The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) today published the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for its 2017 Regional Innovations Strategies (RIS) program. The application period will close June 23, 2017.

 The $17 million being made available through the RIS NOFA will help to spur innovation capacity-building activities in regions across the nation. Under this competition, EDA is seeking applications for two separate funding opportunities: the i6 Challenge and the Seed Fund Support (SFS) Grant competition.

Since accelerator Y Combinator introduced the SAFE, or structured agreement for future equity, in late 2013, they have become a popular instrument for pre-seed stage deals, particularly on the West Coast. While some investors love the innovation, I’m with New York angel David Rose in his lack of enthusiasm for the new instrument. Angel investors give up too much by replacing their convertible note with SAFEs.

The definition for "business" in past centuries and for several years into this one might be summed up as “providing goods and services to satisfy human needs and desires.” But, today, this basic concept alone won't fly if you want to thrive and find yourself a piece of the entrepreneurship pie.

A close friend of mine does this annoying thing where, months after an event, she'll tell me sheepishly that something was off.

The dress I wore didn't fit right. Or my hair was sticking up the entire time.

Why, I'll ask her, didn't you tell me then?

Her response is always the same: "I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

Image: Be prepared for the good, the bad, and the ugly. 20th Century Fox

Every state and the District of Columbia experienced real GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the latest estimates released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The positive news means only energy-dependent Alaska, North Dakota and Wyoming saw real GDP fall over the year compared to the end of 2015. Experiencing growth of more than 5 percent between 2015 and 2016 were the District of Columbia, Nevada, Utah and Washington.

Image: http://ssti.org 

Each day, Kansas City is better positioning itself to be the Midwest’s tech hub.

But for Kansas City to realize its full potential, tech leaders, policymakers and the community need to do more to cultivate homegrown talent, KC Tech Council president Ryan Weber said.

“Attracting talent from another city is a very small game — and often a losing game,” Weber said. “But the ability to train and grow talent that’s already here is the land of opportunity.”

Image: http://www.startlandnews.com 

Electric vehicles have long been a promising option for sustainable transportation. They come with practical headaches like expensive, bulky batteries that often need recharging, however. Israel is tackling those hurdles by investing in roads that power electric buses—as they ride down the street. The government is collaborating with Israeli start-up ElectRoad to install a public bus route in Tel Aviv, using an under-the-pavement wireless technology that eliminates the need for plug-in recharging stations.

If you live in Las Vegas, El Paso, or Louisville, there’s a particularly good chance that your job could be taken by a robot in the next two decades.

Using data from a 2013 Oxford study that found that nearly half of American jobs are at risk from automation–from truck driving and telemarketing to legal assistants–a new study maps out which cities are likely to lose the most jobs. (The next phase of the research will look at how the risk affects people differently based on age, race, educational level, and other demographic factors, and will break down data further by ZIP code).

Image: https://www.fastcompany.com 

The connected car market in recent years has shifted into high gear, with the number of connected cars hitting our roadways growing rapidly.

Analysts estimate that 94 million connected cars will ship in the year 2021, for a compound annual growth rate of 35 percent from the 21 million connected cars that shipped last year. Globally, it’s estimated there will be a total of 380 million connected cars on the roads by 2020.

Image: http://readwrite.com 

During the 2017 FLC national meeting in San Antonio, Texas, the FLC held its annual elections for open positions to serve on the Executive Board and as regional officers. While absentee ballots were available from March 24 – April 18, onsite voting took place April 25 – 26 and was open to Consortium Representatives whose memberships are registered with the Consortium Recording Secretary.

Image: https://www.federallabs.org 

Niccolò Machiavelli, one of history’s great futurists, might have predicted the Internet of Things (IoT) when he wrote, “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” The IoT’s early innovators, who have grappled with mixed overall demand, a lack of consistent standards, and other challenges, would agree that their road has been difficult. But, like other visionaries before them, they have persisted in establishing a new order because they see the promise ahead.

Pharmaceuticals and life sciences companies are experiencing a wave of competing challenges as part of what could be called the New Health Economy. They include consolidation among providers, especially hospitals, intended to produce efficiency gains; the changing demands and expectations of patients, who seek a greater role in their own care; increasing cost pressures from payors leading to calls for pricing reform; and the declining autonomy of the individual physician as rule-based, protocol-driven care becomes ascendant.

Image: https://www.strategyand.pwc.com 

David Sorin speaks at and McCarter & English sponsors Propelify Innovation Festival in Hoboken, NJ. This event, attended by over 8,000 people, offers interactive educational sessions, exhibitions, pitch competitions and endless networking opportunities.

David Sorin moderates "Venture Capital or Corporate Venture Capital? How do you choose?" panel which features a financial investor (VC) and a strategic investor (Corp VC).

Throughout history, ingenious and innovative ideas have been copied, or outright stolen. Guglielmo Marconi is credited with inventing the radio, even though it originated from Nikola Tesla. Nowadays it’s easy for a business owner to patent a great idea. Robert Fulton took the idea for the steamboat engine from John Fitch. Lizzie Magie invented the board game “Monopoly” in 1903, but it was patented by Clarence B. Darrow in the 1930s. Even Apple has been accused of stealing ideas from Google, Microsoft, and Samsung.

Image: https://smallbiztrends.com 

Usually praised by the EU for its highly competitive economy, Finland came under attack by a group of free-market think tanks on Wednesday (10 May) for pushing “paternalistic lifestyle policies” aimed at curbing consumption of tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks.

Now in its second edition, the Nanny State Index 2017, published on Wednesday (10 May), offers “a league table of the worst places in the European Union to eat, drink, smoke and vape.”

Image: No Smoking sign. Lokrum Island, Dubrovnik. (jelm6/Flickr)

Don’t charge the hill until you are “ready.” This probably seems obvious to military types, but I see entrepreneurs violating this rule all the time. They approach key potential investors way too early, trying to talk their way up the hill, with no supporting business plan, and before they have a support team around them. Needless to say, they usually get shot down, and get no second chance.

Image: http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 

Collaboration across academia, government, non-profits, and the biopharmaceutical industry fosters innovation and groundbreaking discoveries in science and research. During the 2017 BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) Forum held at our Gaithersburg, Maryland campus, world-renowned speakers and local leaders convened to showcase the benefits of continued collaboration that can help us prevent, treat, and find cures for deadly diseases.

Anticipation for how Donald Trump would apply his business background to the wheels of government swirled almost immediately after his election win.   But for federal employees and contractors interested in launching new programs and finishing ongoing projects, the trick is deciphering exactly how President Trump will apply that business acumen to the public sector.

Many people think that Charles Darwin came up with the idea of evolution. He didn’t. In fact, by the time he hit the world stage, many people already believed in evolution and there were already a number of theories, such as those of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, that sought to explain it. Darwin was merely the first to come up with a workable hypothesis.

Image: Public Domain - Charles Darwin 

One of the most exciting — and frightening — career transitions comes when you face the prospect of a management role for the first time. Over my career of building businesses, advising CEOs, and, most recent, exploring the philosophies and beliefs of 100 of the world’s most respected leaders for my latest book, Good People, I’ve clarified many of the top things a great new manager or leader can do. Whether you’re still in the interview stage or are in the wake of a successful promotion to leadership, there are a few must-know principles that will place you on a successful path. Here are five of them.