SALT LAKE CITY — It isn't the first time Utah's research-focused economic development program has been faced with the question of whether it will live to fight another day.

The Utah Science, Technology and Research initiative, USTAR for short, has been subject to question and criticism essentially from its inception in 2005 by then-Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who predicted the program would make Utah a "haven" for forward-thinking researchers and create a system of returns that would expand with each year.

Image: Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) researchers showcase their most exciting projects and emerging technologies at the 2013 Innovation Fair at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. - https://www.deseretnews.com

No one ever had fun visiting the cardiologist. Regardless of how good the doc might be, it’s always a little scary thinking about the health of something as fundamental as the heart. But there are ways to take greater control—to ensure that your own heart health is the best it can be—even if you have a family history of cardiovascular disease.

It has become increasingly difficult to avoid the apocalyptic tales of an industry gasping for its last breath, as more and more conferences, industry coverage and client meetings are laced with fear and resignation.

Of course, the business of servicing brands has forever changed and with it, the conventional ways of running a successful agency. With downward pressure on fees, the seemingly unsustainable rate of innovation and new competitive threats – the marketing services industry has entered a new chapter.

Becoming an entrepreneur means you've decided to sign yourself up to learn things the hard way.

This is what makes building a company so exciting. It's also the reason building a company is so stressful. Setting out and doing something on your own is both liberating and daunting--and for many entrepreneurs, this means learning important lessons the hard way.

The United States is the most globally competitive nation in the world for the first time since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, according to a new report.

Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan rounded out the top five.

The latest Global Competitiveness Report, conducted by the World Economic Forum, uses a new methodology that aims to better account for the effects of the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution. WEF, as it’s known, credits three things for U.S. supremacy among 140 economies: market size, innovation ecosystem (including idea generation, entrepreneurial culture, openness, and agility), and stability.

With the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), humanity has entered a new phase. The 4IR has become the lived reality for millions of people around the world, and is creating new opportunities for business, government and individuals. Yet it also threatens a new divergence and polarization within and between economies and societies. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of the beginning of the global financial crisis, which has had social and economic consequences of a magnitude unprecedented in recent generations. Combined with a background of growing inequality and geopolitical flashpoints, this has fuelled citizens’ concerns about globalization and polarized the political debate. Although global economic growth has been robust over the past two years, it remains fragile in this changing economic and political context.

Image: http://www3.weforum.org

If you're looking for the best place to build a business, you may not have to look far.

The United States was ranked No. 1 in "business dynamism" in the World Economic Forum's 2018 global competitiveness report on Tuesday, scoring a global high of 86.5 points out of 100 in the category.

Image: The United States, where Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, is ranked No. 1. Ted S. Warren/AP

A couple of months ago, I was sitting in a coffee shop in Bangalore with a friend who works on Indian startup policy initiatives. We were discussing the state of incubators in India when I noticed him start to fidget anxiously with his cappuccino.

For the 50 million individuals worldwide ailing from Alzheimer’s disease, the announcements by pharmaceutical giants earlier this year that they will end research on therapeutics were devastating. The news is even more devastating considering projections that 100 million more people will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease across the globe by 2050, all potentially without a medical means to better their quality of life.

If your perception of a successful entrepreneur is shaped by what’s portrayed in the media, you probably think it’s a young person’s game. New research shows this may be more myth than reality.

According to a report published in the Harvard Business Review, the average age of a successful startup founder is 45.

While movies, news articles and TV shows may feature a stereotypical image of young male who is dropping out of college to start the next big thing, reality is telling a different story. This holds true among founders of widely varying verticals.

Many excellent movies have been made about entrepreneurs and the pioneering spirit they embody. These movies can encourage, exhilarate and, of course, entertain us.

For all the aspiring entrepreneurs out there who are looking for some movie inspiration while cozying up with some popcorn, here are the top 13 flicks about the entrepreneurial experience.

“Investors aren’t used to seeing people that look like you, you’re already 10 points down when you walk in the door, you better know your sh*t.”

That was the advice I got from an investor 3 years ago when I was starting my company Amaliah, with my pregnant co-founder who was about to pop.

And for sure he was right, my co-founder and I don’t look like the people you see in an investment portfolio. The startup scene and in particular the venture scene was, is, overwhelmingly white males.

Image: Part of Backstage Capital teamBACKSTAGE CAPITAL

The days of leadership without engagement are gone. With interactive social media and video everywhere, everyone needs to feel they have a relationship with their leaders, and every brand needs leader personification for customers to relate. Soon you won’t be able to name a business as one of your favorites if you can’t personally visualize and relate to company leadership.

As the home of Royal Philips Electronics for more than 125 years, the southern Netherlands city of Eindhoven — now the country’s fifth largest, with more than a quarter-million residents — once epitomized the industrial heart of the country. During that period, its design, development, and economic vitality were inextricably linked to the electronics giant — long the city’s largest employer, ever since the lightbulb factory opened its doors during the First World War.

Image: John Cleese's beloved "Ministry of Silly Walks" sketch from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" is immortalized in a formerly drab bicycle tunnel as part of Eindhoven's "Smile Factor" program.    - https://nextcity.org

If all you know of crowdfunding for startups is the world of Kickstarter, you’re missing out on a booming opportunity to raise money online. Equity crowdfunding (aka crowdinvesting) is not right for every startup, but for some entrepreneurs, it can be a terrific way to raise capital and get great investor expertise for your small business.

If you admire the millionaire and billionaire investors on the TV show "Shark Tank," then you might be interested in attending an MBA program where you will learn how to identify companies worthy of investment.

Many business schools offer courses in venture capital, an investing specialty which involves identifying and buying stock in startups that have the potential to become wildly profitable.

From your passwords to where you parked your car, there’s a lot to remember every day. If you struggle with your memory but shrug your shoulders and accept it as is, you’re holding yourself back, says Nelson Dellis, author of Remember It! The Names of People You Meet, All of Your Passwords, Where You Left Your Keys, and Everything Else You Tend to Forget.

However long a business has operated, investors will look for three big things if they are going to invest.

We hear a lot of talk about the first employee at a startup or on a team. Nikita Dyer Miller has made a specialty of being the fourth product manager.

It may not sound glamorous, but that’s a uniquely challenging — and impactful — space to occupy. She’s found that for a product team, the boom from a couple of PMs to 10 or more is a make-or-break moment. It marks a greater shift and line in the sand: the threshold between early stage and growth stage, old guard and new guard, original and restructured team

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is doing everything from sharing more data to cultivating entrepreneurial talent and engaging in partnerships in order to support medical device innovators, the department’s CTO Ed Simcox told than 100 industry insiders in the Twin Cities today.

Image: https://www.medicaldesignandoutsourcing.com