Have visions of running your own #BUILTBYGIRLS company?

Between 2009 and 2014, 14,341 companies received funding, and out of those companies, 15.5 percent, or 2,226, had at least one female founder. In 2009, about 9.5 percent of companies had at least one female founder, but that number jumped to 18 percent in 2014, Fast Company points out.

For years, Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce has produced data-rich reports on the job market for college graduates with various majors and levels of attainment. Lately, its work appears to be taking a tack even more oriented to consumers: Its most recent release is a college ranking based on the earnings of former students.

Image: T.J. Kirkpatrick Anthony Carnevale of Georgetown U.’s Center on Education and the Workforce: "What the public wants to know is: Which one? That is their question. Which program of study should I take to get a good job?"

You are not able to stand still in this fast paced business environment, but most of the time innovation fails. Innovation process-expert Robert Cooper shows that of every seven new product/service projects, about four enter development, 1.5 are launched, and only one succeeds. Innovation is so difficult to master, indeed. I love to share with you five reasons why innovation goes wrong and give you ten ways to reduce your failure rate of innovation.

Technology expands the field of exploration by science and it does this by realising tangible and intangible artefacts that extend our biological and mental capabilities.

During the Renaissance, science and technology made progress mutually. Between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, the sea undertakings to discover new lands led to significant advances in the scientific fields of astronomy and cartography. In that "Age of Discovery", as it was christened the time of the great geographical explorations, developments in technology and techniques of navigation, which occurred through trial and error on the part of sailors, triggered the speculative process by scientists.

Corporate Leadership’s Innovation Outpost Decision Process Today, large companies are creating Innovation Outposts in Innovation Clusters like Silicon Valley in order to tap into the clusters’ innovation ecosystems. These corporate Innovation Outposts monitor Silicon Valley for new innovative technologies and/or companies (as emerging threats or potential tools for disruption) and then take advantage of these innovations by creating new products or investing in startups.

I have written several stories about innovation centers established at some of the leading health systems in the country, such as Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Partners Healthcare and Intermountain. A few weeks ago I interviewed Dr. Michael Blum, director of UCSF’s Center for Digital Health Innovation about its partnership with Cisco. With all this innovation center activity, it got me wondering whether smaller health systems, large physician groups and federally qualified health center networks are planning innovation centers.  

One of the biggest challenges in any business, large or small, is overcoming the natural human preference for status quo, or fear of change. It means that most team members and executives alike have a natural tendency to prefer killing innovations rather than implementing them. Even customers, while they all want the next big thing, want it to happen with minimal new learning.

There are now more than 2 billion active social media users worldwide, and that sum is growing at a brisk clip of 25% each year. Businesses haven't failed to noticed the runaway expansion of social media. Nine out of 10 U.S. companies are now active on social networks. The same overwhelming percentage of those are reporting seeing increased exposure as a result, and more than half say their social media efforts are boosting sales.

Image: http://www.fastcompany.com

Research and development, marketing, and infrastructure often dominate a business's investment budget. But did you know that companies have spent about $720 million a year trying to measure and boost employee engagement, according to analysis of the market from Bersin by Deloitte?

Image: http://www.fastcompany.com

Hackathons—where people from different backgrounds come together to work on a project for a few intense, caffeine-fueled days—are already well-established practices in some corners of the business world. They’re hallowed traditions in Silicon Valley, and even old-economy companies like GM and GE use them. Hackathons have become popular in research and education, too. This year, MIT hosted several, including "Hacking Arts," "Hacking Rehabilitation," and even the second-annual breast pump hackathon, "Make the Breast Pump Not Suck!"

Place Viger in Montreal symbolized an age of glamorous travel and cosmopolitan ambition. Constructed in 1898, the train station was done up like a French chateau. But time wasn't kind to the building and over the decades, it fell into disrepair (thanks, Great Depression). Today it's the site of a $250-million mixed-use redevelopment project that seeks to revive the abandoned structure.

Image: http://www.fastcodesign.com

The digital revolution continues to transform healthcare fundamentally, and many people believe that a tipping point is finally within reach. In 2014, digital health investments topped $6.5 billion, compared with $2.9 billion a year earlier.1 The critical question now for pharmaceutical companies is how to stay ahead of these changes. To answer it, we sought to learn the trends and implications of digital health by interviewing 20 thought leaders across a variety of segments, including analytics, biotech, data, pharma, providers, technology, and venture capital.

The words “patent troll” brings a shudder to the ranks of Silicon Valley executives. These are non-practicing entities (NPEs) whose main business is to own patents — enforcing their rights by charging fees or suing. Critics believe that their behavior impedes innovation because it will make others hesitant about developing new technology in the same area. Legislation is underway on the federal and state level to rein them in. But the paper, “The NPE: Benevolent Middleman or Stick-Up Artist?” points to evidence that patent trolls can actually help innovation, as well as potentially impede it, according to authors David S. Abrams, a professor of business economics and public policy at Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Ufuk Akcigit of the University of Chicago and Gokhan Oz, Penn economics graduate student.

Image: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

Digital disruption from startups continues to threaten the business models of large corporations. Large companies are responding by launching accelerator programs around the globe. In 2015 so far, an unprecedented 31 new corporate accelerators were launched, bringing the global total to 85. Accelerator programs provide a structured format which helps startups with investment and advice, while bringing new ideas to large corporations.

Australian businesses should give employees targets to come up with new business ideas, or they could fall behind global counterparts, according to Deloitte Australia consulting managing partner Robert Hillard and tax partner Serg Duchini.

The Deloitte partners also believe that the country's biggest firms need to start filing more patents in their non-core areas, as part of developing an ideas culture that would see them spinning out more start-ups.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are buzzwords in India today. Analyses of their potential roles not only permeate the discussion around Startup India, but also figure in discussions on Make in India and Skill India initiatives as the latter two are expected to benefit from innovation-driven entrepreneurship, especially new ventures. It is imperative that the synergies among these three major initiatives are systematically reaped. While a detailed understanding of various linkages across these programmes would require more rigorous analysis, it would be useful to focus on the role of the state and higher education institutions (HEIs) in creating an ecosystem where technology entrepreneurship can flourish.

Image: http://www.livemint.com

For many of us, the holiday season means fun parties, eggnog, and a growing sense of anxiety about what to give friends and family. This year, you can relax, as I’ve done the hard work for you with a detailed but concise list of techie presents for people of all interests and ages (yes, there are even some ideas in here for the kiddies). Happy holidays!

Image: http://www.technologyreview.com

One of my favorite entrepreneurs ever is John Gagliardi because, basically, you never know what he is going to do next.

He was one of the original founders of Blue Buffalo Pet Food and also launched athletic equipment/apparel maker Maverik Lacrosse, which he later sold to Kohlberg & Co. His latest venture: New York City-based TitanTea. The idea: a beverage for athletes and other active people that provides, among other things, a “lightly sweetened organic drink that has an electrolyte blend.” The product, launched in early 2014, is now in 500 stores like New York’s Fairway Market chain; Gagliardi, 41, said he expects 2,000 to carry it next year. Moreover, he’s hoping to break-even in 2018.

It’s the mark of a true entrepreneur;  the relentless pursuit of a business goal in the face of adversity. In Greece, entrepreneurs have faced more adversity than most. But the economic turmoil that has devastated so many people’s lives there has simply strengthened the resolve of one young Greek entrepreneur, 18-year-old Valentinos Tzekas.

Imagine this: as you're worried about how to pay bills and make your rent, you get a check from the government for $876. Every month.

That's what Finland is doing. The Nordic nation is getting closer this month to finalizing a solution to poverty: paying each of its 5.4 million people $876 tax-free a month — and in return, it will do away with welfare benefits, unemployment lines, and the other bureaucracy of its extensive social safety net.