There are dozens of apps and online courses that claim their “brain training” can make you more mentally agile, but there’s usually little scientific evidence to back up those claims. While the FDA does approve certain brain training programs aimed to treat specific medical disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, and the FTC goes after false advertising claims–as it did when Lumonsity made claims not supported by science–there’s also no industry body that certifies brain training programs, which is a problem for both the field and consumers, according to Dr. Henry Mahncke, CEO of Posit Science.

Deadline Extended to August 24, 2017!

Submit your proposal today

There's still time to submit your proposal for the "Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!" competition. Deadline extended to Thursday, August 24, 2017 at midnight PDT.

Up to six prizes totaling $250,000 will be awarded to the winning presentations at the nation's leading pediatric innovation symposium on Sunday, September 24, 2017.

As part of the Israel Innovation Authority program to encourage innovation, the authority has chosen five companies to operate technology innovation labs that will help tech entrepreneurs to help establish proof of concept in key areas of technology.

The labs will be funded by the authority for a period of three years and will support innovative projects in industrial internet of things (IIoT), smart infrastructure, smart urban mobility, advanced materials for next generation electronic devices, and development of raw materials for the food and beverage industry.

Where are the latest emerging tech hot spots in the U.S.? They are in Albany, Sacramento, Columbus, Colorado Springs and Madison, which all offer a high concentration of software developers, computer programmers, web developers and other conditions that offer talent-rich alternatives to established tech markets, according to a recent report, ‘Cracking the hardest code: where to find tech talent.’

Redditor reddripper put together this excellent map of what "the beautiful game" is called around the world.

It's based on language etymologies. All the pink countries call it "football," or some literal translation of "football." All the blue countries call it "soccer," or some translation of "soccer." All the green countries call it something else entirely.

Venture capital spending continues to lag behind the record activity of recent years, but startups needn't worry; industry analysts say there's still billions in dealmaking still to be done.

VC firms invested roughly $38 billion in startups and other early-stage companies during the first two quarters this year, down 10 percent from the $42 billion recorded during the same span in 2016 and off about $2 billion from 2015, according to data collected by Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association.

Image: https://www.bizjournals.com

At The University of Southern Mississippi, research and innovation are fueling new discoveries in technology that offer real-world applications in the private and commercial sectors.

Nothing illustrates this synergy better than a recent National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps grant fostered within the University’s School of Polymers and High Performance Materials. The $50,000 grant – the first of its kind awarded to a Mississippi university – helped yield a cellulose reinforced thermoplastic polymer composite created in the lab of USM Polymer Professor Dr. Joshua Otaigbe.

Image: Dr. Joshua Otaigbe, left, and Dr. Shahab Rahimi worked diligently to produce a new polymer composite as part of an NSF I-Corps grant. (University Communications photo by Van Arnold)

The St. Louis Regional Chamber is partnering with local venture capital firms and banks to offer $5 million in seed capital for startups to spur economic development.

Joe Reagan, the chamber’s president and CEO, announced the new Spirit of St. Louis Fund I at the chamber’s annual event Thursday night at Chaifetz Arena.

Reagan said entrepreneurs often faced a gap in resources that the seed capital will seek to fill. There’s money available for accelerators and funding for companies heading to market, but capital is lacking for early-stage businesses, according to the fund’s backers.

Image: http://www.stltoday.com

Since 1996, manufacturing jobs in the United States have decreased by a whopping 28%. Britain's industrial story isn't too rosy, either. Over the last couple of decades or so, high-growth tech companies have heralded financial growth abroad from the giants of Silicon Valley: Facebook and Google. Now, as we stand on the brink of an artificial intelligence revolution that's making many jobs obsolete, we are grappling for an alternate socio-economic model that is sustainable.

If you are proposing a merger or acquisition, or simply seeking an investor for your business, the process is the same. You have to put together a convincing story of a win-win opportunity for both sides. This may seem intuitively obvious, but as an angel investor, I have heard hundreds of new business pitches that focus heavily on the product, but don’t tell the rest of the story.

For example, if I don’t know you, and you didn’t sell your last company for $800 million, your story needs to educate me on why anyone would bet on you to succeed, and how you would reward me for success. Don’t forget that investors invest in people, more than ideas. Mark Zuckerberg was not the first to build a social media platform, so he had to find investors who believed in him.

Image: http://blog.startupprofessionals.com

My two biggest focuses in life are building great businesses and being the world’s best dad for my two beautiful girls. In this week's episode of my Insane Growth podcast (listen on iTunes or Soundcloud) I’m going to share the 6 lessons I’ve learned over the years that have helped me continue to work hard on my businesses while still being present as a dad.

Image: https://www.linkedin.com

Written by successful entrepreneurs Joel Comm and John Rampton, Self-Employed: 50 Signs That You Might Be An Entrepreneur identifies 50 qualities that epitomize entrepreneurs.

Author, speaker, consultant, and entrepreneur Joel Comm has published 12 books, including The AdSense Code, Click Here to Order: Stories from the World’s Most Successful Entrepreneurs, KaChing: How to Run an Online Business that Pays and Pays, and Twitter Power 2.0. Joel has also written more than 40 ebooks and has appeared in The New York Times and on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.

Image: http://www.innovationhartford.com

Earlier this year, we published an article entitled, “Europe is starting to feel more like Silicon Valley”, an observation that is emerging as a result of good company supply and good money supply, according to the article. Well this sentiment continues to grow, as the latest report from Go4Venture says, “Europe is now awash with capital as investors realize that Europe is a good match for deep tech, and the continent’s diversity creates vibrant innovation.”

Image: http://www.thenextsiliconvalley.com

When you think of cyber attacks, you may imagine complex campaigns against major corporations and governments. The reality, however, is far more common and serious – especially for small businesses.

Phishing Attacks Pose a Huge Threat to Your Small Business

Hackers often trick well-meaning employees into giving access to their business systems by getting them to unwittingly click on a link in an email. This method of cyber attack is known as phishing — and it’s on the rise.

Image: https://smallbiztrends.com

Serial entrepreneur, angel investor, philanthropist, author and CEO of Bizzultz May McCarthy explains how intuition will help you achieve financial freedom. Plus, we bust five common myths surrounding entrepreneurship and get the inside scoop on McCarthy's new book, The Path to Wealth: Seven Spiritual Steps for Financial Abundance.

Image: https://www.entrepreneur.com

With the solar eclipse just days away, everyone is trying to get their hands on a last-minute pair of eclipse glasses. But what if you don't have $250 to spend on a pair because you spent too much money on pizza the night before?

In a new video, Pizza Hut demonstrates how to use last night's pizza box to make your own  eclipse viewer, so you can enjoy the event without burning your eyes. All you need is a cardboard pizza box, foil, scissors, pen, tape and a sheet of white paper — all which would probably cost you less than 20 bucks.

Image: http://mashable.com

Imagine a workplace with no desk or office of your own, even if you are the company’s CEO.

Instead, you work in a neighborhood-style space, fitted for a time when workers — especially millennials — do not need to sit at the same cubicle for 40 hours a week.

Roche, a Switzerland-based multinational health care company, invested hundreds of millions of dollars in its Indianapolis operations, Roche Diagnostics, to transform the campus into an innovative work space, with modernism and environmental sustainability at the core of the architecture.

Many board meetings are bored meetings. Management teams whisk through slides trying to get through a presentation to share how great things are going and they are eager to get through the meeting so they can get back to their real jobs. This is a shame since the value that the right board could add is immense if you select the right board members and manage them effectively.

The answer to your innovation problem isn’t always a sexy one.

For example, your customer experience map is an ideal starting point not only for innovation, but also to train yourself and your company to continuously improve. Any single thing you change in that ongoing process might be the one thing that surprises you as an unexpected innovation.

In January 1975, when I was 27-years-old, I opened the doors of BAYADA Home Health Care, a small business I started with $16,000 in hard-earned savings and what some may consider unrealistic expectations. Like so many young entrepreneurs, I was brimming with confidence rooted in the belief that I had identified the formula for success. It seemed simple enough. I would hire good home health aides who, of course, would be compassionate, reliable and do an excellent job caring for clients. I would treat those employees like family, and they in turn would treat clients like family. From there, the business would flourish.