One of the more interesting business books available this summer is Roadside MBA: Backroads Lessons for Executives, Entrepreneurs, and Small Business Owners. Written by three economists, it’s a rather corny look at various concepts you’d learn in business school, like barriers to entry, and economies of scale. What’s redeeming about it is that the authors went out and created case studies about dozens of small- and medium-sized businesses that you’ve never heard of. From Arnold Tool in Council Bluffs, Iowa to Key Fire Hose in Dothan, Alabama, most small business owners have a compelling story to tell.

I was struck by something the mayor of Cincinnati said recently in a conversation on the Urbanophile blog, published by one of our Governing columnists, Aaron Renn. The mayor, John Cranley, essentially proclaimed that the time has come for cities to stop dreaming of regional solutions to urban problems, to stop thinking that they would be better off if they could annex the suburban territory that lies just outside their borders. Cincinnati, he said, can get along just fine without any more than the roughly 80 square miles and 300,000 people that it currently comprises. At this point in the 21st century, Cranley argued, taking on suburban territory simply gives cities new problems that they don’t need.

What do Sayada, Tunisia, and Red Hook, Brooklyn, have in common? At first glance, not much. One is a fishing town on the Mediterranean Sea. The other is a waterfront neighborhood in an industrial section of America’s largest city. But both are using a networking technology that is cheap, relatively easy to set up, and remarkably resilient and secure.

Image: Red Hook, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Flickr/All Nite Images 

For a long time now, business leaders have been saying that the American workforce lacks sufficient skills to fill 21st century jobs. Those of us at the frontlines of social services — doing the work of preparing low-income young people — share these concerns and hear you loud and clear. The education gap is holding back not just workers but businesses and our whole economy.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Does anyone actually like business jargon, or is it just a bad habit? Found in corporate offices, startups and resumes alike, business buzzwords and phrases like "think outside the box" are so overused at this point that they no longer convey any actual information. Although sometimes a word or phrase might feel appropriate for a business situation, more often than not, there are clearer ways to explain yourself.

GAINESVILLE — In its first dozen years of operation, the University of Florida’s Tech Connect program has helped launch 157 technology-based startup companies that in turn generated more than $1 billion in private funding, $530 million in public funding and 2,000 new jobs, according to a report released today.

During the fiscal year that ended June 30, the report shows, the program’s affiliated companies hired more than 345 new employees and raised more than $106 million in private funding and $105 million in public funding. The report was prepared by UF’s Office of Technology Licensing.

It’s easy to get swept up in the media myths of the technology world. The good news is that a new generation readying themselves for careers in tech are looking past the stereotypes and embracing opportunity.

On Friday, LinkedIn hosted an event as part of its LinkedIn For Good initiative, in which it encouraged 2,500 employees around the world to spend the day giving back to their community.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Question: I keep hearing about incubators and accelerators. How do I know if that is an option I should pursue?

Answer: Arizona has been the birthplace of many new business incubators and accelerators as methods of helping new ventures to launch and find funding. You will find variations on the definitions of each, but in general, both kinds often offer office or lab space, training or education, mentorship and access to funding via a pitch or demo day, with program lengths of three months to one year.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Many governments in industrialized countries aim to encourage entrepreneurship and start-up activity to spur job creation and economic growth. To what extent governments are capable of doing so is uncertain. Nonetheless, policy makers at the regional and municipal levels are closer to the sources of innovation than those at the national level. For example, innovation in the form of start-up activity tends to occur in large metropolitan areas, initially without the involvement of policy makers. Take Berlin, where a vibrant ecosystem developed in the past several years without systematic government intervention.

In recent years, Berlin has become one of Germany’s—and indeed one of Europe’s—most vibrant start-up hubs. Berlin’s mayor, Klaus Wowereit, has been an enthusiastic supporter of entrepreneurs since he was first elected, in 2001. Nevertheless, many leaders believe that continued work is needed for Berlin to catch up with international start-up hubs such as London, New York, or Tel Aviv in offering optimal conditions for young firms and investors. In an interview with McKinsey’s Holger Haenecke, Katrin Suder, and Lea Thiel, Mayor Wowereit discussed his ideas on how to further encourage Berlin’s start-up dynamic.

For over 2 decades, leaders within the ENTOVATION Network have played a major role in advancing the innovation agenda locally, regionally and globally. What have emerged are significant (oftentimes annual) events to coalesce talent. It is our eco-system – operating as a holonomy – to which we have contributed and from which we have learned. It has served as my own intelligence system; and it has been so for many of you.

We are all good at reacting and responding, putting out fires, and crisis management. In addition, organizations large and small have learned how to be lean and agile, and how to best execute a strategy at a high level.

However, despite these skills, General Motors still declared bankruptcy, Blockbuster closed its last store, and Blackberry quickly moved from leading to bleeding. And let’s not forget Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Dell, and a host of other companies who failed to thrive despite its leaders and workers being constantly busy.

Image: https://www.linkedin.com 

Startups provide business leadership with new products, services, and new revenue models, but leadership startups can only be built by entrepreneurs who are leaders themselves, and incent leadership in the team around them. Leadership which incents other people to be leaders is called “contagious leadership.”

In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers revived a debate I’d had with futurist Ray Kurzweil in 2012 about the jobless future.

He echoed the words of Peter Diamandis, who says that we are moving from a history of scarcity to an era of abundance. Then he noted that the technologies that make such abundance possible are allowing production of far more output using far fewer people.

Failure is almost always the most important initial step in successful innovation , and opening yourself up to it – early and often – is the key to identifying the most lucrative new business opportunities.

I’m a serial entrepreneur who learned the role failure plays in success with my first startup. In the fall of 2003, I began toying with the idea of creating a group of top-executive networks. Launched in 2004, World 50 is now regarded as one of the most influential executive forums in the world (with help from Bono, Greenspan, Redford, Lance, Magic and many others).

Solana Beach-based company obtains guidance, funding, appears on ABC’s “Shark Tank” following graduation -

Background:

While working as a Product Specialist for global lifestyle brands such as Burton Snowboards and Diesel Footwear, Jayla Siciliano learned that part of the job involved attending social functions, including dinners, fashion shows, parties and happy hours where alcohol was served. As a kickboxing instructor and health and fitness enthusiast, the continuous drinking environment and extra calories didn’t fit Siciliano’s lifestyle. It wasn’t long before she found that the wining and dining and negative affects of alcohol left her feeling groggy the next day. She sought to find an alternative that would allow her to partake in social events, but wouldn’t compromise her healthy lifestyle. Siciliano started pouring soda water into her wine and discovered she not only had more energy while socializing, but felt better the following morning. Siciliano was on to something. In 2008, she quit her job and devoted her time, energy and money into researching and redefining the light wine category.

As Congress continues negotiations over the FY15 federal budget, SSTI is hard at work trying to secure additional funding for the Regional Innovation program. The Regional Innovation Program was authorized under the American COMPETES Act and is designed to provide funding to support regional innovation activities.

The Senate has approved $20 million for the program for FY2015, while the House did not provide any funding for the program. SSTI has prepared a support letter to Congressional leaders requesting funding at the $20 million level (see below).

We are is seeking organizations to sign on to the letter, which is below. While SSTI continues to engage directly with Congressional members and staff, it is critical to show the breadth and depth of support for the Regional Innovation Program among the TBED community during these negotiations. The more organizations that sign will increase our chances to secure funding. The deadline for signatures to this letter is Thursday, July 31.

Please review the below letter, and if you are able to sign on for your organization, please reply to Caroline Wagner (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to list your organization as a signatory on the letter.

Believe it or not this is a woman in full body paint..... Clue: Her left leg pointing down like a tail, right arm is braced on the stump, her other arm is folder over her head. You have to look at it for a while for it to come to you. The bird's eye is in the center of her forehead.

For almost 20 years, NCIIA’s Early Stage Venture Development program has provided support and funding for moving high impact innovations from the university into the marketplace by supporting student and student/faculty teams as they move ideas out of the lab and classroom and into the marketplace.

Our success and growth has created a Senior position in the organization for an individual who will have responsibility for our E-Teams program. This a unique opportunity to join an organization that has already supported and trained 500 student teams that have raised more than $300 million to grow and launch 200 new science and technology based ventures.

This person will have program responsibility for our E-Teams Initiative, including developing and implementing strategic objectives, managing staff and projects, and participating in all aspects of the program from team selection and training, through engagement with the early stage venture funding community. The ideal candidate will have a combination of entrepreneurial and early stage venture development experience (ideally in the scientific and/or technology sectors), and/or teaching applied entrepreneurship and venture development at the post-secondary level, along with effective people and project management skills. This is a position based in Massachusetts working with teams and institutions across the country. Want to learn more? Click here