Here we highlight selected innovation related articles from around the world on a daily basis. These articles related to innovation and funding for innovative companies, and best practices for innovation based economic development.
Stop wearing fedoras to your VC pitch meetings, startup founders.
When investor money and tech blog mentions rain down, startups can make silly mistakes, like blowing all their cash on a mechanical dinosaur. The cast of HBO's Silicon Valley came to SXSWi, the mecca of startups, to deliver on-point advice for not being a entrepreneurial idiot.
Image: http://mashable.com
Anyone with an iPhone 5 can use its fingerprint reader to unlock the device and pay for apps or music in Apple’s iTunes store. Owners of Samsung’s latest flagship device, the Galaxy S5 smartphone, which launches on April 11, will be able to make much broader use of their fingerprints to pay for things. If they visit a website or app that accepts PayPal using the device, they can authorize payments by swiping a finger across the phone’s home button. And PayPal’s own mobile app can be used to pay for goods in some physical stores in the U.S.
Image: http://www.technologyreview.com
I ask every entrepreneur I interview the same question: “What would you do differently if you could?” Nine out of ten times I get the exact same response: “I would have started sooner!” This has got me wondering – when is the optimal time to become an entrepreneur?
The first PR company I started, straight out of college, failed spectacularly. I chalk this up to a simple lack of relevant experience. I just didn’t know enough and I needed to spend the time working for other (frankly smarter and more seasoned) people before I could strike out on my own. Conversely, someone like Jennie Enterprise, CEO and founder of the ultra-fashionable CORE Club, whose interview I will be posting later this week, started her first business at 13 – yes 13 – and has worked for herself ever since.
Image: http://www.forbes.com/
It wasn’t until my company had more than $1 million in revenue that I had the critical moment of clarity: I wasn’t pretending to be an entrepreneur. I actually was one.
Until then, I’d considered myself an imposter. So much of the entrepreneur stereotype was different from my skills set, goals and personality. I don’t have a million ideas. I’m not a natural salesperson. I don’t have aspirations to build a billion-dollar business. I’m more introverted than extroverted. I'm analytical and organized.
If you've ever been driven to rage and despair trying to pry open one of those plastic blister packs, Paul Tasner says it doesn't have to be that way. According to the 68-year-old Tasner, all it would take is for more products to use the packaging he's developed for his company, Pulpworks.
As you might guess from the name, it specializes in packaging made from pulp — from paper, cardboard, even sugarcane fiber — that's molded to fit a product.
Image: More and more older adults are becoming entrepreneurs instead of retiring, like Paul Tasner of Pulpworks, who spoke at the 2013 Global Social Venture Competition in California. (Courtesy of Kevin Warnock)
Spring is here and summer’s not far behind—which means businesses that use interns are starting to think about their summer needs. Qualified interns can be tough to find, and now the competition is getting even stiffer. A study by Glassdoor (disclosure: A client of my company) found that interns at top companies such as Facebook, Google and ExxonMobil can make as much as $7,000 a month if they work full time.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
Academics in Britain may be fighting a fifth year of below-inflation pay rises, but some business schools seem to inhabit a different financial universe. Last month, Times Higher Education attended a champagne reception held at the top of the landmark Gherkin building in London's financial district to celebrate the launch of a new executive M.B.A. The price tag? Nearly £77,000 (about $130,000) for 20 months' tuition.
Image: http://www.insidehighered.com
People exposed to earlier sunlight are leaner than those who get afternoon light
A surprising new strategy for managing your weight? Bright morning light. A new Northwestern Medicine® study reports the timing, intensity and duration of your light exposure during the day is linked to your weight — the first time this has been shown.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
Being a successful entrepreneur is about approaching your success journey as a marathon, not a sprint. However, if you’ve actually run a marathon, you know the high of the excitement at the starting line and the low of mile 18 when you think you just can’t take one more step.
The path of entrepreneurship has distinct peaks and valleys, so here are 10 quotes to keep you motivated for wherever you are in the marathon.
Image: Benjamin Franklin Image credit: Library of Congress LC-USZ62-25564
Entrepreneurs are a unique group of people. Not only do they think differently; they act differently. They draw on personality traits, habits and mind-sets to come up with ideas that straddle the line between insanity and genius. But just because you’re an original thinker and came up with an idea to replace gasoline in cars doesn’t mean you’re cut out to be an entrepreneur.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
If Hollywood wants to portray an entrepreneur in a movie, then he -- and it’s usually a he – is in his early 20s, may or may not have a college degree, is probably wearing blue jeans and a hoodie, and is a bit unkempt, with messy hair and facial hair.
That stereotype may appeal to our interest in a narrative where geeks take over the world, but the Mark Zuckerberg-inspired vision is absolutely only a part of the entrepreneurship story. Many entrepreneurs don’t even think about launching their own business until they are in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s, after years of work experience.
Image: http://www.entrepreneur.com
CHENGDU, China, April 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ Silicon Valley is a global icon. Its innovation capability catalyzes the world surprisingly. Under the universal forces of innovation economy today, the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley, which represents the American Dream, has been also inspiring the China Dream. Now, an ambitious hi-tech zone in western China is striving to establish its own "Silicon Valley," not only in IT but also in all its leading hi-tech industries.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
In 1953, in an effort to give a little financial muscle to the country’s smaller private sector players, the federal government created the Small Business Administration, an independent agency that aids and protects small businesses. But in today’s David-and-Goliath battles for lucrative government contracts, getting that small business designation isn’t always so easy.
The anticipation builds for months. The information sessions of the fall semester give way to the submission deadline of late January. Next come the Semifinals, when 25 teams pitch to panels of judges in their industry track. The winner of the Wharton Social Impact Prize is chosen (Congratulations, Susli Lie WG’14, team leader of Dana Cita!). And then, at long last: the Finalists of the Wharton Business Plan Competition, the “Great Eight,” are named.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
The ability to innovate is a driver of productivity, competitiveness and prosperity. Innovation requires entrepreneurs to rethink and adopt new approaches to their businesses, and embracing new technologies and manufacturing opportunities can distinguish you from your competitors.
But what are some powerful tech trends that can drive company success? What should you pay attention to?
Jean Hammond, the Boston angel investor whose first big investment in 2000 in a little company called Zipcar paid off handsomely, is a pretty big deal in the angel investment community. She helped found the Boston chapter of GoldenSeeds and is a member of Hub Angels Investment Groupand LaunchPad Venture Group She has also served as CEO at Quarry Technologies, is a founder of AXON Networks, interim CEO of Jam Technologies, and co-founder of LearnLaunchX, Boston’s ed tech accelerator. Recently, Hammond won an award from the Angel Capital Association for her work, which has included significant achievements in the ed-tech sector. Hammond said she's learned a few things in her experience as an angel investor. Here's a list of Hammond's five lessons that she's learned in the angel investment world:
Image: Courtesy photo Angel investor Jean Hammond says Boston has a great startup ecosystem.
Just the way “selfies” and “digital detox” have become accepted parts of the current vernacular, certain buzzworthy terms should be getting a cease and desist order, soon. Case in point: “business as usual.”
Everything is changing so quickly, there is no such thing as usual, posits Eamonn Kelly, director, Deloitte Consulting LLP. Whether you’re at the helm of a company, or even commandeering a small team, it’s time to throw out the playbook and write a new set of rules.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
At Wanderlust's core is its mission to create community around mindful living. Our yoga festivals offer a wide variety of mindful experiences for attendees, from yoga classes to meditation sessions, from nature activities to farm-to-table dining.
So it makes sense that internally Wanderlust is committed to building a conscious company and culture that reflects and aligns with our mission and the experience we create for our guest. However, things like creating corporate retreats and providing the best 401k packages can be quite challenging while you're experiencing rapid growth and in mid-transition out of the bootstrap stage. All of us at Wanderlust are working long hours to meet the demands of growth.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
Most of us have had a professional failure we’ve had to overcome at some point in our careers. But when you were the lead on a Super Bowl ad that bombed so spectacularly it cost your company the $300 million account--and the whole situation is covered in the New York Times, it can be tough to shake off.
But if that which does not kill us makes us stronger, then Tor Myhren is Iron Man. After that dismal 2006 Cadillac Escalade spot which was called the worst Super Bowl ad, Myhren moved from Leo Burnett Detroit to take the chief creative officer post at Grey New York in 2007.
Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/excited-young-handsome-man-photo-p228037
1. DONORSCHOOSE.ORG
For teaching government a thing or two about education reform. Most of us can agree that the U.S. school system is a mess: State education budgets are shrinking, while businesses' expectations for job preparedness are ever rising. Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org, is trying to make sure teachers and students have the resources to do their part. The crowdfunding nonprofit has raised $225 million to help more than 175,000 teachers fund more than 400,000 projects, from securing school supplies for the semester to helping make field trips happen. Best, formerly a public-school history teacher in the Bronx, has managed to rein in some deep-pocketed donors and partners, including Sheryl Sandberg, Stephen Colbert, and Google, which is helping Best use his site in transformative ways, such as bringing AP STEM classes to more than 330 high schools and helping entrepreneurs market new educational tools directly to classrooms.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
