Microsoft has changed the name of its venture capital (VC) fund from Microsoft Ventures to M12, two years after its official launch.

The Microsoft Ventures name actually predates the VC arm by a few years, and it was used as an overarching term for Microsoft’s accelerator programs, which did include some seed-funding initiatives. That part of the company was renamed Microsoft ScaleUp when Microsoft Ventures was spun out into a venture funding firm, and it appears this has caused some confusion over the years. Indeed, Microsoft Ventures — as with most VC firms — takes equity in startups that it invests in, whereas Microsoft’s accelerator programs don’t.

Many sections of the wall are in remote or hard-to-reach areas, and some have fallen into disrepair.

The news: Intel and the China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation have teamed up to deploy drones to scan and capture 3-D images of the structure. A detailed model of the nearly 700-year-old Jiankou portion of the wall, in the mountains north of Beijing, will be created and used to identify sections that are most in need of restoration.

Why drones? The Jiankou stretch of the wall is in notoriously steep, densely vegetated terrain, making regular maintenance and inspection difficult for humans. The data from Intel’s drone fleet will help prioritize and augment manual inspection and repair.

Australia has pledged A$500 million ($379 million) in an effort to rescue the ailing Great Barrier Reef in the country’s largest-ever investment in coral reef conservation.

The landmark plan includes funds for improving water quality by reducing pollution from farm fertilizer runoff, and encourage reef restoration by experimenting with laboratory-grown coral that is more durable at higher temperatures, the New York Times reports. The proposal also includes A$58 million ($43.8 million) to stem the spread of crown-of-thorn starfish, a poisonous coral-eating predator.

A stand-up paddleboarder was knocked off a wave by a dolphin while in the surf at Gracetown, Western Australia.

Footage of the incident has gone viral on social media since it was posted over the weekend.

Andrew Hill told Seven News he was paddling out when a pod of dolphins caught an incoming wave.

"Eight or nine of them decided to catch that wave and surf straight at me," he said.

Image: Andrew Hill got a rude shock when a dolphin knocked him off his paddleboard in Western Australia. wearesurfers/ Facebook

The inaugural Goa Startup and Innovation Day wrapped up this weekend with a high-level conference on entrepreneurship, pitches by startups, and the unveiling of authoritative documents on the Goa Startup Policy, Goa Startup Schemes, and State of the Goa Startup Ecosystem. (Download the full report, policy, and schemes documents at the end of the article)

Image: https://yourstory.com

Quick — what’s the germiest room in the house?

You might be surprised to learn that it’s not the bathroom. Microscopic bugs and bacteria actually favor the kitchen, where you eat and prepare food. And the nexus of all that microbial activity could be sitting right next to the kitchen sink: on the sponge. If you’re washing dishes by hand, your cups, plates and flatware may not be as clean as you think.

There are cities big and small. And, then there is what’s referred to as “mega cities,” those with populations above 10 million.

From earlier reporting it was related that in 2050, city populations the world over will house two-thirds of world population, up from 50 percent today.

That’s a fairly sizable increase.

Nothing will propel a company further than a culture of innovation: an atmosphere that inspires employees, every hour they're at work, to seek out innovative opportunities.  I make establishing such a mindset a priority as a company culture consultant working on culture change.

Chester Carlson worked on his idea for years. It was tough, messy work and when his wife tired of the putrid smells, sulfur fires and occasional explosions emanating from the kitchen, his experiments were exiled to a second floor apartment in a house his mother-in-law owned. It took years, but he came finally up with a working prototype.

According to a recent report from McKinsey & Company, almost 40 percent of American employers say they cannot find people with the skills they need. Almost 60 percent complain of lack of preparation, even for entry-level jobs.

However, the skills gap takes many different forms — from those just entering the workforce to those in mid-career whose jobs have been eliminated or changed to require more advanced skills.

Some companies are stepping up their efforts to “re-skill” their workforces — among them is AT&T. Some 140,000 people at the telecommunications firm are currently retraining through online, certification, and degree programs.

The real world isn’t like Hollywood. Despite what we might see in TV shows like 24 or movies like Contagion, we don’t have teams of experts ready to spring into action at the first signs of a global outbreak.

But we should, philanthropist Bill Gates emphasized during his Shattuck Lecture for the Massachusetts Medical Society today. And Gates is ready to put up $12 million to help us get there.

Organizational simplicity. Clear accountabilities. Nimble planning processes. All characterize a scrappy oil and gas company you may not have heard of. Learn more from its CEO.

Innovative organizations come in all shapes and sizes. Consider Hilcorp Energy, a privately owned oil and gas company, founded in 1989. It has more than 1,800 employees and operates assets producing over 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/day), all located in the United States. For the last six years, Hilcorp has been named among the top 100 best places to work by Fortune magazine and the Great Place to Work Institute; it is the highest ranked player in its sector on such lists.

How old is an entrepreneur supposed to be?

When you hear about start-ups and entrepreneurs, whom do you picture?

For many, it's the 22-year-old genius techie with the Stanford degree who also happens to be a Level 100 Fortnite gamer.

If that's what you think, I've got some surprising news: That's not the person you should be imagining. In the real world, that person is a lot different . . . and a lot older.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northwestern University say their study shows that the average entrepreneur who has started a business and then hired at least one employee is not 22 years old and probably has never heard of Fortnite.

As a teenager, Richard Branson never imagined he’d be where he is today.

“I was seen as the dumbest person at school,” the founder and CEO of Virgin Group told CNNMoney. “The idea that I could be successful didn’t dawn on me.”

As a young student, Branson struggled with dyslexia. He had a hard time keeping up with his classes. But what was perceived as a weakness became a source of strength.

“What’s interesting about people who are dyslexic is that they can often excel at things that they love and have a passion for,” he said. “And I have a passion for quite a lot of things.”

Entrepreneurs require all sorts of skills to get their businesses off the ground – tenacity, imagination, drive and a strong work ethic, to name but a few. But as their businesses expand, the skillset required begins to shift; in particular, entrepreneurs need to become great leaders, capable of inspiring colleagues and empowering a growing workforce to keep pushing the enterprise forward. For entrepreneurs who started out on their own, or with a handful of close associates, that can be very difficult; they're used to doing everything themselves, with little accountability or engagement.

It’s painful when you start a new business for the wrong reasons. As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, one of my challenges is to make sure their idea is a match for them. For example, I have a friend who is a self-proclaimed “foody” who wants to start a restaurant, but really has no interest or skills on the business side. Loving food does not necessarily lead to a happy business.

Female tech entrepreneurs are better at raising capital on crowdfunding sites then their male counterparts, according to new research.

Research led by Ethan Mollick, an associate professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, found women are 13% more likely to raise funds for a crowdfunded tech project compare to a man trying to raise the same amount for the same project.

According to a 2016 report, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector is now a significant contributor to economic and social development in the region, accounting for over 50% of the Caribbean’s Gross Domestic Product.

Additionally, foreign investment in Caribbean ventures is becoming increasingly commonplace, with citizenship by investment schemes now a huge driver of the region’s growth. Here are some of the reasons behind the improving fortunes of the Caribbean business landscape.

From job opportunities to culture to affordability, here are the 10 best cities in America for college grads to start their next chapter.

Graduating from college is a reason for celebration — when that hard-earned degree is finally in hand, new grads are often overcome with excitement, pride, and a sense of relief at never having to fill out another Scantron sheet.

The U.S. Department of Education has opened applications for two science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) grant competitions supported by President Donald Trump's memorandum on STEM education.

The $75 million "Supporting Effective Educator Development," or SEED, program will provide fiscal 2018 funding to increase "evidence-based preparation, development, or enhancement opportunities for educators," according to a statement from the Education Department, with the ultimate goal of preparing more effective STEM teachers. In September, Trump directed Secretary Betsy DeVos to prioritize STEM education for students and training for teachers, mandating that at least $200 million per year in existing grant funds be spent on STEM initiatives.

Image: U.S. Department of Education/Flickr