The idea of being an entrepreneur can be fun, and many of you even aspire to become one. When we hear about successful entrepreneurs, we often think of the perks they enjoy because that's what everyone talks about.

You get to be your own boss, work on your own terms, hire the people you want and do everything you've ever dreamed about doing. The thought can be so fascinating that we often forget about the challenges that come along with it.

The average teacher in America is starting to get paid more, but the economic downturn caused by the pandemic could jeopardize any progress made, the largest national teachers’ union has warned.

In its annual report that ranks and analyzes teacher salaries and education spending by state, released Monday, the National Education Association estimates that the national average teacher salary for the 2020-21 school year is $65,090—a 1.5 percent increase from the previous year. It also projected that states’ average spending per student, largely dictated by teachers’ salaries, increased nearly 5 percent to $14,243 this school year.

Driven by clamoring sustainability mindsets and regulatory mandates, companies are increasingly making the circular economy an integral part of their business model. Turns out, what’s good for the planet can absolutely be good for business. IDC researchers predicted that by next year, most companies will realize greater value by combining digital and sustainability, making digitally-driven and sustainably enabled projects the de-facto standard. Consumer electronics and fashion have taken the lead in re-commerce, providing valuable lessons in how to succeed in the circular economy.

A potential vaccine has brought new life to the embattled Gaithersburg biotech.

Image: Novavax CEO Stanley Erck, left, and Gregory Glenn, head of research and development, at Novavax's office in Gaithersburg. EMAN MOHAMMED

Based on my own long experience in business, team satisfaction, engagement, and productivity continues to be a challenge. According to consistent feedback over the past several years, even in the best companies, employees seem stuck at less than 40 percent happy and "fully engaged.” That’s a huge opportunity for productivity in your business, as well as your team well-being.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com/

I’m always looking for evidence of early startup characteristics that might be predictors of long-term success. Every investor has his own list, usually based on his own very small sample, or simply his gut feeling. Of course, we would all like to have a magic list based on more definitive tracking of many real startups over time.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com/

Are you searching for something? Where exactly do you look?

TikTok. Instagram. Your email. Your news feed. There's something you want to find, but you can't name it. Something you want to feel, but it's not easy to identify. Maybe you want relief from the day or an escape from reality. Maybe connection. During the pandemic, many of us needed that. 

When reflecting on her early days as an entrepreneur, Sevetri Wilson describes her younger self as a “triple threat, and not in a good way.” She’s referring to being a young, Black, female entrepreneur—especially one in the field of tech—and the many challenges that have come with the intersection of those identities.

Image: Sevetri Wilson: Serial Entrepreneur, Tech Founder, Author, Speaker, Change Agent, Wealth Creator SEVETRI WILSON

On the clear and cool afternoon of January 14, 2015, Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell summited the Dawn Wall, after 19 days and 3,000 feet of vertical climbing on the face of El Captain. In doing so, they made history by completing the most challenging big wall climb ever attempted in human history.

What does climbing a massive wall in Yosemite have to do with running a startup? More than you might think.

Image: Kevin Jorgeson - COREY RICH

What do you call a 21-year-old who makes sugar-free gummy bears out of her kitchen and sells them on social media? Side hustler? #Bossbabe? Studentpreneur? 

Now, what if I told you last year she sold her company, SmartSweets, for $400 million to a private equity firm? Would your labels change? 

President Joe Biden’s pledge to pay for his comprehensive child care and infrastructure packages by raising taxes on the wealthy is creating battle lines among venture capitalists.

Even before a specific bill has been formally introduced, some Silicon Valley venture capitalists and other large investors outside California have mobilized to protest the president’s plan to raise the capital gains tax, which investors pay when they sell financial assets. The opposition has started with the industry’s largest lobbying group, the National Venture Capital Association, which has publicly opposed raising capital gains. That move is already setting off a clash between an industry that overwhelmingly favored candidate Joe Biden over then-President Donald Trump.

(Bloomberg) -- Sweden’s capital has bred more tech unicorns per capita than any other region in the world save for Silicon Valley.

Spotify Technology SA and Minecraft maker Mojang AB put Sweden on the map for startups valued at more than $1 billion and spawned a new generation of entrepreneurs. The Nordic country ranked first in Europe in cumulative capital invested per capita in the past five years, ahead of Ireland and the U.K., according to a tech industry report by venture capital firm Atomico.

Image: https://www.bloombergquint.com

As entrepreneurs, some days it feels like a badge of honor to pull an all-nighter or shout from the rooftops, “Sleep is for the dead!” But when productivity is the ultimate prize and you’re “hustling” to make your business happen, it’s more likely than not that you’re overworked. 

The past year has highlighted just how much our homes matter—and just how problematic the American idea of “home” is. Within days last spring, our worlds shrunk and our houses were forced to become offices, schools, restaurants, and conference rooms. Nearly everything that you could once imagine doing somewhere else suddenly had to happen within the four walls of your home.

The money will be used to fuel investments in startups.

Image: The Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority approved $5 million for three venture capital funds. That includes $2 million to Pittsburgh-based 412 Venture Fund.  

The pandemic has accelerated a trend that has been unfolding over the last decade. As the world has grown more digital and complex, the range of decisions that leaders need to make has broadened, spanning from big picture strategic thinking to careful execution, to advancing technology roadmaps and upskilling and engaging employees. And decision-making criteria too have expanded, increasingly focusing on ESG considerations in addition to narrowly defined profit expectations. The past year has been particularly intense, pushing leaders to make decisions for which they had no previous experience — and do so quickly.

BioCity Group, an accelerator and venture investor; Knowledge Factory, which manages science parks; and Trinity Investment Management, which owns a portfolio of science parks, have formed We Are Pioneer Group. The new firm will operate across 10 science parks across England, Scotland and Wales, hosting 650 businesses – 10% of the country’s life sciences ecosystem.

Image: https://www.epmmagazine.com

The startups are considered unique for their ability to scale like no other type of company and for example, it must be considered that those categorized as "unicorn" only took an average of 6 years to achieve a valuation of one billion dollars. They are companies that took advantage of technology to be able to promote themselves and transcend by modifying the industries in which they are developed.

A few years ago, Kelauni Jasmyn was deflecting questions from friends about deciding to stay in Pittsburgh rather than take a six-figure salary job in Washington, D.C. It was Pittsburgh where she launched Black Tech Nation, which started as a local organization, but is now an online nationwide network for cultivating a “digital Wakanda” for Black tech entrepreneurs. She could have taken the BTN imprint to D.C., where there’s a growing pool of Black talent gathering in places like her alma mater, Howard University, but instead she decided to remain in Pittsburgh, where she believed overlooked and untapped talent was within reach. To supplement her income as a coding instructor for high school students, she tended bar.

Image: David Motley, Kelauni Jasmyn and Sean Sebastian are general partners in the newly formed Black Tech Nation Ventures, which aims to both fund Black entrepreneurs and recruit other Black venture capitalists. Jonathan Brown / Black Tech Nation Ventures

Silicon Valley has been a global hub of innovation for several decades. The Santa Clara Valley is home to many of the world’s largest tech giants, a sprawling ecosystem of start-ups, entrepreneurial talent and, most critically, risk capital. However, anyone looking at the exodus of businesses and talent from the region might argue that it has already peaked, and it’s all downhill from here.

Image: https://knowledge.insead.edu/