Did you ever wonder why some entrepreneurs always seem to have all the luck and success, while others never seem to catch a break? As an angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers.

These differences are the reason that investors say that they invest in people, rather than ideas. As I was reminded again by the classic book from Dennis Perkins, “Leading at the Edge,” this isn’t a new concept. He illustrates this by comparing the acts of numerous teams which faced the edge of life and death as early Antarctic explorers in the 1800s.

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The Miami Dolphins selected Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Like all top prospects, Tagovailoa has been subjected to months of evaluation, with teams' scouting departments measuring his athletic abilities, interviewing his college coaches, and researching his personal life.

He's also taken the Wonderlic Personnel Test, which, for about 50 years, teams have administered to prospects. This 12-minute intelligence test consists of 50 multiple choice questions measuring cognitive ability, with the score reflecting the number of correct answers. While all prospects take the test, the scores of quarterbacks — due to the belief that the position requires more brainpower — tend to generate the most media interest. The scores are nominally private, but every year they're leaked and publicly reported on online databases.

Today, almost all entrepreneurs approach angel investors to get funds for their startup. Angel investors are individuals that provide seed capital for new businesses. For securing an angel investor, you should always have effective skills. No one will come to you if you lack some experience in getting funds. There are many entrepreneurs who failed to get money for their business because of some mistakes. In this article, we will see the mistakes entrepreneurs make while finding an angel investor.

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically disrupted business as usual, but that doesn't mean an end to innovation and new opportunities. In fact, one of the hallmarks of the entrepreneurial mindset is the ability to find agency amid disruptions, uncertainties and recessions. 

To provide inspiration in this time of crisis, we dug deep into our Stanford eCorner archive and pulled together a brand new series called Crisis Innovation. In it, you'll find everything from practical advice on how to handle a downturn economy, to Jack Dorsey’s story about how Square managed to find an opening during the 2008 recession. 

https://us2.campaign-archive.com - eCorner

Amid the humanitarian crisis that has upended lives and cast a veil of uncertainty over the future, one thing is clear: we are living in a much more digital world. As governments around the world institute nationwide lockdowns, the demand for digital services and products, from both customers and employees stuck at home, has hit record levels.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates discussed the possibility of a viral pandemic in a TED talk five years ago and recently shared his views on the worldwide coronavirus outbreak and why he believes the key to winning the battle is global innovation.

"The damage to health, wealth, and well-being has already been enormous. This is like a world war, except in this case, we're all on the same side. Everyone can work together to learn about the disease and develop tools to fight it," Gates wrote in a 6,300-word post Thursday morning.

Image: Bill Gates, Co-chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (Photo/Agencies)

Turning your passion into a vocation isn’t something that happens overnight. Felix Böck, a wood engineer and the founder and CEO of ChopValue knows this well. “Launching a circular economy chopstick business is obviously not something that you come up with as a career path when you’re six years old,” he tells Daily Hive.

Image: Felix Böck, founder and CEO of ChopValue

Are you trying to find the inner drive and inspiration to be become an entrepreneur? We surveyed over 1,200 American adults from diverse backgrounds all over the country, seeking to understand the factors that lead people to pursue their entrepreneurial goals.

Our big takeaway? It isn't all about money, or success, or even business.

It’s this: If someone feels that their life has meaning, they’re more likely to become an entrepreneur.

Image: https://www.entrepreneur.com

If you’re retired but thinking about getting back into the working world by starting a part-time business, there are some potential pitfalls to steer clear of.

Forbes reported there are five mistakes you should avoid making when starting a part-time business while withdrawing from full-time working life — no matter what exactly the new venture is.

Even prior to COVID-19, change was afoot in the venture capital industry. Machine learning and algorithms were emerging as new ways to spot winners, and cities like Boston staked out turf as VC hot spots, proving that not all innovation takes place in Silicon Valley.

It will be some time before we know the full impact of the COVID-19-induced shift to remote learning this spring -- how it altered the arc of students' academic careers, for example, or affected the extent and nature of their learning.

But we now have some early data on how it reshaped instructors' teaching practices.

A survey released today by Bay View Analytics (formerly the Babson Survey Research Group) and its president, the digital learning researcher Jeff Seaman, offers some insights into the transition that virtually all colleges, instructors and students undertook this spring as the novel coronavirus shut down campuses across the country.

MADISON, Wis. – Whether it’s called a modern “Manhattan Project,” or a medical moon shot, the concept of long-term economic recovery rests on how confident people are they won’t risk serious illness by venturing forth in public again.

Wisconsin stands to be a significant part of such an undertaking, whatever it’s called.

The shorter-term debate is well under way over the gradual lifting of COVID-19 emergency rules, such as the now-extended “safer-at-home” order in Wisconsin. At least a dozen states, including regional coalitions on the East and West coasts, are exploring next steps as they seek to balance responses to the virus with calls for reopening the economy, at least, in part.

There is a wide array of crowdfunding platforms, each with its own unique spin on raising funds. Some platforms support charitable or creative campaigns, others reward-based campaigns, while still others support equity-based campaigns.

Some are for accredited investors only while some are open to all types of investors. Some are designed to help raise funds for product development while others are looking for donations to help an individual or family deal with personal needs. While some are designed to help charities raise money.

Image: https://www.business2community.com

Sometimes, in my work with teams all over the world that are struggling with fractious social and political issues, I have found inspiration in unexpected ways. One wouldn’t think that theater, for instance, has much to do with sustainability or inequality. But my colleague Ian Prinsloo, who’s a former theater director, introduced me to an improvisation game called Learning Like a Dolphin, and it’s now a wonderful part of the workshop methodology my firm uses.

Top start-ups may be a critical resource for recovery, providing quick solutions where they’re needed most.

The coronavirus outbreak has led to massive disruptions in all industries, with travel, hospitality and automakers among the hardest hit. Supply chains are in turmoil; businesses are getting crushed; millions of jobs might be disappearing. On top of all this, the looming public health crisis threatens to claim as many as 15 million lives in total.

With 52 percent of the global workforce already working remotely at least once per week before the current situation, it is becoming essential for businesses to cultivate a productive and engaged remote team. One key factor is alignment between employee and company goals. Studies show that when employees understand how their work contributes to company objectives, productivity increases by 56 percent. 

Here are five tips for how you can help your remote team align its goals. 

Goofy cat photos, pet rocks and a “gas-passing” app: All are simple — and dare we say dumb? — ideas that reportedly made their creators millions.

Do you have a fabulous idea? Great! But that is just the first step on the path to riches. If you’ve got an innovation percolating in your head, you need to act now before someone else does.

Follow these steps to turn your idea into reality.

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As working parents, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by our less-than-ideal options. We’re all hungry for inspiration, connection, and a genuine response during these uncertain times. Many working parents are turning to social media to share how they’re coping — from Pinterest-perfect home-schooling stations, to funny confessions (“We’re just letting the kids watch TV all day”), to the desperate query (“Is it wine time yet?”).

If the pace of the pre-coronavirus world was already fast, the luxury of time now seems to have disappeared completely. Businesses that once mapped digital strategy in one- to three-year phases must now scale their initiatives in a matter of days or weeks.

MOST POPULAR INSIGHTS COVID-19: Implications for business Beyond coronavirus: The path to the next normal Safeguarding our lives and our livelihoods: The imperative of our time Getting ahead of the next stage of the coronavirus crisis The future is not what it used to be: Thoughts on the shape of the next normal In one European survey, about 70 percent of executives from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland said the pandemic is likely to accelerate the pace of their digital transformation. The quickening is evident already across sectors and geographies. Consider how Asian banks have swiftly migrated physical channels online. How healthcare providers have moved rapidly into telehealth, insurers into self-service claims assessment, and retailers into contactless shopping and delivery.

Earlier this week, the United Kingdom announced a £1.25 billion ($1.6 billion) initiative to support the country’s startups. One program within the initiative provides £500 million in the form of loans up to £5 million that are matched by private funders to companies that have raised at least £250,000 in the last five years. The remaining £750 million will be managed by Innovate UK and provide loans and grants to R&D-focused companies. The U.K. is not the only European country to invest in startups: France announced a plan in March to spend €4.0 billion ($4.3 billion) through a combination of refinancing, early payments on tax credits and planned investments, and guarantees, and Germany has €2.0 billion ($2.2 billion) committed to funds that continue making investments.