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.
Do you believe in a generation gap? This used to be a BIG topic of conversation many years ago as the baby boomers pushed into young adulthood. If you’re into classic rock, you may know The Who song aptly titled “My Generation:” “People try to put us d-down (talkin’ ’bout my generation)… Just because we get around (talkin’ ’bout my generation)… Things they do look awful c-c-cold (talkin’ ’bout my generation)… I hope I die before I get old (talkin’ ’bout my generation).”
AS a former physician, I shivered a bit when I heard Dr. Vivek Wadhwa say he would rather have an artificial-intelligence doctor than a human one. “I would trust an A.I. over a doctor any day,” he proclaimed at a recent health innovation conference in San Francisco, noting that artificial intelligence provided “perfect knowledge.” When asked to vote, probably a third of those in attendance agreed.
Image: http://www.nytimes.com - Katie Scott
Peter Thiel has been in the media quite a bit in recent days following the release of his new book Zero to One. I haven't read the book yet, but I do have some brief thoughts so far based on some media interviews I've heard:
Thiel takes a rather alternative approach to capitalism. He says capitalism isn't about competition, but rather monopoly. This is similar to what I say in my book. Capitalism, if left to its own devices, veers towards monopoly. What Thiel doesn't spend time discussing is how this can be negative in addition to being a positive.
In upcoming November’s Global Entrepreneurship Week millions of people in 140 countries will participate in over 10,000 events to celebrate entrepreneurial startups. We believe that entrepreneurial scale ups are an essential yet underemphasized part of this crucial global conversation. Entrepreneurial scale ups are companies – young or old – which are run and owned by growth-driven business owners and leaders which at any stage of their lives may launch a new growth trajectory. Scaling up, which by definition reflects new value creation in the world’s marketplaces are the guiding North Star in this dialog because, as research has shown in many countries, scaling up companies are the drivers of both economic and social prosperity. Furthermore, we also know that these value creating companies may be startups, family businesses, spinoffs, acquisitions, and buyouts, in any industry, service, or business sector.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
Beijing, China - Chinese scientists are racing to complete plans for a supergiant particle collider that, when built, will dwarf every other accelerator on the planet.
The underground particle-smashing ring aims to be at least twice the size of the globe's current leading collider - the Large Hadron Collider (CERN) outside Geneva. With a circumference of 80 kilometres, the Chinese accelerator complex would encircle the entire island of Manhattan.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
The Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator is getting proactive about landing even more talented startups for its 2015 class. Managing Director John Fein currently is on a cross-country recruiting tour to 10 cities, generating buzz for the mentor-led program and encouraging prospective startups to participate. The 2014 program drew national media attention to the area, but that success isn't stopping Fein and the Techstars leadership team from working to improve on its formula.
Image: Bobby Burch | KCBJ John Fein, managing director of the Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator
China’s Premier Li Keqiang told the World Economic Forum in Tianjin on 10 September that China will step up science and technology innovation and improve the technological sophistication, quality and brand awareness of Chinese industry. This comment reflects the Chinese government’s continuing emphasis on technological innovation, including R&D spending which is now around 42% of the US level. But our research on innovation by companies in China shows that there are at least eight types of innovation, and that China’s success to date has been built much more on non-technology types of innovation .
For all its apparent financial maturity, social media remains an utterly unique space within marketing, in which spontaneity and a genuine connection to an audience is valued above all else. That rare, natural quality exists because marketers hold an unparalleled amount of freedom within the medium.
But born from that room to operate increasingly comes misguided moments that negatively affect brands on a global scale. Unless the industry as a whole embraces creative as well as fiscal maturity, we’ll be shacked by process and legalese, killing everything that makes social so special.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
If you were asked to name an innovative region, would you think of Northeast Ohio?
Well, you should.
A place where manufacturing expertise meets cutting-edge technologies, our region is transitioning from Rust Belt to Tech Belt at increasing speed.
With groundbreaking startups and manufacturing powerhouses, prestigious universities and world-renowned research institutions, and a growing number of accelerators and incubators, we are developing a tremendous innovation capacity in this region.
Some of the greatest innovations and ideas come from the curious minds of university students enrolled in STEM majors. Institutions need to bear in mind that for unconventional ideas to take root and come to life, students must have access to similarly unconventional yet highly conducive learning and working environments — similar to the newly-opened facility at Texas A&M University.
Image: http://bionews-tx.com
The long-awaited public market debut of the Alibaba Group, the Chinese Internet titan, did not disappoint on Friday, eclipsing every other company that has started to sell stock so far this year.
After pricing at $68 a share on Thursday night, Alibaba’s shares opened sharply higher on Friday and finished the day up 38 percent, at $93.89. Yet even Alibaba’s blockbuster stock sale appears unlikely to dampen a yearlong enthusiasm for initial public offerings as start-ups and private companies continue to flock to the stock markets.
Image: Maggie Wu, Alibaba's chief financial officer, rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.Credit Todd Heisler/The New York Times
Most people agree that entrepreneurs have to think differently and take risks to have much chance of building a successful business. Yet I have found that serious entrepreneurs usually go way beyond these platitudes in their actions and thinking, and often won’t volunteer their real views, for fear of alienating “regular” people, and being branded a fanatic.
A founder can’t grow a winning enterprise singlehandedly. Some may try, but it is nearly impossible to do so. Every famous entrepreneur has built a flourishing company with great employees by his or her side.
An entrepreneur can invent and even commercialize an idea as an enterprise of one. In time, however, the tasks of running a business become too great for the entrepreneur to manage alone. At this point, a savvy leader must find and hire the best workers to help achieve the entrepreneurial dream.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
For years, Christina Marshall was convinced she would start her own company.
She studied entrepreneurship with the hope of launching a clothing company for full-figured women. But after graduating two years ago, the 31-year-old chose a more conventional career as a brand manager at Kraft Foods in Chicago.
Image: Chicago Tribune/MCT ANDREW A. NELLES
From entertainment systems and washing machines in our homes to transport technologies and environmental control outside of them, connected devices open up a world of new possibilities. Gartner not only predicts the average affluent family home to carry over 500 hundred connected devices by 2022, it also highlights a couple of areas where opportunities for innovation might arise for business.
Image: http://memeburn.com
Thursday night roboticist Cynthia Breazeal was one one of three women to win L’Oreal’s Women in Digital award. During the ceremony it occurred to me, wait, Cynthia Breazeal is a woman?
If you look at all the interviews, profiles, and stories about Breazeal, they describe about her achievements as a scientist in the field of robotics. They talk about Breazeal’s work at the MIT Media Lab, or they talk about Kismet, Breazeal’s doe-eyed social robot, or they talk about Jibo. But whatever they discuss, they never once mention that she’s a woman.
Image: http://venturebeat.com
How do you hire a great engineering manager?
It’s a question I’ve been grappling with a lot, as the company I’ve been leading has doubled in size every year for the past five years. At times, I’ve thought great engineering managers might not even exist. What is it that a great engineering manager has? Obviously, technical ability is key, but the purpose of this job isn’t just to hack technical problems. It’s to hack the very different human and business problems. There are certain attributes they need, such as the ability to be critically introspective, to be able to drive to root causes, challenging underlying assumptions, and obviously, they need great interpersonal skills.
Image: Credit - Eileen Kane/Flickr
Microsoft has designed a universal mobile keyboard that’s supposed to work with just about any mobile device, no matter the operating system. On Microsoft’s official blog, The Fire Hose, the company says that its Universal Mobile Keyboard is designed to work with iOS and Android devices and, of course, Windows tablets and phones.
http://smallbiztrends.com
A group of 19 high-net worth investors, almost all from Omaha, have signed on to a new angel investing model backed by Dundee Venture Capital.
The Omaha-based venture capital firm has launched a “syndicate” through AngelList, a Web-based database and network of angel investors that tracks investment deals and startups seeking capital.
In 2009, when Amy Norman and Stella Ma started pitching investors on their San Francisco-based startup, Little Passports, both had young children and Norman was pregnant. The overwhelming majority of the investors they met with were men who wanted to know “if we were running this as a ‘lifestyle company,’” Ma recalls. Investors passed and word got around Silicon Valley that “there’s no way women like this could grow a company fast enough” to satisfy venture capitalists, Norman says.
Image: www.businessweek.com
