepreneurial technology hubs.

The MINI Cooper gets a decidedly futuristic new look in a video released this week for a concept vehicle the company calls MINI Vision Next 100.

What's immediately apparent is that the car is personalized for each user, with interactive light messages greeting a new driver on the floor in front of the side door, as well as personalized messages on the dashboard. Once you're ready to get inside, the steering wheel and gas/brake pedals slide over to your side of the door for convenience.

Image: http://mashable.com 

The Startup India Action Plan is one of the pet projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But action at the central level must be complemented by states. So what are state governments doing to foster the entrepreneurship spirit?

Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have always had an edge when it comes to entrepreneurship given that their state capitals are recognised as hubs of industrial and financial activity. Bangalore, for instance, is the startup hub of the country while Gurgaon and Noida in the national capital region also boast a vibrant startup community. But the respective state governments had little role to play in their success.

Image: http://techcircle.vccircle.com 

Tracey Marshall used to be afraid of the ocean.

It began as a simple fear of the unknown. Marshall grew up in landlocked middle America, and her family didn’t have the means for vacations to the coasts. She didn’t catch her first glimpse of the ocean until she was 25 when she visited Fort Lauderdale with a friend. As she waded into the water, the salt stung her eyes.  o Marshall found a beachside store and bought a visor and snorkel. But upon returning to the water and dipping her head below the surface, the first thing she saw was a snaggletoothed barracuda some 20 feet away.

Image: courtesy of Tracey Marshall