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.
Growing up, I remember working hard for good grades but stressing over what I really needed to do to get a job one day. I worked a number of odd jobs to gain valuable skills, and while that experience was important, it wasn’t everything. Developing soft skills was just as important to grow my career.
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Cities will continue to innovate, with or without Washington, the mayors of Boston and Chattanooga said on Friday. At POLITICO Magazine’s “What Works: Boston” event, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke discussed the progress their cities have made by embracing the “innovation economy,” as well as challenges that have arisen from greater modernization.
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The Maine Angels is one of the most active angel investment groups in the country, according to the most recent Halo Report, a national survey of angel investment activity.
The group, a collection of affluent individuals who pool their resources to invest in and mentor early-stage companies, closed 14 deals during the second quarter of 2014, enough to have it listed in the Halo Report as one of the eight most-active angel investment groups in the country. Those 14 deals totaled nearly $1.3 million in investment in early-stage companies, said Sandra Stone, chair of the Maine Angels.
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Another incubator is ready to test Y Combinator's theory that it is possible to get a biotech-related startup off the ground with smaller sums of money than ever before. VC shop SOS Ventures is offering startups working broadly in biology $35,000 in seed funding, mentors and lab space at incubators in San Francisco and Cork, Ireland.
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In their passion to succeed, too many entrepreneurs treat friends and family investments as “low-hanging” fruit, only to find out later, after a stumble, that the pain of lost relationships is greater than the loss of their beloved startup. Other entrepreneurs never start their adventure, because they can’t face the prospect of even approaching friends and family for an investment kick-start.
Scientists at the Salk Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston have discovered a new class of molecules–produced in human and mouse fat–that protects against diabetes.
The researchers found that giving this new fat, or lipid, to mice with the equivalent of type 2 diabetes lowered their elevated blood sugar, as detailed October 9 in Cell. The team also found that levels of the new lipids are low in humans with a high risk for diabetes, suggesting that the lipids could potentially be utilized as a therapy for metabolic disorders.
A wealth of experience, a good listener, a track record of making mistakes and learning from them? Have a look at what Annalisa and Mark believe a good mentor is all about then let us know your opinion…
Over the past decade, we have witnessed the emergence of a new urban paradigm that both maximizes growth and provides greater upward mobility. We call this opportunity urbanism, an approach that focuses largely on providing the best policy environment for both businesses and individuals to pursue their aspirations.
Although contrary to much of the conventional wisdom about cities and regions, this is not a break with traditional urbanism, but instead a reinforcement of old traditions. Long ago, Aristotle reminded us that the city was a place where people came to live, and they remained there in order to live better. “A city comes into being for the sake of life, but exists for the sake of living well.” In the end, opportunity urbanism rests on the notion that cities serve, first and foremost, as engines to create better lives for its residents.
Image: http://www.newgeography.com
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is celebrating 10 years of its Grand Challenges in Global Health program, where it asks scientists to brainstorm solutions to gnarly health problems and then offers grants to the best ideas.
Through his foundation, Gates has ventured into areas that others would shun, such as new kinds of toilets, batteries that run on human urine, more-enjoyable condoms that offer better protection against sexually transmitted disease.
Image: http://venturebeat.com
One of the enduring issues with London’s growing tech scene is the shortage of skilled workers.
Programming is now being taught in schools for the first time but we are years away from a generation of coders.
Despite all the hype around Silicon Valley, it turns out they are having very similar problems.
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Failure is the fertilizer of Silicon Valley, or so we would have you believe. Like fraternity hazing, we take excessive pleasure in warning plebes (aspiring entrepreneurs) that 80 to 90 percent of all startups fail.
But failure, when you get right down to it, is neither inevitable nor anything to brag about. As Silicon Valley veterans — Oracle, Sun, SynOptics, and over 40 startups and tech giants — we’ve had ringside seats to some of the greatest successes and flame-outs in tech history. And while everyone associated with technology startups knows that you need to kiss a few frogs at times, we’ve created an early warning ‘failure list’ that we consult before we pucker up:
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If you’re looking to lose weight, add apples to your diet.
A new study in the journal Food Chemistry finds that nondigestible compounds in apples help to regulate gut flora and may prevent disorders associated with obesity.
But which type of apple is best? Washington State University researchers compared the nondigestible compounds in Braeburn, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples. The Granny Smith variety contained the most nondigestible compounds.
The hard work and dedication you’ve devoted to your startup has finally paid off; your industry’s largest incumbent has invited you to join it as a partner and key supplier. Should you accept?
On the surface, the decision may seem straightforward, but before you sign on and cash in, there are risks to consider. A high-profile test case is unfolding before us in the space race between Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Their opposing tacks present an opportunity to evaluate the trade-offs for start-ups in partnering with an incumbent.
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Cities will continue to innovate, with or without Washington, the mayors of Boston and Chattanooga said on Friday.
At POLITICO Magazine’s “What Works: Boston” event, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke discussed the progress their cities have made by embracing the “innovation economy,” as well as challenges that have arisen from greater modernization.
Image: http://www.politico.com
As a kid I was in love with old movies, old books, comics, toys—anything nostalgic. In fact my very first startup, a gourmet food business based on my grandfather’s famous barbecue sauce recipe from his pre-World War II restaurant, was an outgrowth of this fascination. As an adult I had a vintage loft apartment in Chicago that was filled with my collection of autographs of movie comedians, a working Victrola, two working Philco radios, a working crank telephone and a working candlestick phone just like Sam Spade might have used. My apartment looked like a high class junk shop. It’s one thing to play Frank Sinatra tunes as a prelude to romance, but playing a 78 rpm disc of “Someone To Watch Over Me” by ‘Ol Blue Eyes on a hand cranked phonograph slayed them every time.
But even once you've mastered your skills our guides on maximizing Twitter reach, finding more followers, retweets, and clicks, you still need to build your list of smart people to follow.
The best and worst times to post to social media How to expand your reach The perfect length of a tweet And when you need to speak up--or shut up--to gain more followers Whether you're looking for inspiration in your daily life, or trying to find your voice online, these tweets give us teachable, personable gems among the Internet din.
Image: http://www.fastcompany.com
Creative businesses and entrepreneurs increasingly use social media and mobile technology for communication, collaboration and research. For research parks to attract these creatives, they need to understand why this new technology matters and how to effectively use it without wasting time online. 9 Clouds, Inc. and Tatango are industry leaders in social media and mobile technology that will use this webinar to discuss technology trends and how research parks can create and implement an online strategy that is effective and efficient.
NEW DELHI: The government today said it is taking various steps, including help start-ups to get easy loans and opening 500 incubation centres in the country, for boosting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
"We have decided that we will run 500 incubation centres in the country. At present there are only 84 centres. I request the corporate sector to encourage people to open these centres. It will help in providing skills and employment to youths," MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra said here at a CII function.
Image: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com
The early stages of a startup are always fresh and exciting. Ideas flourish and expectations rise in world of limitless possibilities. Yet the early days are also filled with uncertainty--resources, funding, bringing in the right people, commercialization...
The temptation to join an accelerator can be strong as it provides not only acknowledgment, but stability in an uncertain future. I've written this piece to share with you my insights in being part of an edtech accelerator. Hopefully, this will help the undecided make their mind up over whether to join an accelerator or not.
The synergy between wine and crowdfunding led four entrepreneurs in France to start Fundovino, the first platform dedicated entirely to wine. Launched in August, it now has one project nearing successful completion.
The Paris-based company believes that France’s position as one of the world’s premiere wine producers helps Fundovino to provide a strategic link between consumers and producers. "Wine is France’s second largest export, and we have 558,000 people working in wine and 142,000 producers," said co-founder Julien Worth.
