I'm currently wading through George Gilder's new book, "Knowledge and Power."  

Why?  It's got some good thinking on the new economy that's emerging.  

• In it, he makes the case that wealth is a function of how much innovation (knowledge production) occurs in an economic system.   
• Further, he makes the claim (as I do) that the system that produces the most novelty (fortuitous mistakes) is the one that wins over the long term.   
• The spontaneous emergence of this innovation engine is the reason we live better today than we did 500 years ago.

One of my favorite questions we ask is about the typical days of entrepreneurs. True, no two answers ever seem alike as most two days of entrepreneurs are ever alike. But, there does seem to be a trend. And that is that entrepreneurs work incredibly hard. How hard?

Well, how about by working from 7am to 11pm.

Or how about by going back to work after you put to bed your kids and have talked to your partner.

Or how about by getting all your emails and voicemails done before your three kids wake up.

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In the month of September, we remember the birthday of our founder Ewing Marion Kauffman. From humble beginnings, Mr. Kauffman knew the fruits of hard work could change a person's journey through life. He believed the combination of an entrepreneurial ambition and an unconquerable determination could affect the economic welfare of a country—one entrepreneur at a time.

We’re entering an unusually busy week in IPO-land, with no fewer than 13 initial public offerings planned in the U.S.

A good number of them are tech-related and/or based in Silicon Valley:

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI), a provider of fiber-optic networking products, plans to raise $50 million by offering 3.6 million shares at a price of $13.00 to $15.00. It’s based in Sugar Land, Texas.

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Google Science Fair is clearly where minor miracles happen. Flashlights that work without batteries, traffic that moves itself out of the way of an oncoming emergency vehicle, and new flu medicines — designed on a computer — that are effective even against pandemic strains.

Image: Google

The trillion-dollar student debt burden has spawned many debates about the value of college. Some argue that we educate too many young people. Indeed, average tuition costs have gone up faster than the rate of inflation. The cost of college today is, in inflation-adjusted terms, roughly double what it was in 1980. This creates legitimate concerns about the continued affordability of a college education.

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In the startup world, venture capital funding from a big firm has become the Holy Grail. But, of course, there are other ways to launch a successful business. Bootstrapping, borrowing money from friends and family, using funds from an existing business or leveraging personal assets are all certainly options.

Below are five reasons you may want to seek another way to start your business without big VC money.

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Fairfax Financial Holdings has agreed to acquire BlackBerry in a deal worth $4.7 billion, both companies announced Monday.

The Toronto-based financial holdings conglomerate has agreed to pay $9 per share for the beleaguered mobile company — a premium of about 9%. Shares of BlackBerry were trading at $8.23 per share before a freeze was initiated.

The new hot topic for entrepreneurs the last couple of years is crowd funding, which is anticipated to at least supplement, if not replace, the slow and mysterious process of current Angel and venture capital investors. The problem is that crowd funding means something different to everyone, and even I have been confused by the different ways the term gets used.

So I have set out here to outline and offer some practical advice on the many different models currently used with the term “crowd funding” and “crowd sourcing.” The newest equity model was passed into law in early 2012 via the JOBS Act, and still has no scheduled date for availability in the USA, waiting for the rules to be defined by the SEC:

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Real estate stocks rallied, and mortgage rates fell, as fears of Fed "tapering," at least in the short term, evaporated.

The Federal Reserve will continue to buy U.S. Treasury securities and agency mortgage-backed securities, both of which have kept mortgage rates well below historical norms for the past few years. Fed governors cited the recent rise in mortgage rates in their list of concerns that kept them from pulling out of asset purchases.

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President L. Rafael Reif announced Friday a new Innovation Initiative at MIT for research and education focused on the role of manufacturing in “accelerating” innovation, which he called the “signature competitive advantage” of the United States.

Reif made the announcement in 10-250 before dozens of industry leaders, who had gathered to hear the findings of a two-year study conducted by the 20 faculty members and 12 students of the Production in an Innovation Economy Commission, co-chaired by political science professor Suzanne Berger and biology professor Phillip A. Sharp.

"As the United States looks to the future and to building long-term competitiveness, innovation is the engine of prosperity and success for all people," I responded when I was recently asked why innovation is important for government at an event organized by the White House, Fuse Corps and the Presidio Institute at Fort Scott. After all, not only does government touch the lives of tens of millions of people every day, it accounts for about 40% of gross domestic product including state, local and federal spending.

The Wirtschaftswunder - Germany's rapid economic recovery following the Second World War - was largely nourished by the country's skilled workforce in high-tech industries. During the recent Economic Crisis, Germany has once again demonstrated its market stability. Today, however, Germany as a business location is facing a shortage of qualified employees in fields that once led to the economic miracle. Known in the U.S. as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), these fields have a similarly catchy acronym in German - MINT (mathematics, informatics, natural sciences, and technology).

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Life, success and happiness come to people in different shapes and colors. The only certain thing is that everyone needs to keep a balance between the things that make him happy and fulfilled and his obligations. There is no recipe, but you can use just a few simple guidelines to lift you up and keep you motivated, happy and vigorous!

There are two major issues facing a start-up considering an IPO: how to do it most effectively, and, secondly, whether to do it at all. The second is the threshold question. Will the issuer be able to raise capital cheaply and more efficiently on the wings of an IPO than with any other method, taking into account the long-range consequences of becoming a public company (going public)?

On the plus side, the culture of venture capital is heavily involved with the proposition that the terms "public company" and "rich entrepreneur" are synonymous. Indeed, the home-run payoffs for celebrated founders are usually identified with a public stock sale. A public market entails (although not for everybody) liquid securities, a classic exit strategy for founders and other shareholders. Moreover, to the extent equity is being raised for corporate purposes, the price of capital obtainable from the public will usually be cheaper because any commodity that can be freely sold is intrinsically more valuable than its illiquid counterpart.

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When I was growing up, the doctor was the professional.  They were where you went when you got sick, and if anything happened, you would immediately schedule a visit so you could get better.

This idea we definitely need to re-evaluate.

In order to go to a doctor, you must have health insurance.  How much is health insurance?  A few hundred dollars per month?  We have to spend a few hundred dollars per month so we can spend more money to get a face to face visit with them?

Kansas City just added another tech-related feather to its cap: On Tuesday, Sprint and Techstars announced the launch of a new mobile health-focused startup accelerator based in the Midwestern city.

Thanks in large part to the introduction of Google Fiber, the area has become an increasingly appealing destination for startups.  But, as the city is also home to tech companies like Sprint and Garmin, as well as health technology giant Cerner and several life sciences companies, the backers of the new program say Kansas City is an ideal location for entrepreneurs interested in mobile health.

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With all the chatter around the Middle East, we welcome a guest post from Mike Ducker. Over the last two years, he has been the Entrepreneur-In-Residence for the U.S. State Department's Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP) in Egypt, a project funded by USAID and centered on starting, growing and facilitating financing for Egyptian entrepreneurs.  His observations show once more the remarkable similarities around the world in terms of how to support startups.

The Princeton Review conducted the survey from April 2013 through June 2013. The ranking is compiled using survey data from more than 2,000 colleges and universities and is based on the following methodology.

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Football season is upon us. While most fans will burn calories fetching beers and keeping warm at tailgate parties, there's another non-athletic group running just as hard as the players.

That's right — for some, it's marching band season.

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