Microsoft Ventures, with a little help from Stuff, is on the lookout for a new group of technology startups to take to the next level.

The 14-week Accelerator course run at its London premises in Whitechapel immerses new tech companies in what it calls a "‘mini-entrepreneurial MBA’ that will compress your time to launch and help turn your startup into a profitable business". It offers office space, workshops, mentorship and access to its (massive) little black book and vast computing resources. Naturally, only the best are chosen.

Image: http://www.stuff.tv

Jack Welch, former CEO of GE once said, “If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near.”

We’ve seen “the end” happen over and over again as advancements in technology have fundamentally changed entire industries before businesses can catch up—remember Blockbuster?

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Everyone’s talking about crowdfunding right now. There’s good reason: The practice has redefined the funding landscape by providing an attractive avenue for entrepreneurs to not only raise funds but also use the platform as a way to launch a sustainable business. While crowdfunding’s benefits are plentiful, timely fulfillment is a daunting challenge that all campaigners face. 

Real estate crowdfunding has been growing exponentially for the past couple years, and this year the industry continues to move from being a niche phenomenon to establishing itself as a legitimate and credible fundraising tool. It has also transformed real estate investing from being a rich man’s preserve to an activity in which the ordinary retail investor could participate. It provides smaller investors the opportunity to directly invest in real estate projects located in their own communities. TimesRealtyNews.com that I write for, as of September 1, 2014, saw $2 billion in real estate crowdfunding affected.

Paid vacation time continues to be the most widely offered benefit by small employers, hotly followed by personal time off and health insurance. But are these the benefits that employees truly favor? Employee needs are changing — baby boomers are no longer dominant in the workplace, the recession has placed new impetus on financial security, and traditional benefit packages aren’t necessarily cutting it anymore. That’s the takeaway from a 2012 survey (PDF) of small business employees by MetLife titled, “Are You Listening? What Small Business Employees Want From Their Benefits, and How Employers Can Show They’ve Heard.”

Mobile development has never been easy. Unfortunately, it's about to get much harder, according to a new Forrester report that predicts eight key changes for the mobile world in the coming year—shifts that will keep mobile developers on their toes.

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Globalization marches on. But the pace isn’t all that fast, and the overall level of global connectedness still hasn’t gotten back to its all-time peak of 2007. The overwhelming majority of commerce, investment, and other interactions still occur within — not between — nations.

That’s the message from the just-released DHL Global Connectedness Index 2014, which combines measures of trade, capital, people, and information flows to give a picture of how entwined we citizens of the world are with each other.

Image: http://blogs.hbr.org

Most obviously, the Internet of Things has the power to profoundly change operations — that’s where much of the coverage of this burgeoning network has focused. But companies should also be preparing for profound shifts in their competitive strategies as the IoT takes off. It will change the category you compete in, the products and services you sell, and  how you market them, and even the talent you acquire. These three mini case studies will show you just how profound those shifts will be.

Most people say that they'd like to read more but don't have the time. But reading doesn't just have to be something you have time for on beach vacations.

The most successful people find ways to squeeze reading time into the small conners of their days. Here are seven interesting business books that you can read while you eat lunch, instead of checking your email (again).

Two years ago a civil servant in the German town of Menden wrote a farewell message to his colleagues on the day of his retirement stating that he had not done anything for 14 years. “Since 1998,” he wrote, “I was present but not really there. So I’m going to be well prepared for retirement—Adieu.” The e-mail was leaked to Germany's Westfalen-Post and quickly became world news. The public work ethic had been wounded and in the days that followed the mayor of Menden lamented the incident, saying he “felt a good dose of rage.”

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Despite all the focus you hear on external investors, over 90% of startups today are self-funded.

As New Orleans garners increasing praise for the number of businesses that are starting up in the local area, some of the people who are giving those enterprises a leg up are getting more support as well.

Every new business shares a need for money, and the most common source of capital for startups throughout the world is a category of financiers known as “friends and family.” More often than not, entrepreneurs who have no funds of their own or have already exhausted their savings trying to launch a business will turn to people they know best to ask for help.

Image: OSEPH DANIEL FIEDLER ILLUSTRATION

Crowdfunding is rapidly changing, and on the forefront of that movement is Judd Hollas, Founder and CEO of EquityNet. As investors and businesses become fatigued with waiting on the federal government to set national regulations for the crowd funding industries, the states are stepping in.

Mike Paulus, director of Technology Transfer, attributes the growth in large part to the Technology Innovation Program, Bridging the Gap and SPARK! These programs helped the lab double the number of licenses for the fiscal years 2012-2014 compared to 2009-2011, and Paulus expects a new initiative, the Invention to Innovation Webinar Series, to help maintain the upward trend.

Image: Mike Paulus, director of Technology Transfer, says initiatives like SPARK! have been effective at connecting entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts with ORNL technologies and capabilities. - OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY

For those of you who have not yet had the opportunity to pour over the scintillating new page burner a recommendation on the Accredited Investor Definition approved by the Investor Advisory Committee to the SEC – allow me to provide a distillation. The definition of an “Accredited Investor” (“AI”) is used to determine the eligibility of investors to participate in the private securities market by buying shares in private companies, including startups. Since 1982 this has been defined for individuals by meeting an income threshold ($200K/yr individual or $300K/yr for joint tax filings) or a net worth threshold ($1MM excluding value of primary residence). The objective was to define a class of (AI) individuals able to “fend for themselves,” meaning they are able to sustain a loss and not cry too much about it. The flaws and shortcomings of using income/wealth measures to qualify eligible investors are well documented in the recommendation which revisits the definition and suggests approaches to improving it, including among other things:

Do you want to work for a startup? The hours are often long and a "typical day" is nonexistent, but if you really believe in what you're working towards, it can transform your career — and perhaps even lead to a startup of your own.

In order to land your dream startup job, you need to hone a few specific skills — and no, they're not all tech-related. In fact, the entrepreneurs I talked to seemed far more interested in traits like adaptability and a growth mindset than your resume.

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Nominations are being accepted for the 2015 FLC Laboratory Director of the Year Award. Sponsored by the FLC National Advisory Council, this award honors Laboratory Directors who have made maximum contributions to the overall enhancement of technology transfer for economic development. Accomplishments related to the transfer of technology from the federal laboratory to industry including support of FLC activities, internal accomplishments, industry involvement, and community service are the primary criteria for the award.

To download a nomination form, please click here.

Just over a month ago, Dennis Kimetto of Kenya ran the fastest marathon ever, finishing the Berlin Marathon with a record-setting time of 2 hours, 2 minutes and 57 seconds. This means that for more than 26 miles (42 kilometers), Kimetto kept up a blisteringly fast average pace of 4 minutes and 41 seconds per mile (2 minutes and 56 seconds per kilometer).

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Gift giving is a great way to raise moral, cement business relationships, and keep clients happy. But depending on the number of people on your list, gift giving can become expensive, especially for the small business owner.

Image: http://smallbiztrends.com

Companies who are strong at innovation are three times more likely to rely on big data analytics and data mining than their counterparts who are less adept at innovating (57% versus 19%). 67% of breakthrough innovators say their big data analytics and data mining efforts are paying off. These and many other findings are from the latest analysis of the world’s most innovative companies of 2014 published last month by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The Boston Consulting Group’s study, The Most Innovative Companies 2014: Breaking Through Is Hard to Do is accessible here. You can download the PDF of the study methodology and results here (free, no opt-in). BCG has been publishing this study since 2005, basing it on interviews with 1,500 senior executives globally.