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.
Even with a world of information in our pockets, studies show that libraries are an indispensable resource for communities--especially for people looking to start a business.
According to an article by the Freelancers Union, which draws on survey data from South Carolina public libraries, those mainstay institutions are more than moody backdrops in adventure films. Libraries are great for entrepreneurs and economic growth.
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Life would be grand if we only did what our fleeting hearts wanted to do, each moment of the day.
Unfortunately, the laundry, taxes, and difficult conversations would never get done. The best books would never be written. All the achievements of humankind would be imagined, not realized.
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He may be 94 years old, but Klaus Obermeyer, founder and CEO of Sport Obermeyer, still thinks like an entrepreneur and, on occasion, yodels like a Bavarian sheepherder. Both have helped his company thrive for more than six decades.
The ski and snowboard industry is full of businesses that started out as niche brands, often family-owned enterprises, that were gobbled up by heavyweights such as The North Face. But there are a couple in the category that have managed to remain independent: Sport Obermeyer is one of them. And Klaus Obermeyer, the founder and CEO is, at 94, still very much at the helm of the company he founded in his Aspen, Colorado, apartment in 1947.
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In 1964, the New York World's Fair opened with radical technologies and dazzling futuristic displays.
Fifty-one million visitors descended on Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, N.Y. over two six-month seasons in 1964 and '65 to experience innovations like "picturephones," lunar crawlers and Belgian waffles. The Ford Times called it "a lively and lavish concoction of spectacular entertainment."
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/40143737@N02/4795635668
We all have our own ideas for what makes a great vacation.
Many would consider relaxing on a tropical beach and catching some rays with a Mai Tai in hand to be the perfect getaway.
But for thrill-seekers and adrenaline junkies, doing nothing but laying around on the sand, working on a tan and scoping out the sights is anything but relaxing.
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WASHINGTON, April 23, 2014 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a new report on scientific breakthroughs discovered by USDA researchers that led to new patents and inventions, which are detailed in USDA's 2013 Annual Report on Technology Transfer released today. Innovations with the potential for commercial application included in the report range from flour made out of chardonnay grape seeds that prevents weight gain to antimicrobial packets that keep food from spoiling, efforts to protect U.S. troops in Iraq from diseases carried by sand flies, new processes for turning grass clippings and raked leaves into bioenergy.
Want to create the next Google? The University of Maryland wants to help you get there.
This fall, the university will launch an online program for students to earn a master’s degree in technology entrepreneurship. The 30-credit program will be offered through the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute, which provides classes and resources to help businesses grow. The program can be completed in 15 months.
This is a great question and one more companies should consider in their early days. I’ll answer in three parts:
1. What do Titles Mean?
Most titles are meant to represent seniority in an organization, although they are usually relative to that organization and the industry. For example, a Vice President at a bank is usually of equivalent level to a Senior Manager at a technology company as the title conventions in the two industries differ. In mechanical engineering, the title Professional Engineer is a very important title while it does not exist in software engineering at all.
Image: http://www.forbes.com/ - Quora
I’ve been thinking a lot about this exchange between two successful investors that popped up in my Twitter feed last week.
To make money as an investor, must you back unreasonable, mercurial, irrational entrepreneurs? This feels on the surface like it has a grain of truth to it. And both these guys have generated spectacular returns in their investment portfolios, so they should know what they are talking about.
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Here I am presenting opportunities to those engaged in research for electric and other advanced vehicles, to engage in research related to their own research, earning some money for their efforts, as well as helping their country. Note: Some of these are restricted to American citizens, or certain “Permanent Resident” or “protected” foreigners. Others require watchful tracking of what the foreigners do.
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Facebook. Amazon. Whole Foods. All of these startups changed the rules of the game for their industries. They represent what business guru Clayton Christensen calls "disruptive innovation" -- new ventures that turn traditional business models upside-down. But do you have to be the next Mark Zuckerberg or John Mackey to call yourself an entrepreneur? Do you have to change the world to be considered successful?
You read sites like Entrepreneur, Inc. and VentureBeat religiously. Guys like Seth Godin, Sean Ellis and Andrew Chen are your idols. You’ve got a great idea and a burning desire to make it a reality. In short, you like to think of yourself as – an entrepreneur.
CAMBRIDGE, MA - Learn how your company can get its foot in the door of the healthcare industry by attending the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Innovation Series Event, Healthcare Innovation After ObamaCare.
As the pace of change for healthcare innovators accelerates, startups and entrepreneurs must position their offerings to take advantage of the opportunities that come from meeting the evolving needs of hospitals, practice groups and insurance companies. Notably, these organizations are now charged with lowering costs and improving healthcare outcomes under the Affordable Healthcare Act otherwise known as ObamaCare.
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“Think outside the box” is some of the worst advice I hear concerning innovation. Originating with 1970s management consultants, it offers the comfort of a familiar line, but it carries little actual meaning. It’s the equivalent of an overburdened teacher writing “Try harder” on a grade schooler’s report card. The advice is stale, overused, and provides no actual guidance.
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Crowdfunding is growing at a pretty frenetic pace based on some startling stats Andrew Dix of Crowded Media Group offered as part of a series of discussions on crowdfunding at the MidAmerica Healthcare Venture Forum this week. About 900 deals have attracted $10 billion from accredited investors from September through March under Title 2. Here are some of the highlights from the discussions which can be viewed here.
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In 1950, the gross domestic product of Taiwan, measured per person, placed it squarely in the third world. In 2012, this small mountainous island of 23 million people ranked 29th in the world, ahead of France, Japan, Finland, the UK and South Korea.
How did they do it? How did they create an advanced economy that produces most of the world’s silicon chips, motherboards, laptops and tablets?
Strategic immigration reform is a pressing issue that is affecting innovation, job creation, global competitiveness and America’s growth. The “brain drain” refers to current immigration laws, which force foreign-born entrepreneurs and U.S.-educated immigrants out of the United States, causing them to take their innovation and ideas elsewhere.
CEA supports strategic immigration reforms that encourage these innovators to remain in the United States to build businesses and create domestic jobs. Check out the video below from the Technology CEO Council on the brain drain and strategic immigration reform.
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Devising ways to improve performance and deliver better results is critical for federal agencies in these times of shrinking resources and complex new challenges. But according to federal employees, innovation in government is on the decline and isn’t adequately rewarded.
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“Breakthrough innovation requires a combination of partnership, ambition and collaboration and that when you bring the right mix of passionate people together, both virtually and in person, amazing things can happen. The sky is not the limit,” explained John McDonald, Vice President for Marketing, Americas, for British Airways.
Image: British Airways
