Have you ever wondered about the optimal number of hours you should work per week? Here’s the answer: it’s 7.6 hours. (We’ll explain why in a moment.)

But perhaps you are one of those people who brags about your 70-hour workweek. Or maybe you are on the other end of the spectrum, chasing the 4-hour workweek dream.

Whatever your particular appetite for work is, know that there’s plenty of evidence that putting in more hours doesn’t necessarily equate to higher productivity. Research tells us that productivity falls sharply after 50 hours per week, and drops off a cliff after 55 hours. Additionally, not taking at least one full day off per week leads to lower hourly output overall.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced this week that it is establishing two multi-university Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes. Each institute will be funded with $25 million spread across a five-year period.

With science and engineering undergoing a quantum revolution, NSF is making large-scale investments in these centers to advance understanding of basic quantum phenomena and make fundamental discoveries that can eventually be translated into new products and technologies such as quantum computers, sensors, and communications.

Every entrepreneur wishes that he could predict whether his idea could be the “next big thing,” before he spent his life savings and years of energy on it. Investors, on the other hand, typically don’t even look very hard at the product or service, but prefer to evaluate first the entrepreneur, and secondly the business plan.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

For generations, immigrant entrepreneurs have made important and game-changing contributions to the American economy. Some are household names, like Nordstrom, Bose and Levi’s. Other more contemporary success stories include founders and co-founders of companies like Zoom, SpaceX and Moderna. 

However, for every enterprising immigrant who lands a win in this country, there are untold numbers who never get that opportunity because they never get to the U.S. Why? Because U.S. immigration laws are archaic, dating back to the 1950s when the current framework was established.

This past year has marked the monster success of four open source startups.

In July, the AI startup Databricks announced $1.6 billion in funding at a $38 billion valuation, and the data security startup Opaque announced $9.5 million in seed funding. Intel offered to acquire the chip startup SiFive for more than $2 billion, Bloomberg reported in June. And last October, the distributed computing startup Anyscale announced a $40 million Series B round.

Image: https://newsnationusa.com

Any entrepreneur with a vision can postulate a new business, but it takes a collaboration of many people to make it a success. Today the complexity of forces required for success include multi-disciplinary skills, competencies, and experiences in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Entrepreneurs who embrace the “lone wolf” approach usually live to regret it.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

There are many reasons why you might be having a hard time getting work done after your vacation. Before you can take steps to energize yourself, you need to understand a little more about why you’re having trouble getting started. The author presents three common reasons why you’re slow to get back into the game — and what to do about them. First, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, turn abstracts task into specific steps you can complete. Second, if your work doesn’t feel important, look at the work you’ve done over the past few months and catalog what it has added up to. Finally, if you’re just feeling bored with your work, take steps to advance your career, either at your company or a new one.

A friend of mine has a personal mantra for the pandemic: desperate times call for desperate pleasures. 

In times of prolonged stress, we need to be even more diligent about carving out time and space for wellbeing, not as a matter of leisure, but as a matter of survival—and these are stressful times indeed.

Image: Gianmarco Concepción/Unsplash

Lucky is the last word that comes to mind when thinking about Covid-19, a worldwide pandemic that has killed millions, locked down entire nations and rattled world markets. But Dr. Barney Graham, a researcher responsible for key research that helped create the coronavirus vaccine, believes that luck played a big role in the creation of the therapeutic.

“If it was a bunyavirus or an arenavirus, we would have been lost for months or a year or two just trying to get the right thing made,” he said, referencing two of the many virus families that could still spark a global outbreak.

Image: Courtesy NIAID Dr. Anthony Fauci receiving a shot of the Moderna vaccine in December 2020.

As the leaves begin to fall and the season changes, it’s a reminder that this challenging, disruptive and unprecedented year is already coming to a close. It also means that leaders will be assessing their teams, evaluating their strengths and limitations to improve their capacity in the year ahead. 

The culture of Atlanta’s innovation ecosystem is what makes the city different, technology leaders say. Here are three characteristics of Atlanta startups that set them up for success.

Image: Atlanta Tech Village in Buckhead is an example of how collaboration among startups can breed success. BYRON E. SMALL

For years, users of digital technology have had the sole responsibility to navigate misinformation, negativity, privacy risk, and digital abuse, to name a few. But maintaining digital well-being is a heavy weight to be put on an individual’s shoulders. What if we didn’t have to carry quite as much of the burden of maintaining our digital well-being? What if we expected a bit more of the digital platform providers that hosted our virtual interactions?

Image: Illustration by Niyi Adeogun

Venture capital (VC) is a vital form of funding for taking scientific ideas from lab to market, but for many academic scientists, negotiating with investors will be uncharted territory. Here, Dr Janita Good looks at how to make the most of current investor attentions...

"With the Covid-19 pandemic bringing in record levels of venture capital investment into life sciences and healthcare, there's no time like the present for those at the root of innovation to learn how to make the most of all the attention that VCs are giving to innovators within life sciences and healthcare." Dr Janita Good, Head of Life Sciences, Fieldfisher

Imagine a Baskin Robbins where you can get any flavor you want, as long as it is vanilla. Based on recent data provided by the National Venture Capital Association in partnership with Aumni, the market for venture capital deal terms seem to be that kind of store.

Image: https://www.crowdfundinsider.com

Cloth masks have become a staple of our pandemic lives. In the earliest days of COVID-19, we followed online tutorials to sew masks from old T-shirts. Soon, companies of all kinds—from Old Navy to designer Christian Siriano—flooded the market with masks, so we could keep a stash handy whenever we stepped out the door. But the era of the cloth mask may be coming to an end.

If you want to get in touch to discuss incubation, collaboration or investment opportunities, send us some non-confidential information about your technology through this form and our team will get in touch with you soon. Please note: If you have recently applied for residency at one of our Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JLABS locations or have entered a QuickFire Challenge, those applications will be prioritized for review – no need to complete the form below as we already have your contact information.

In early 2020, Airbnb was headed for a banner year — bookings were up, expansion plans were in place, and an IPO was set for the spring. Then Covid hit, and more than $1B of bookings disappeared, expansion plans were postponed, and one-quarter of the workforce was cut. However, by the end of the year, revenues had recovered, and the company completed one of the most successful tech IPOs in history.

The University of Maryland has been tapped to lead a multi-institutional effort supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop quantum simulation devices that can understand and exploit the unique behavior of complex quantum systems while speeding the introduction of general-use quantum computers.

Image: Photo by John T. Consoli UMD Computer Science Professor Andrew Childs (second from left) is principal investigator in the new NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation.

Warren Buffett's deputy grew his retirement fund from $70,000 to $264 million in under 30 years. He detailed how he did it, shared the way he shrugged off investment losses, and offered tips on saving for retirement in a recent Washington Post interview. Ted Weschler, who helps Buffett manage Berkshire Hathaway's investment portfolio, discussed his approach with Allan Sloan for the writer's latest column. ProPublica first disclosed the size of Weschler's nest egg in June, citing federal tax returns it obtained.

Image: Ted Weschler Joppen

As the discussions at Townhall Košice clearly demonstrated, various stakeholders are currently joining forces to make an impactful change in the region of Eastern Slovakia in terms of establishing a functioning innovation ecosystem. Such an ecosystem should offer a long-term vision for the region and make it a more attractive place to live as well as to invest in.

We’ve approached two more experts to identify the key element(s), which could turn these bold plans into reality.