The smartest entrepreneurs have always recognized success came from figuring out how to change human behavior.

In recent history, arguably the best vehicle for changing human behavior has been a company.

Companies were organized to produce profits and returns for investors. Everyone’s incentives were aligned for growth to change the behavior of as many humans as possible, in line with producing more profits and returns.

When it comes to innovation, it seems like Ohio has some room for improvement.

A recent report by WalletHub, a personal finance website, shows the state ranks No. 32 in its Most Innovative States survey. Researchers evaluated each state and the District of Columbia on 24 different metrics – ranging from their share of STEM professionals to advanced placement exam participation by high school students to household Internet access – to come up with the rankings.

Ohio ranks in the top 15 in just two categories: open roads and skies friendly laws and federal small business funding per gross domestic product. It lags, though, in some critical components.

President Trump and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai recently appeared together at the White House to highlight initiatives aimed at accelerating U.S. deployment of next-generation high-speed mobile networks, known as 5G. Their plan included new auctions for needed high-frequency radio spectrum, reallocation of $20 billion in annual universal service funds for fiber-optic deployments in rural areas, streamlined permitting requirements, and the continued development of a National Spectrum Strategy, which will identify and free up underutilized frequencies currently assigned to federal agencies.

Making good business decisions is a critical part of every executive’s job and is vital to every company’s well-being. Yet in a new McKinsey Global Survey on the topic,1 only 20 percent of respondents say their organizations excel at decision making. Further, a majority say much of the time they devote to decision making is used ineffectively.

The U.S. is lagging behind other world powers when it comes to technological innovation, and if the government doesn’t start investing more in research and development, America’s future growth will be in jeopardy.

That’s part of the case made in a new book called “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream.” In it, co-authors and MIT economists Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson argue that public – rather than private – investment in science has a very big rate of return for the country and its citizens. 

My new book, Alpha Girls: The Women Upstarts Who Took on Silicon Valley’s Male Culture and Made the Deals of a Lifetime, is the story of four women who became stars in the cutthroat, male-dominated world of venture capital in Silicon Valley and helped finance and build some of the foremost companies of our time. The alpha girls are MJ Elmore, one of the first women to make partner at a venture firm in the U.S.; Magdalena Yesil, a serial entrepreneur, early e-commerce guru, and founding investor in Salesforce; Sonja Perkins, whose investments made the Internet safer and faster; and Theresia Gouw, who rose through the ranks at Accel Partners and is now cofounder of Aspect Ventures and a founding member of All Raise.

Image: Author Julian Guthrie, center, with 'Alpha Girls' Theresia Gouw, MJ Elmore, Sonja Perkins, and Magdalena Yesil. Chris Hardy Chris Hardy

Being an entrepreneur has emerged as a new trend in recent years, but entrepreneurship is not the career choice for everyone. Those who have the fire must be willing to put in the work to make their dreams work. Here are four traits that all successful entrepreneurs share.

They embrace their fear

Many people choose not to follow their dreams of entrepreneurship because they’re scared. Scared of failure, scared of not being taken seriously, scared of the unknown, scared of missing their window.

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. In fact, they often claim to be part of the survey group that fears public speaking more than death, but I’m not sure how anyone could validate that survey.

Beyond the fear, many really don’t get the value of being willing and able to communicate effectively with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people, both one-on-one and one-to-many. I’m not suggesting that all have to be on the professional speaker circuit to succeed, but let me assure you that public speaking is a required business skill.

Image: Image via Wikipedia 

Join PitchBook, NVCA, and industry experts from Silicon Valley Bank, Perkins Coie and Solium for a discussion about the state of venture capital through the first quarter of 2019. PitchBook’s Joelle Sostheim, a VC analyst, will set the stage for our panel by presenting on 1Q’s venture landscape, and how valuations , IPOs and deals are strong headed into 2Q.

A marketplace developed in rural India for low-income artisans to sell their wares sits largely vacant, used by only a select group of higher-income exporters. The reason: When planning the facility, government officials consulted only with people of similar high status. Elsewhere, a Panamanian entrepreneur with a bold vision of introducing organic techniques to coffee farmers shuttered his business after just a few months. Although local farmers were interested, they were unable to assume the financial risk inherent in making the change.

Image: Photograph by Jan Doering

Now that the number of websites on the Internet worldwide approaches two billion, how do you expect anyone to find yours? Equally important, if someone does find your site, your content must stand out above all similar sites, to keep visitors engaged, close a sale, and get customers to return. I have found that publishing a regular blog can give you an edge in making all this happen.

Most business owners already believe they have the best offering, but based on my experience as a new business advisor, I find that a great solution is necessary, but not sufficient, to build a great business. Marketing is a critical element these days, and it can take many forms.

Economic incentives offered by U.S. states to attract established companies grab headlines. The pursuit of Amazon by various cities and states, for example, captured the public interest and also created strong sentiments for and against such investment.

Amazon was on the front page, but leaders in some states are continually and quietly seeking to cultivate the next Amazon. They do this by providing early-stage funding and resources to promising startups. These forward-thinking programs set the stage for a bright entrepreneurial future but also cost public dollars.

Genetic engineering and biotech firms are gearing up in earnest for the newest threat to corporate security:  viruses, malware, and similar cybersecurity attacks turbo-charged with artificial intelligence (AI).

The reason: Just as AI is remaking every other part of the digital world with applications that can think for themselves and grow smarter over time, this wonder technology is also being hijacked by hackers to imbue already dangerous cyberthreats with machine intelligence and creativity.

Join PitchBook, NVCA, and industry experts from Silicon Valley Bank, Perkins Coie and Solium for a discussion about the state of venture capital through the first quarter of 2019. PitchBook’s Joelle Sostheim, a VC analyst, will set the stage for our panel by presenting on 1Q’s venture landscape, and how valuations , IPOs and deals are strong headed into 2Q.

The implication in this statement is that more Filipinos should pursue entrepreneurship. Owning your own business is the path to financial success — rather than earning a fixed salary, you can potentially keep all the revenues from your company.

While encouraging Filipinos to pursue business is beneficial, this thinking is flawed. Not every person is cut out to be an entrepreneur. Some may not be ready now, needing a few years more experience, while others may never be ready. Every person has different personalities and propensities for risk, after all.

Chicago has a proud history of innovation and entrepreneurship, dating back to the late 19th Century.  

In this month’s column, I wanted to take a look back at six staples of modern society that were invented in Chicago. Today we take these inventions for granted, but at the time, they were revolutionary.

These days, everyone tends to be critical about Chicago and Illinois, with all the state’s financial problems and loss of population. But these innovations reflect the fact that Chicago has always been an important global city.

The American Heart Association is calling for ‘innovation in the food system at multiple levels’ to usher in an era of sustainable and healthy eating habits in the country.

In a science advisory, the Association pinpoints ‘system-wide innovations’ that would support better diet choices among Americans.

When Amy Chronis, the Houston managing partner for Deloitte, was asked to join the Greater Houston Partnership last year, she immediately started doing some research on some of the bigger picture issues the city is facing.

In March, as the chair for the organization's sustainability committee, she brought together a group of constituents to engage in a Smart Cities study with the goal to identify what Houston needs to focus on — what it wanted to be known for.

Image: Amy Chronis runs the Houston office of Deloitte and serves on the sustainability board for the GHP. AlexandersPortraits.com

Venture capitalists poured $2.6 billion into healthcare startups in January, and dozens of healthcare venture capital deals have been announced since then.

Below are 16 healthcare venture capital deal announced in the past month:

1. Imago BioSciences, a San Francisco-based biotechnology company, raised $40 million in Series B financing led by Omega Funds.

2. Arch Oncology, a Brisbane, Calif.-based immuno-oncology company, raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Lightchain.

3. Prevail Therapeutics, a New York City-based gene therapy company, raised $50 million in Series B funding. Existing investors OrbiMed, Pontifax, RA Capital Management, EcoR1 Capital, Omega Funds, BVF Partners, Boxer Capital and Adage Capital Management were joined by AbbVie Ventures and Surveyor Capital in the funding round.

I'm a rule follower, not risk taker. At least that's what I thought three years ago when I decided to quit my job in wealth management public relations and start my own PR and communications business.

To leave a good job without a "real" job was the riskiest career move I've ever made. At least that's what I thought then. But I know now that I was more prepared than I realized. For years, I'd yearned to work for myself and to build my own business. And for a solid year leading up to giving notice, I prepped to launch.

Here are the steps I took to get ready to be an entrepreneur -- and what I recommend you future small business owners do before giving your notice.