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.
Articles of Incorporation/Certificate of Incorporation
The Articles of Incorporation is the legal foundation for your corporation and is required by every state when you incorporate your business. It outlines the basic information for your business and once filed, is on public record. The common information included in this document includes:
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Last Wednesday I had coffee with an old friend and former colleague. We haven’t worked together in a while and were reminiscing about the old days. I miss the old days when we used to be locked in battle together on the issues affecting our company.
The human brain is puzzling — it is curiously large given the size of our bodies, uses a tremendous amount of energy for its weight and has a bizarrely dense cerebral cortex. But: why? Neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel puts on her detective's cap and leads us through this mystery. By making "brain soup," she arrives at a startling conclusion.
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Every day new technology is being developed -- technologies that can change the world we live in and solve challenges that the world struggles with, such as sustainability and security, as well as raising our standards of healthcare. None of these new technologies will affect change, unless they are fostered with adequate funding, supported by governmental regulations, and their impacts made to be understood by the public. The World Economic Forum, a non-profit Foundation, headquartered in Geneva, was established in 1971, as an independent, unbiased organization, with the mission of improving the global condition. Their Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies helps to "positive influence the public perception on emerging technologies" by publishing annual lists of what they consider to be the top ten "breakthrough technologies" for the year.
When a billionaire investor responsible for disrupting credit/payments, automotive, and space travel industries communicates a warning to the world about a trend in new technologies, it’s best just to listen.
Case in point, yesterday SpaceX and Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk told people to be careful when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), which he said could be “potentially more dangerous” than nuclear weapons, according to a tweet sent yesterday. (The tweet came just an hour after Musk offered his thoughts on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie, so take that however you will.)
Image: Tesla CEO Elon Musk Image Credit: SXSW Livestream
Fred Seddiqui is a successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley and current CEO of Lugano and a Palo Alto University Trustee. This is his journey.
On many occasions during my career, I have been asked the question, "Is entrepreneurship something you are born with or can it be taught?" The answer to this question is not easy, however, I will sum it up in the simplest terms as yes AND no.
First, let me address the "no" answer and demonstrate that entrepreneurship has to be a part of us. For me, the concept of entrepreneurship and the feeling of not going along with the norm were an integral part of my mind and psyche since my earliest memories. I could not tell you why I thought differently and was dissatisfied with being a part of the mundane and commonplace daily life happening around me. I began working early in my teen years and quickly found that the jobs I was given becoming boring to me rather quickly. This created a sense of frustration and lack of fulfillment with my jobs that went on for years until I became an entrepreneur and follow my passion.
Creating an entrepreneurial society from nothing is not an easy task. Of course the idea of ‘an entrepreneurial society’ as separate from general business is slightly misleading. Everywhere in the world ambitious people strike out on their own by opening shops, starting businesses or becoming sole traders.
But the development of an entrepreneurial society focused on a start-up scene is a different variation. The creation of tech-hubs, cultural interest in entrepreneurs and government-backed initiatives for innovative new businesses are all indications of a more advanced start-up culture – something that many countries crave.
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Take it from the Transportation Safety Administration: The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. The second step is dangling a reward up to $15,000 to fix a major airport headache -- the dreaded security line.
Yup, those unbearably long, frustrating security check lines aren't getting any better -- even the fast-track TSA PreCheck program can't remedy them.
Image: Wayan Vota/Flickr
Q: Are there any quick ways to succeed in business without spending a huge amount of money on marketing? -- Geraldo Kandonga Fillipus, Geraldo Financial Solutions, Namibia
Unfortunately there’s no shortcut or magic recipe to success -- or if there is, I haven’t found it yet. Creating a successful and profitable business takes time, since you build your reputation as customers learn to trust and rely on you, one by one.
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Entrepreneurship is a labor of love, and like any great love, that often means a lot of passion and a lot of persistence to reach your happily ever after. There are set-backs and failures and successes and triumphs, but it just may be that all those peaks and valleys are what make being an entrepreneur so great.
The one ingredient you’ll always need for the journey of entrepreneurship is persistence. It can take your further than any other quality alone. Here are 10 great quotes about persistence and passion to fuel your journey forward.
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As they say, everyone has to start somewhere.
But being the most junior member on a team is never an easy position, and it can be tough to gain trust and credibility when you’re learning the ropes surrounded by more tenured colleagues.
Part of overcoming this sometimes-awkward stage is achieved simply through patience and hard work, but there are also some tangible things you can do to quickly make an impact, regardless of your rank. Here’s how to gain the trust and respect of your colleagues and position yourself for success when you’re the new kid.
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When a new job title is created and introduced to an organisation, the immediate response is typically a combination of apprehension, confusion and sometimes rejection. It’s not unusual for people to scrutinise the role, question the business need and worry about how it will affect them.
Riding on the coat tails of the Big Data phenomenon, the roles of data scientist and Chief Data Officer (CDO) are two job titles that have started to crop up in businesses, both large and small. In fact, Gartner estimates over 100 Chief Data Officers are serving in large enterprises, which is more than double the number it calculated in 2012. This increase may not come as a surprise, but let’s take a step back and explore exactly why these roles are being created, what they do and how they are affecting the way organisations run their businesses.
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Is your spouse compatible with your business and entrepreneurship? Your startup? Your plans to grow your existing business?
No – it’s not a trick question. And no, I’m not an expert.
But my wife and I have been married 44 years, including more than a decade of scraping to support a startup, and sending five kids through college. So maybe I know something about this. But it doesn’t take 44 years’ experience to know that balancing building your own business and having a life while doing so can be tough. Even downright acrobatic in some cases. But it may be the most important acrobatic feat you ever accomplish.
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If you’re going to choose a place on the body to measure physical signals, Steven LeBoeuf says two places are far and away the best: the ear or the rear.
LeBoeuf knows it sounds like a joke, but he’s not kidding. He’s the president and cofounder of Valencell, a company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, that developed and licenses technology it says can accurately track vital signs like heart rate, temperature, and respiration rate from the same earbuds you’d use to listen to music. It does this with photoplethysmography, or PPG, which measures changes in blood flow by shining a light on the skin and measuring how it scatters off blood vessels (this is often done in hospitals with a device that fits over your fingertip).
Image: http://www.technologyreview.com
What is the key to a sound business strategy? It’s all about identifying, and then improving areas in your unique business for the greatest short and long term benefits.
Do you know how you can make the largest impact, while developing a brand identity that resonates with your customers, and reflects the key goals of your company?
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History is littered with the failed predictions of experts. Yet governments hire high-paid consultants to advise on policy; businesses use them to vet research and development projects; and venture capitalists have them make investment decisions. Experts excel in looking backwards, protecting their turf, and saying what their clients want to hear. Their short-term predictions are sometimes right, but they are almost always wrong in forecasting any more-distant future.
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The high-risk, high-reward game of venture capital appears to be paying dividends again. After a long dry spell in which investors were better off putting money into public stocks, venture capitalists are now beating their public market compatriots.
Photo via Shutterstock Venture capital fund performance improved in nearly every time period for the quarter ended March 31, with the 1-, 5-, 10- and 20-year horizons all showing higher returns compared to the previous quarter. Venture capital also beat returns for the Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices in the 1-, 3-, 10-, 15- and 20-year time horizons.
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For every successful start-up, umpteen entrepreneurs will fail – despite having brilliant ideas. Many of these failures will be down to one major problem that faces new businesses anywhere in the world: finding finance.
One solution, with added potency in a time of reduced bank lending, is Venture Capital (VC) – finance provided to early-stage companies, usually through dedicated management funds in return for an equity stake in the business.
The number of Americans playing golf each year has declined about 17% over the past decade, and millennials’ coolness toward the sport has contributed to the trend: While the number of people ages 18 to 34 participating in sports such as running rose 29% from 2009 to 2013, the proportion playing golf fell roughly 13%, according to the Wall Street Journal. The U.S. Golf Association has launched a campaign to sell golfers on the cost and time benefits of playing just nine holes.
Though governments around the world have mounted massive campaigns to address poverty, expensive (and poor) healthcare, crime, and ineffective education, daunting challenges remain. Fortunately, we are witnessing three fundamental changes that offer hope.
First, private citizens, particularly younger people, are choosing different types of career paths. The old model — get a job, earn money, pay back — is being replaced by an earlier commitment to change. Wendy Kopp, who founded Teach For America, and Linda Rottenberg, who founded Endeavor are just two well-known examples.
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