Most entrepreneurs start their company with the highest of ideals, and wouldn’t dream of building one with a culture of indifference or downright unethical behavior. Yet all too many succumb to the pressures of survival, driven by demanding investors or a cutthroat competitive environment. How does a Founder recognize the warning signs, let alone know what to do about it?

Some key insights on this issue are provided for corporate environments in a recent book by David Gebler, “The 3 Power Values: How Commitment, Integrity, and Transparency Clear the Roadblocks to Performance.” I‘m convinced that the underlying points are even more relevant to entrepreneurs, with some adaptation for the realities of the startup world:

One of the first harsh realities that every entrepreneur has to learn is that most of the things that are critical to startup success are outside of their direct control. Just because you dream it and build it, doesn’t mean they will come – that encompasses not only customers, but also investors, partners, team members, and even your own family. They won’t come if they don’t trust you.

In my experience, trust is the most powerful tool that an entrepreneur can wield, both inside and outside of his own realm of control. I’ve seen many examples of this in my own business life, and yet I gained a whole new perspective on how it works from a new book by successful entrepreneur August Turak, titled “Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks.”

“I knew you’d say that.” – Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd

That may have been Stallone’s catch phrase in the movie Judge Dredd, but these days a CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) or even your marketing strategist could easily say that phrase as well.

These days analytic solutions are breaking down more data from many sources, creating more accurate sales and operational models.  Businesses are learning to compete through innovation, but how does one model the volume of analysis and concepts presented?

I’ve recently worked with some software vendors who would likely see me as the lead contact for a big sales “opportunity” in their salesforce.com account. They might have even had this opportunity forecasted to close in Q2. I can tell by the aggressiveness in which I was being “followed up” with during the final week of June.

This was clearly premature on the sales reps’ part, as I have made it painstaking clear that I am missing one very critical piece of information that is keeping me from getting the contract(s) signed: the proof that this solution is really going to add value. 

The buzzword (or letters, as it were) of the past year or two in the startup world has been “MVP”— minimum viable product. You should shove out the smallest version of your product just to get something out there and get real humans using the thing.

In general, I agree with that. The sooner (and faster) you can get something out there, the better. But what typically gets ignored with “shipping it fast” is “killing it fast.”

Benjamin Franklin can be viewed as the greatest inventor of his time. This founding father was responsible for more inventions than most companies develop in a hundred years, not to mention he did so while also helping found a nation. Franklin is the embodiment of entrepeneurship and the American spirit of discovery, and why not honor a few of his discoveries today?

GUEST MENTOR Mo Koyfman, General Partner at Spark Capital: The first round of funding is typically the hardest capital you’ll ever have to raise for your company. It requires a leap of faith on the part of investors, who have to believe that you will succeed at what is little more than a hope and dream initially. More than the idea or anything else, they need to believe in you.

For this reason, entrepreneurs have historically gone to friends and family for this initial round of financing. Who is more likely to believe in your crazy dream than your friends and family?

The latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) reveals that 19,000 businesses were started-up in Ireland in 2012. Not only that, the GEM research indicates Irish early stage entrepreneurs have a stronger focus on international markets and exports than their OECD and EU counterparts.

This year’s research has been compiled by Paula Fitzsimons of Fitzsimons consulting, who is also the national GEM co-ordinator, and Dr Colm O’Gorman, professor of entrepreneurship at Dublin City University Business School.

Last year the US Patent and Trademark Office issued for Toyota more patents for the company’s innovative engineers and designers that to any other car maker.

According to a survey made by the Intellectual Property Owners Association, Toyota has received 1,491 patents, which only demonstrated the Japanese automaker’s commitment to continuously improve its vehicles and achieve new safety, environmental and technological advancements.

Sure, most of us don’t get to work in a place as awesome as, say, the International Space Station or a Frank Gehry designed paradise, but each office comes with its own little quirks, and sometimes they can really spruce up the place.

So we thought it appropriate to ask you to share the quirks that make your office great, while giving a sneak peak of what it's like to hang out at Fast Company.

● The Internship Institute (501c3) Targets Job Creation & Standardization ●

- LAUNCHES UNPAID INTERN RELIEF FUND & ANNOUNCES PHASE II PILOT OF INTERNSHIP SEEDING INITIATIVE –

NEWTOWN, PA – JULY 7 2013 – As TII’s Founder and Chairman-elect Matthew Zinman describes it, “The internship market is like a ‘Wild West-like frontier’ with vast unchartered territory, rough terrain and unpredictable dead ends. Avoid the sinkholes and landmines if you can. He advises an industry-driven approach and a ‘slow play’ of the higher education market saying, “They’re culturally adverse to playing nice in the sandbox. It’s all-too-easy to step in something unwanted in the academic landscape,” he warns knowingly. “I’ve taken my licks. Surely had the wind knocked out of me more times than I care to recount, but the trick is to keep getting back up and persist steadfastly toward that vision!,” Zinman exclaims.

As we work with a lot of companies, in the US and overseas, we are constantly confronted with one of the most important questions: who are the best innovators in my firm?

Any organization wants to optimize its resources, and increasingly good people with deep skills and commitments are hard to find. Placing the right people in the right jobs, and giving them the skills and freedom they need to succeed is paramount. What every firm wants to do is find their best innovators, place them in conditions that are conducive for innovation, and support them in every way possible. But first, how do they find their best innovators? It’s not like strong innovators walk around with a large “I” on their chests, ready to suit up for any innovation emergency. And, to make matters more complex, many good innovators aren’t “mainstream” corporate types.

“Politics is a direct-response business,” declares the digital director of President Obama’s re-election campaign. “People do things if you ask them to do it, and ... don’t … if you don’t ask.”

Exactly! In fact, this is true not only in politics, but also in social media. If you want your readers to click “like” or “retweet” or “reblog” or “pin” or “plus,” you gotta ask for it. Not for nothing do two of the web’s most popular sites--BuzzFeed and Mashable--serve up big buttons at the top of each article, beseeching you to “share me now!” What’s more, these icons now include the number of shares in real time, boxing you in with peer pressure: “Don’t share me--I dare you!” This is marketing at its finest: so subliminal, you think you’re making a considered choice.

If you’ve raised startup capital from family or friends, what is one tip you’d give a fellow entrepreneur to make sure the deal doesn’t affect the relationship?

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Crowdfunding platforms can open doors for entrepreneurs because they offer access to capital without having to navigate through the complicated traditional channels such as venture capital and angel investors. In addition, crowdfunding provides entrepreneurs with a way to engage their customer base and involve them in the exciting start-up phase of their company, all the while getting their product out into the market.

I have a confession to make. I’m the parent of a boomerang kid, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Peter, our youngest child, is living with us temporarily while he attends graduate school at the University of Maryland, a stone’s throw from our house. Financially, it’s a great move for him—he gets in-state tuition and free room and board. But my husband and I get a few things in return: someone to take out the trash and get the car inspected, chauffeur us to the airport for early morning flights, and keep us up-to-date on the standings of every team in every sport. If not for Peter, how else would we know that Daft Punk’s latest hit album is Random Access Memories? “He keeps me young,” says my husband. And the best thing about having a 24-year-old around the house: tech support.

In honor of the Fourth of July, here are 25 great things about America.

It's the Fourth of July, and there's never been a better day to reflect on the state of the country.  Everything from the teams Americans root for, to the companies they work for, to the dangers they contend with, make America unique.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed the first method for directly measuring the extent to which drugs reach their targets in the cell.

The method, which is described in the scientific journal Science, could make a significant contribution to the development of new, improved drug substances.

Most drugs operate by binding to one or more proteins and affecting their function, which creates two common bottlenecks in the development of drugs; identifying the right target proteins and designing drug molecules able to efficiently seek out and bind to them. No method has been available for directly measuring the efficiency of the drug molecules to locate and bind to its target protein. Now researchers from Karolinska Institutet have developed a new tool called CETSA (Cellular Thermal Shift Assay), which utilise the concept that target proteins usually get stabilised when drug molecules bind.

As a small business owner, you want to establish yourself as an expert in your field. You want people to consider you the go-to expert on your industry, the products you sell and trends. But to achieve that, you’ve got to put in a little work. True thought leaders use the following techniques to build loyal fans, traffic to their sites, and revenues.