Here we highlight selected innovation related articles from around the world on a daily basis. These articles related to innovation and funding for innovative companies, and best practices for innovation based economic development.
The overall buoyancy in the secondary markets has attracted millions of new investors to the markets this year but the ones that seem to have benefitted the most seem to be venture capital funds and private equity players.
This is corroborated by the fact that a significant number of initial public offers (IPOs) that hit the markets this year saw its venture capital or private equity shareholder exit while making an impressive return on investments.
With the advent of the Internet, social media, and instant communication via texting, customer expectations for service, as part of their entire customer experience, have changed. They expect you to be there, to know their history as a customer, and to treat them with priority and respect. They tell their friends and the world everything, and a bad experience can kill your business.
Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com
Just a month ago, even as signs of a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. were blossoming in the lower Midwest, the memory of a long, miserable winter kept us warm. Even places with burgeoning case rates were far below their catastrophic peaks over the holidays, when a combination of cold weather and defiant travelers contributed to a third wave in infections and deaths that drowned out the previous two spikes in April and July of 2020.
Thank you to C2ER and Regan Price, Economic Development Research Intern, Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Smart Incentives, for the research behind this article, which was drawn from the annual update of the State Business Incentives Database.
Image: https://smartincentives.org/
People with compromised immune systems who already got two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines can now get a third shot to boost their protection from COVID-19.
This week's decision by federal health agencies is welcome news to many patients and their doctors who have been calling for this for months.
"I'm really excited," says Pat Beale, 59, of Boise, Idaho, who lives with a liver transplant and takes medicine that suppresses his immune system. He plans to get his third dose within the next week.
The way in which organizations innovate, and places where they are based to do this, have changed profoundly over the last decade due to two overall trends – convergence and disruption. Companies have moved away from closed innovation models to more open approaches in which organizations and places work in collaborative ecosystems and networks, forming “uncommon partnerships” between previously unrelated industries.
We’re stoked to introduce the BeBot, a groundbreaking piece of clean ocean technology manufactured by our friends at Poralu Marine. Made for the sole purpose of cleaning and restoring our coastlines while preserving the natural environment, the BeBot is an eco-friendly beach cleaning robot that mechanically sifts sand to remove plastic waste and other debris without harming the local environment.
Image: https://www.4ocean.com
"This is USG" is a video podcast series launched by the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) in October 2020. The series features Dr. Anne Khademian, USG's Executive Director, interviewing guests who are closely connected to USG and the greater community. Guests include students; alumni; staff; faculty; members of the USG Board of Advisors; business, community and university leaders; and others.
August 11, 2021 (Washington, D.C.) - A bold new public-private partnership to prevent future viral outbreaks from becoming pandemics has moved one step closer to realization, as the Greater Washington cross-sector nonprofit, Connected DMV, has announced the formal launch of a Global Pandemic Prevention and Biodefense Center (GPPBC). The Center will serve as a vehicle to foster greater collaboration among pandemic prevention stakeholders to deliver on strategic projects needed to advance pandemic preparedness and avoidance. The signature initiative of the Center accelerates the development of human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to treat the world’s top 100 pathogens across 25 pathogen families most likely to result in disease outbreaks.
Customer acquisition is the lifeblood of many startups from e-commerce to gaming to marketplace companies, among others. Most of these startups spend the lion’s share of their marketing budget in today’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Snap, TikTok and so on because — no surprise — that’s where the customers are.
Image: Photo by Vanna Phon on Unsplash
There is one certainty in a VUCA world: The solution that works today may not work tomorrow.
The concept of a VUCA world – one characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – used to be just that, an abstract concept.
With the events of 2020, however, VUCA has gone from abstraction to reality, and the very nature of leadership challenges now revolves around:
An accelerated pace of change. The need for resilience and a strong organisational immune system. "Wicked” problems and competing demands (e.g. efficiency vs innovation, performance vs human needs).
To navigate the complexity of these challenges, leaders can’t simply rely on their proven strengths and do more of what they’re good at. They need to expand their range and develop a well-rounded repertoire of leadership skills and behaviours.
CTech – Accelerate, accelerate, accelerate. At least, that’s what entrepreneurs are told once they get their billion-dollar idea for a startup. While accelerator programs exist to speed up the growth stage of a company, Israel and its government take a unique approach to incubators — hubs that exist for companies to gain that initial boost to help them eventually get funding.
Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs probably have long searched for that special idea that will catapult you and your startup to success. Yet, my experience as a business advisor and investor has convinced me that the magic is not the idea, but you and the execution. I have seen people with mundane ideas hit it big, and really great ideas implemented poorly, with disastrous results.
Washington, Aug. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Small Business Administration issued 32 grant awards up to $125,000 each for specialized training, mentoring, and technical assistance for research and development (R&D)-focused small businesses under the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program. FAST seeks to improve outcomes in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs for underserved communities by increasing participation from women-owned, rural-based, and socially or economically disadvantaged small businesses.
After the mass exodus from the land of cubicles in 2020, millions are returning to offices in 2021. For those who have relished their commute-free lifestyle, there’s a feeling of dread and a hope for negotiating a permanent remote (or at least hybrid) arrangement. For others who have found working from home challenging, there’s anticipation but still a twinge of uncertainty about how life will work when they’re back at work.
Our latest survey analyzed the terms of 358 venture financings closed in the second quarter of 2021 bycompanies headquartered in Silicon Valley.
Key Findings Include:
- The average and median price increases of financings and the percentage of up rounds were the highest recorded in a quarter in the history of this survey.
- Series B and D financings recorded the strongest valuation results in the quarter and the highest average and median price increases for those series of financings in the history of this survey.
Indian unicorns are making headlines not just for their successful initial public offerings and dizzying valuations. Increasingly, they are also creating waves in the startup world as smart and prolific investors. According to an analysis done by Zinnov, a consultancy firm, Indian unicorns have invested in 90-plus startups across 110-plus deals over the last decade. Of the 50 unicorns in India, 19 have made at least one investment in an Indian startup.
From Beijing to Frankfurt to Silicon Valley and back again, companies are searching for their next innovation by tapping into scientists and inventors from across the globe. As inventors and researchers collaborate to pursue innovation, they give rise to a global innovation network (GIN). Figuring out where these innovators are and connecting them opens the gateway to a vibrant, global innovation ecosystem.
Every startup fears that one angry and unfair customer who can jeopardize the business by a negative post on Ripoff Report, Yelp, or one of the hundreds of other consumer complaint and review sites on the Internet. Most entrepreneurs don’t even know how to keep track of what people are saying about them on the web, much less how to respond or remove it.
Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com
For the first time since April, when the U.S. lost its appetite for COVID-19 vaccinations, the rate at which Americans are showing up for their first dose is consistently on the rise. This uptick, while present to some degree in most states, is heavily driven by regions that are experiencing the most dramatic increases in new infections.
