I absolutely love what I do—running a seed-stage venture fund (Founders’ Co-op) and startup accelerator (Techstars Seattle)—but neither is a job with a well-defined career path. Unlike later-stage or public market investing, where finance and quantitative analysis is a big part of the job, effective early-stage investing requires a combination of human, strategic, and operational skills that’s hard to come by if you haven’t been a founder yourself.

The following answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

1. “What Do You Wish You Knew at My Stage?”

I always try to balance my mentor relationships between updating them on my goals and my background, and getting a strong sense of who they are and most importantly, who they were at my stage. What did they wish they knew? What obstacles did they not expect? How did they manage to get over them? These are all crucial for your development as an entrepreneur. – Rob Fulton, Exponential Black

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LONDON, Jan 1 (Reuters) - U.S. drug approvals in 2014 hit their highest level in 18 years and recommendations in Europe also came at a rapid rate, driven by expensive new treatments for cancer and rare diseases.

After suffering a wave of patent losses on blockbuster products, which peaked two years ago, drugmakers are recovering their ability to bring new medicines to market and productivity is improving.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research approved 41 novel medicines in 2014, 14 more than a year earlier, according to its website. That tally is second only to the all-time high of 53 approvals reached in 1996.

Conservative economists often criticize government involvement in private markets, arguing that at best it is inefficient and at worst is counterproductive.  However, even the great conservative economist Milton Friedman often pointed out that government intervention is necessary when markets fail to allocate resources efficiently. 

Even the most conservative economists should support the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program – a scheme in which 11 federal agencies with external research and development budgets of more than $100 million must allocate 2.8 percent of those budgets to grants or contracts with small businesses undertaking projects that both have commercial potential and meet the R&D goals of the funding agency.

2015 – halfway through our Innovation Decade… This year, we featured our Constellation of Networks as well as our E100 Authors - each event a milestone in the industry. We’ve celebrated almost 30 years of shaping and mobilizing the global wellspring of innovation talent… and we have only just begun. Fruits of your labors are forthcoming…and in unexpected ways.

As the year starts, you will generate and see many new strategy documents, especially within large organizations. These strategy documents will include strategic plans, business plans, product strategies, financial forecasts, and current marketing initiatives.

It is easy (and happens far too often) for executives to largely ignore the strategy documents and dive right into doing stuff. That is why you hear so often about strategic plans that sit on the shelf unused.

One reason may be that strategic plans are so poorly written.

Most smart rings look pretty dumb. Nobody really needs a little screen on their finger to tell them when they get a text message. However, I almost want to wear this 3D-printed a Bluetooth Ö ring with a teeny tiny OLED that can display Elvish text. Almost.

Wearing the ring isn't exactly the point, though. There have been a number of (dumb) smart rings pop up in crowdfunding campaigns that promise huge things in microscopic packages. The Ö ring's creator, Kevin Bates, told Gizmodo in an email that he wanted to shed some light on whether or not those promises hold water:

We all have goals, whether they’re lofty plans like getting a promotion or taking on more responsibility at work or simple lifestyle changes like going to bed earlier or eating healthier—it's how we accomplish these goals that’s not as easy to identify.

In case you haven't noticed, we're a little obsessed with productivity.

To make your quest for a more productive self this year something you can really work towards, we asked some of the most productive we work with all year what they do in their everyday lives to get so much done. Here's what they had to say:

You've heard it before, probably from your mom: Make sure you get enough sleep. But if you need a more scientific justification to turn in early (or give that night-owl neighbor a piece of your mind), AsapSCIENCE has you covered. The popular YouTube channel has a new video that explains the effects of lack of sleep, from decreased brain function to increased risks of heart disease and obesity. In one study, researchers found that subjects who slept just six hours a night for 14 days had the cognitive wherewithal of someone with a .1% blood alcohol level. That's legally drunk.

The multibillion-dollar valuations of India’s new tech stars, Flipkart and Snapdeal, are no pricing bubble but a signal that the country’s technology boom has begun.

The next five years will see a flurry of technology innovation that will transform India as much as cellphones have over the past 15 years. This will be enabled by the availability of low-cost smartphones, the digital identity that India’s Aadhaar project has provided to hundreds of millions of people who lacked any documentation, and a host of exponential technology advances. A billion Indians will be joining the global economy during this decade.

Do you want to increase your chances of getting a check for a million dollars?

Come on, who would say no to that?

Although this may sound far fetched, getting clients to pay you big-time money is not too difficult if you know how to listen.

Listen?

Yes, listen, not sell.

Believe it or not, there are many places where you could be listening more, versus ignoring.

This is it. This is the year your startup will go big. At least that’s what you were telling everyone at the New Year’s eve party a couple of nights ago. But how exactly are you going to achieve that? What exactly are you going to do this year that makes it different from last year, or any other year for that matter? Well, we’ve been privileged enough to observe the startup space for a good couple of years now and we’ve got a few ideas for changes you can make in 2015 that could go a long way to making those slurred New Year’s Eve promises a reality.

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Will building a hands-on science centre in outer Sydney lead to an increase in students in the area studying science and engineering, and, subsequently, an increase in innovation? It is an important question to ask before committing funds to the project.

Australia likes to pride itself on being an innovative nation but the reality is that the benchmark for innovation has moved a lot further beyond inventions such as the Hills Hoist, stump-jump ploughs or fencing wire solutions.

Image: http://www.canberratimes.com.au

Accountability is a good thing. Here are my predictions for 2014 and how they played out. Last year I called for: 1) continued progress for the U.S. economy, 2) acceleration of healthcare reform, 3) beginning of similar reform in higher ed, 4) big data impacting many sectors, 5) tech/media/fashion converging, and 6) robotics becoming pervasive. Looking back, I would say that the economic forecast was right on; healthcare reform went slower than I expected because of the botched federal exchange roll-out; higher ed reform is accelerating; big data is having various impacts (but that was a softball prediction); slow roll-out of smart watches is beginning a tech/media/fashon convergence; and robotics became pervasive in interesting ways.

 

Out with the old, in with the new — 2015 is fast approaching, and that means a whole new year of new trends in the small business world and beyond.

Business News Daily asked small business owners and business experts what they think will be the next big thing in 2015. The good news? The experts agreed that 2015 will be a good year for small business and that things are looking up. However, that doesn't mean there won't be some big changes to adapt to in the coming year.

The start of the New Year is a good time to reflect on the year past and to make a new start, whether in your career, your relationships or your health. Post these quotes in areas where you can see them as the year starts and keep them in mind throughout the year to help inspire you to make next year the best ever.

Generosity is universal, and people across the globe participate in charitable giving. That said, there are certain countries whose residents rise above the rest when it comes to giving behavior.

According to the World Giving Index 2014, published in November by the Charities Aid Foundation, Myanmar and the United States topped the list of most charitable nations, based on donations, volunteer work and helping strangers.

Here comes 2015. You know this is going to be your year. As such, you may also know that you’re going to leave your current job for an incredible new one.

So, let’s get you prepared to make that transition graceful and smooth, shall we? Here are six important things to do before you quit:

1. Make those last doctor and dentist appointments

Scaling-up a company is one of the most exhilarating and rewarding parts of working in an early-stage business environment.  But doing so is also filled with risks and challenges.  At this time of year, I am reminded of just how comparable scaling a business can be to one of winter’s other adrenaline-charged activities—ski racing.  This metaphor was introduced to me years ago; and I continue to be struck by the lessons to be taken from the downhill to the start-up.

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