On March 27th, the European Commission (EC) published a communication on crowdfunding as part of the roadmap to meet long-term financing needs of the European economy, which aims at fostering sustainable growth in the Union.

Although the news was anticipated a few days earlier, due to a leak of information promptly reported by the main newspapers, the actual communication on crowdfunding still brings along some interesting news.

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There have been plenty of beautiful cars over the years, from the early efforts of pioneering coachbuilders that would go on to become household names, through to the Jaguar E Type and the Alfa 8C.

A lot of the value of older, beautiful cars meanwhile, derives from their scarcity. In some cases, that’s because we didn’t realise how important they were when we built them, in others it’s because they were only released in relatively small numbers in the first place.

Image: http://motorburn.com 

Since I got my GoPro Hero in 2010, Nick Woodman, the founder of GoPro became a billionaire and the camera has had a few mild updates to keep it in tune with modern film requirements (most noticeably, 4K recording in some models). Yet recently I got to play around with the GoPro Hero 3+ Silver Edition (US$299), I even recorded a video of my expeditions.

Image: http://gearburn.com 

During the course of their career, every small business owner gets stuck. The key is to know where and how to get unstuck.

My annual survey of 5,000 small business owners identifies the problem areas. Here are a few excerpts:

Treating Their Company Like a Job

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President Bieto, Dean Sauquet, members of the faculty, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen…Thank you for the kind introduction. I'm honored to be at a university noted for knowledge, and in a city with 2000 years of history--home of Gaudí one of the 20th century's greatest innovators.

This is a story about two roads — Should and Must. It’s a pep talk for anyone who’s chosen Should far too long — months, years, maybe a lifetime, and feels like it’s about time they give Must a shot.

There are two paths in life: Should and Must. We arrive at this crossroads over and over again. And each time, we get to choose.

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For seven decades urban planners have been seeking to force higher urban population densities through urban containment policies. The object is to combat "urban sprawl," which is the theological (or ideological) term applied to the organic phenomenon of urban expansion. This has come at considerable cost, as house prices have materially increased relative to incomes, which is to be expected from urban containment strategies that ration land (and thus raise its price, all things being equal).

Smart Growth America is out with its second report that rates urban sprawl, with the highest scores indicating the least sprawl and the lowest scores indicating the most (Measuring Sprawl 2014).

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The family business is still widely regarded as an ineffective organizational form (read this, this, or that paper), especially in the US, even though recent evidence challenges this perception.  Some studies (see here or here) have shown that during periods of economic growth, family-managed companies in the US actually perform better than professionally managed businesses.

However, a rising tide lifts all boats; it’s the ebbing tide that reveals the truth.  Just how do family businesses perform during recessions, when only the strong survive?

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Every year, the American Institute of Architects honors the best residential design in the U.S., recognizing, as the organization puts it, “good housing as a necessity of life, a sanctuary for the human spirit, and a valuable national resource.”

Today, the organization announced its 2014 AIA Housing Awards, which highlight ten diverse projects from a beautiful weekend home near a British Columbia ski resort, to a Los Angeles condo building with an adjustable facade, to a breakthrough housing development that supports adults with autism in Sonoma, California. All of the residences incorporate energy-efficient features, such as green roofs, natural ventilation, and passive solar design that helps keep the interior comfortable with a modicum of energy output.

Image: http://www.fastcodesign.com 

At the end of 2010, I began contributing stories to Knowledge@Wharton on women entrepreneurs in the Middle East. My co-writer Nafeesa Syeed and I began to spend more and more time in the region, witnessing how ripe for opportunities it is as well as being filled with innovators. When the Arab Spring came along, it appeared to open up new opportunities for women’s participation in social and political spheres as well. In addition, the literacy and gender gap in the region has greatly improved over the decades with more woman now holding graduate degrees than men in several countries. On top of that, social media and smart phone penetration is skyrocketing, even exceeding figures in the United States. Nafeesa and I spent much of that past three years in the region exploring these trends and eventually produced the eBook ‘Arab Women Rising’ published through Knowledge@Wharton (price: free).

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The Social Progress Imperative, a U.S.-based non-profit that focuses on advancing global progress, released a new index last week that ranked 132 countries based on a variety of indicators, including basic human needs, foundations of well-being and opportunity.

According to the Social Progress Index (SPI) 2014, the most socially progressive country is New Zealand in terms of personal rights and freedom, Internet access and school enrollment. It was followed by Switzerland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway.

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The Friday jobs report was decent in spots and prompted some relieved commentary. Plenty of headlines touted that the U.S. private sector had crossed an important milestone by at last regaining the jobs lost in the Great Recession.

However, a number of writers were right to point out that the big “milestone” was pretty deceptive. Many noted that total payrolls remain more than 400,000 below their prior peak due to cuts in the number of government workers, especially at the state and local level.

Image: http://www.brookings.edu 

There has been a bit of action for a while now in the crowdfunding world, and certain startups have been able to get themselves off the ground using Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and similar sites. By and large, these types of financings have gone to companies that are building physical products, digital games, and the like. Fundings have also happened for some causes, films, books and art projects that are typically not businesses. Equity crowdfunding has been signed into law in the U.S. through the JOBS Act, but it awaits the SEC’s directives on the precise rules governing the system. In Europe, it is legal and already in practice. Hopefully, other parts of the world will also start seeing the infrastructure develop shortly.

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Accelerators are great. They provide a network, guidance, funding, and perhaps even allow founders to cross that psychological boundary of being a "real company." However, with the number of accelerators that have popped up in the past few years, it's worth noting that not all are created equal and even the good ones don't guarantee success.

Your goal shouldn't be to gain admission in to an accelerator program. It should be building a value creating business.

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Meeting increasing global demand requires dramatically improving resource productivity. Yet technological advances mean companies have an extraordinary opportunity not only to meet that challenge but to spark the next industrial revolution as well.

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First things first – your startup needs a name! This may seem a silly and frivolous task, but it may be the most important decision you make. The name of your business has a tremendous impact on how customers and investors view you, and in today’s small world, it’s a world-wide decision.

You need capital for your company to grow, but you may want to reconsider venture capital.

The basic problem with partnering with venture capitalists is that their need to earn quick, big returns conflicts with your goal of building your business. Growing a company’s customer base rarely enriches a venture capitalist as much as the next round of investors.

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One of the most profound real resets from the Great Recession has been the movement of talent, capital and companies back to America’s cities and dense, transit-accessible inner suburbs. It shows up in venture capital, too, according to a new study from the Martin Prosperity Institute.

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Angel capital investing, the ground-floor base for building a startup company that could become the next Google or at least the next Akebia Therapeutics, is on the rise in Ohio and its neighboring states. Angel investing in the Great Lakes region rose to 13.8 percent of the nation’s total last year, according to a newly released annual report on angel investing called the Halo Report, sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank and the Angel Resource Institute. The region – which includes Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin – generated 11.3 percent of the nation’s angel investments a year ago.

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