On my radio show, Launch Pad, airing weekly on Sirius XM Channel 111, Business Radio Powered by The Wharton School, I talk with entrepreneurs about their startups.

This month, I’m doing something a little different from usual. Instead of highlighting just one startup with a terrific elevator pitch, I want to shine a light on the University of Pennsylvania student entrepreneurial community, and especially participants in the recent Startup Challenge.

Venture capital is a hot subject for any startup. Having enough of it can be one of the factors that determines whether or not your business takes off. With new startups emerging all the time, understanding venture capitalists and what they’re looking for is important for any entrepreneur who wants to stand out and lock in funding.

Everywhere you look around you, there’s a hidden world layered on top of the one you see. This world is made up of information and data, silently being measured, transmitted, and analyzed. Invisible connections between devices, routers, cellphone towers, satellites, and servers comprise this gigantic network and make everything possible from online shopping to GPS navigation to Pokemon Go. This network of connections is the internet of things (IoT), and it’s growing around you by the minute.

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In 2017, only 38% of graduates reported that their educational establishment was mostly at the forefront in adopting innovations, new knowledge or methods (less than the economy average). So how do educational institutions need to adapt in this ever-changing landscape? What are the most important emerging themes and how are other institutions responding?

In this 50-year retrospective, we're not just looking at technology year by year, we're looking at technologies that had an impact on us, paved the way for the future, and changed us, in ways good and bad.

Image: https://www.zdnet.com

Venture Capitalists today are undoubtedly looking at ventures with a difference. This is substantiated when we consider the fact that leading players are even actively mentoring the startups they invest in. This potentially results in ventures coming with differentiators that could create a potential impact on society in the form of solving plaguing issues.

Sleep experts have long preached the importance of a sleep routine. Going to bed and rising at roughly the same time every day helps to regulate circadian rhythms and improve overall sleep quality and quantity.

So when we saw the The New York Times article reporting that executives–regardless of their own gender–generally drew a man when asked to draw a leader, we wondered when that bias starts and what lessons we could gain from asking kids the same questions.

Following the Mythbuster star’s visit to the university last summer, Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) is putting the finishing touches on its Jamie Hyneman Center.

During a lecture he held on his visit there last year, Hyneman underscored the importance of collaboration in various fields of study, emphasising that science was like a game of experimentation. The institution apparently agreed with his ideas — and the new centre, which will officially open in the autumn, is their response.

Image: Former Mythbusters star Jamie Hyneman at Lappeenranta University of Technology last summer. Image: Yle

Ethan Senturia thought he had it all. He graduated with honors, landed a job at Lehman Brothers, then struck out on his own when that Wall Street powerhouse shut down during the Great Recession. But Senturia quickly learned that becoming a successful entrepreneur takes much more than a great resume. Dealstruck, the online lending platform he founded, ceased operation in 2016. That experience led Senturia to rethink his long-held ideas about success. He has shared his personal journey in a new book titled, Unwound: Real-Time Reflections from a Stumbling Entrepreneur. Senturia talked about his experiences during a recent segment on the Knowledge@Wharton show on Wharton Business Radio, SiriusXM channel 111.

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Cory Nieves, founder of Mr. Cory’s Cookies, an e-commerce and wholesale cookie business based in Englewood, New Jersey, counts big customers like Aetna, Viacom, and Williams-Sonoma among his customer base. But, sometimes, his customers are a little taken aback when he arrives to meet with them. So his mom starts the conversation, and then he takes over once they’re comfortable. Bringing a parent to meetings would likely backfire for most young business founders, but Nieves just turned 14 years old.

Image: https://www.fastcompany.com

Happy Memorial Day from Rich Bendis and the Innovation America team! - Never Forget.

Maybe you’ve heard of this thing called blockchain.

Since the introduction of the word bitcoin in 2008, blockchain has become a global phenomenon. It’s part confusion—what the heck is it, anyway?—and part eagerness to find value and opportunity in this exciting new technological horizon.

In order to extract the value this technology can bring, it’s critical to dig below its buzzword status. Blockchain technologies record transactions we never want to disappear. So, how can it be leveraged in a business setting? There are a lot of ways to hop on the blockchain train; here are three that only begin to scratch the surface of what’s possible.

Image: http://entrepreneurship.babson.edu

Professional athletes often invest their substantial earnings into small businesses, but the Golden State Warriors take it to the next level.

Not only is the team owned by Joe Lacob, a partner at legendary venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, but its players have started to make a lot of head-turning investments in young technology companies.

Is peanut butter healthy? Nutrition experts have long debated the question, given peanut butter’s high fat content. But when its full nutritional profile is considered, to many, the answer is yes.

“It really is a healthy food,” says registered dietitian Lisa Sasson, a clinical professor in the department of nutrition and food studies at New York University. “There are so many reasons to keep it in your pantry or bring it to work, if you like the taste.”

The venture builder model is growing. It seems to be better than venture capital. Whilst both have their merits, venture builders are more enabling and beneficial for a promising startup, especially one which lack expertise of a certain area.

It is no news that the chances of getting Venture Capital funding is getting tougher and tougher. Actual hard results are, more often than not, required before a Venture Capital would commit. Today, digital technology has lowered startup cost. Therefore entrepreneurs find it difficult to justify raising fund solely based on business expense and hiring.

Struggling to focus throughout your workday? You’re not alone. We live in a world of never-ending distractions, making it harder to concentrate for long periods of time. However, a few simple changes to your morning routine can significantly boost your cognitive functioning. As a neuroscientist, these are the habits that I try to follow each day in order to operate at peak mental performance. Here’s a step-by-step guide to a morning routine that’s kind to your brain.

More than three quarters of entering college students feel it’s their duty to help others in need, a sentiment that’s grown steadily in recent years. But how much are they willing to commit? On average, just 26% of all university students typically volunteer—lower than the number among high schoolers.

If you’ve read any of my ongoing series on fund raising from venture capitalist (episode 1 — controlling your psychology) you no doubt have heard me say that raising capital is a sales & marketing process. You company is the product and you’re selling an equity ownership in your company but much more broadly you’re selling trust & confidence that you’re going to build something enormously valuable and that you’re going to be enjoyable to work hand-in-hand with over the coming decade of each other’s lives.

Everyone has different strengths, weaknesses, and traits that lend to their success in different areas. Personally, I love the analytical, data-driven nature of my work. And, not to blow my own horn, but I’m not bad at what I do!

But if you put me in another setting — say, a daycare center, or a nursing home — I just can’t see myself thriving as a caretaker, charged with the health and well-being of others.