The evolution of business ecosystems is a subject of constant fascination, not least because every company is either aspiring to build one or to join someone else’s. Over a series of articles, we have discussed and dissected the differences between ecosystems and platforms, identified the main players in an ecosystem and made available an “ecosystem canvas”, a logical framework to map the ecosystem’s nuts and bolts. In this article, we take a closer look at how the evolution of a business ecosystem could be captured.

The Great Resignation is turning into the great startup boom. The rate of startup formation in the U.S. is now roughly four times what it was before the pandemic.

Tired of proposing ideas to senior executives that do not want to know or who are afraid to take a risk, these are people grabbing the chance to realize long-held ambitions to be an entrepreneur. But are they making the right choice? Does a manager with a great idea have to go it alone?

Movement-building can take a long time, which is undoubtedly true for female founders raising venture capital.

While not all arrows are pointing up for female founders raising venture capital, most trends suggest that momentum is building. According to Q4 2021 PitchBook NVCA Venture Monitor:

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmes, a global, full-service Clinical Research Organization dedicated to supporting the advancement of public health and biopharmaceutical innovation, today announced its role as a Data Coordinating Center on a team whose work has accelerated pediatric COVID-19 research through the Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Safety Profile of Understudied Drugs Administered to Children per Standard of Care (POP02).  The team, led by the Pediatric Trials Network at Duke University, also includes the Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center (DRC) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

POP02 is one of several cohort studies within the Collaboration to Assess Risk and Identify LoNG-term outcomes for Children with COVID, known as CARING for Children with COVID.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiated the CARING for Children with COVID program to collect clinical data and samples that would advance the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 infections in children.  The program seeks to provide information to help healthcare providers and parents make informed decisions when caring for children infected with either COVID-19 (acute coronavirus disease) or who have MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome). 

Looking at business news and stock market coverage over the past decade (including a few HBR articles), you’d think that just about every traditional, old-economy company has fallen prey — or will soon — to tech-focused competitors. But London Business School’s Julian Birkinshaw says that story of disruption and destruction is overblown. His research into Fortune 500 and Global 500 organizations shows that, despite the rise of a few tech giants like Amazon and Google, many industries haven’t been radically remade and that many older incumbents are still standing strong. He outlines the strategies they’ve used to do so, from fighting back to reinvention. Birkinshaw is the author of the HBR article “How Incumbents Survive and Thrive.”

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article showing that some “homers”—those who eschew the office and prefer to work from home—have a secret: They have two jobs. The demands of working a full-time job from home were apparently not enough to prevent some from taking on an extra one.  

A troubling example is that a Washington DC assistant principal was found also working as a principal in Rhode Island. Nobody noticed a performance decline. Indeed, he was praised for his skills. His moonlighting was duplicity against the citizens—parents and students alike—of Washington and Providence. The DC Board of Ethics is taking this so seriously that in addition to dismissal, thousands of dollars in fines and a year in jail are pending. 

When scientists in South Africa noticed an uptick in Covid-19 cases in the Gauteng Province last November, they began investigating the source. These researchers and others in Botswana quickly discovered the Omicron variant and heroically shared their discovery with the rest of the world. And yet it was still too late — Omicron was already rapidly infecting people across the globe.

My sophomore year of college I took a 200-level biology class about exercise. I had to take several natural science classes to fulfill my general education requirement, even though I wanted to do nothing but hang out in the theater building. I hoped that because the class was about exercise, I would find it interesting.

I didn’t.

The professor of this class spent each session lecturing to about 100 college students on biological systems and processes that were only relevant to exercise in the way that all of biology is relevant to, well, something.

Entrepreneurs are fast becoming the superstars of our era. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Bill Gates are household names and command the same attention as Hollywood celebrities, while Steve Jobs has become even more of a cultural icon in the years following his death.

These entrepreneurial titans are held in high regard both for the wealth they’ve generated and the step-changes in innovation enabled by their visionary approach to technology. Moreover, their stories have helped forge the current narrative around entrepreneurship and the rich possibilities of ‘going it alone’, inspiring millions of young people to pursue the entrepreneurial path rather than the conventional corporate career. Now, with the emergence of the YOLO economy, entrepreneurship is increasingly viewed as the best way to make money, make a difference and live life to the fullest.

Image: Being a founder involves constant ‘fire-fighting’ simply to stay in the game. PHOTO BY ELISA VENTUR ON UNSPLASH

Far from a hedonistic cry, carpe diem instructs us to live a life of meaning.

You may have heard this story about a young fisherman who was enjoying himself on the bank of a beautiful river when a stressed-out businessman came along.

Stopping in front of the fisherman, the businessman said, ”You aren’t going to catch many fish with that single rod. You’re young. If you worked instead, you could make money, buy many nets and catch more fish.”

“And what would I get out of that?”, asked the fisherman.

“With more money, you could buy a boat and catch even more fish!”

“And what would I get out of that?”, the fisherman replied.

The businessman became agitated: “You could buy more boats, hire many people to work for you!”

"And what would I get out of that?” repeated the fisherman.

As an advisor to business executives and owners, I often hear discussions about employee accountability, almost always focusing on the negative. Phrases like “holding people accountable” imply negative consequences or punishment, rather than rewards or providing the freedom and coaching to team members to choose their own actions, and pursue what matters most to them.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

The modern financial system is usually traced back to the Bretton Woods accords, which were negotiated in the shadow of World War II. It was a system designed for great power politics to solidify alliances and prevent another World War through shared financial incentives. Beginning with the financial crisis of 2008, and again after 2020, global leaders have called for a second Bretton Woods. But in the blockchain industry, we think that moment already happened when Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008.

Augmented reality and virtual reality are some of the most widely used technologies in the modern tech landscape. The rise in adoption of augmented intelligence by enterprises to gain the best outcomes, and government organisations investing heavily in the IoT infrastructure development are some of the key components driving the growth of the AR market.

Image: https://www.analyticsinsight.net/

A lack of time, resources and clearly defined governance are some of the biggest hurdles impeding digital innovation in healthcare. Here, four health system executives share what they believe are the biggest obstacles to innovation.

Note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and style.

Karen Murphy, PhD, RN. Chief Innovation Officer at Geisinger (Danville, Pa.): The largest obstacles to digital innovation are time and resources. True digital transformation requires a significant amount of time to design and implement. Due to COVID-19, hospital staff currently have little time to work on transformative designs. Timing is also an issue with implementation. Before the pandemic, it took months and years to develop an implementation plan for a digital solution. Now, due to increased demand, we design in hours and weeks. The shortened time frame sometimes leads to less optimal solutions. 

When you're a couple of years into a creative pursuit, you might begin to think about creating a business around your passions. Thanks to the internet and technology we have at our disposal, carving your own path has never been more accessible.

When you stick with it for the long run, creative entrepreneurship is a fulfilling journey. However, it's vital to ensure that you've got the necessary traits to keep going for the long run.

The pandemic has catalyzed significant changes in the healthcare industry, particularly on the technology front as patients, payers and providers look for ever-newer ways of delivering, receiving and being reimbursed for care. These have created new opportunities for business leaders committed to delivering innovative solutions, and, of course, entrepreneurs with the best ideas are positioned to most readily obtain funding.

TORONTO, Jan. 25, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, Deloitte Canada announced the launch of its new venture capital initiative, Deloitte Ventures, designed to make minority investments in emerging technology companies. Created with a vision of accelerating Canada's innovative technology sector, the $150M CAD investment represents the largest capital commitment to date amongst Canadian professional services firms.

Emotional intelligence matters more to one’s success as a manager than IQ or technical skill. The principal takeaway: emotional intelligence is just as important as any “hard skill” and investing in it helps individuals and teams succeed at work.

Companies are wise to explore AI solutions that can help make their teams more emotionally intelligent, and better communicators. Indeed,

As our Marketing Expert in Residence here at First Round and in her own consulting work Arielle Jackson has helped shape hundreds of startup brands. If you suspect we’re padding the tally for narrative effect, by her count she worked with 71 companies in 2021 alone — and she’s been at this work for the past seven years.

So it’s fair to say that if you’re a founder building a brand, you’d want Jackson in your corner. For the better part of the last decade, she’s helped companies like Patreon, Loom, Front, Bowery and eero architect their positioning and brands from the ground up. (To say nothing of her previous product marketing work at Google and Square, where she helped launch and grow products such as Google Books, AdWords, Gmail, and Square Stand.)

Maine’s demographic profile is often presented as a challenge for the state. These demographics, however, make Maine uniquely positioned to be a national leader for autonomous vehicle research and deployment. We are both the oldest state and the most rural state in the country, meaning the benefits of self-driving cars will be especially impactful for Mainers from Kittery to Fort Kent.

Image: Deployment Manager Jason Peres, center, explains how Relay, an electric autonomous vehicle, works to new riders in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. Credit: Jacqueline Martin / AP