innovation DAILY

AT&T plans to expand its high-speed fiber-optic Internet service to as many as 21 new US metro areas. It's claiming speeds of up to one gigabit per second with its U-Verse with GigaPower system, which is only available in Austin, Texas, today.

Image: http://readwrite.com 

The media is atwitter with word that venture capital investment in the first quarter hit $9.5 billion — the highest since 2001. Great news! Now we can all ring our hands and talk about bursting bubbles!

Why do concern trolls wring their hands about bubbles? Bubbles are an inescapable reality of our economy. They blow up, they burst, and then they blow up again — usually in new places.

Image: Private Airbnb Studio in San Francisco near Ocean Beach (Photo credit: Kevin Krejci) 

The Singapore government has selected six venture capital firms to each receive S$10 million (US$7.9 million) in taxpayer’s money under the Early Stage Venture Fund (ESVF) scheme. The money will be matched on a one-to-one basis with the VC firms’ own funds, which will be used for investments into Series A level startups.

In total, S$120 million (US$96 million) worth of government and private sector money will be plowed into innovative young technology companies. The six selected venture capital funds are: Jungle Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, Walden International, SBI Ven Capital, New Asia Investments, and Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

The impact of federal budget cuts compounded by the challenges of securing funding for biotechnology companies has led to a growing trend of drug development. Scientists are turning to crowdfunding for biotechnology as a way to scrape up money.

A concept for a nonprofit crowdfunding website for medical research hatched at Lehigh Valley StartUp Weekend last fall is moving ahead.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

The University of Maryland has launched their very own crowdfunding platform:  Launch UMD.  The site is designed for both students and faculty to raise funding on “impactful projects”.  Organizers hope the platform will help facilitate change via innovation 

Launch UMD fired up their platform with 5 live projects including: 

There is a belief in the business world that founders can’t scale.

That is, to put it another way, a company’s growth curve will eventually outstrip the capabilities of its founders. And the statistics seem to bear this theory out: Only 50 percent of founders remain chief executives after being in business for three years, 40 percent after four, and a sadly low 25 percent of founders actually make it through their company’s IPO as CEO .

Image: http://medcitynews.com 

Through all the ups and downs of building TakeLessons over the past eight years, I can say with certainty that San Diego’s ecosystem for tech startups is better now than I’ve ever seen it.

That said, we have reached a crucial juncture. Our entrepreneurial community can either take San Diego to the next level by doubling down on our assets and honing in on issues we need to improve, or accept our reputation as a beautiful city defined primarily by the sun, surf, and coastal lifestyle.

Image: http://www.xconomy.com/ 

Remote work is increasingly common.

A February survey from the Flex+Strategy Group/Work+Life Fit, Inc. found that 31 percent of adults who are employed full time do most of their work away from their employer’s location.

That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re working at home, though, or even at Starbucks or a co-working space. If you’re location independent, here are some other places that, in a pinch, might work to get things done.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Do you know where your first 10 employees are going to come from? How about the next 10?

99% of the time your best hires will come from your staff's combined network — you might already know that. But do you know how to go about mining that network so methodically that you get the most out of it? Probably not. As co-founder of talent discovery startup TalentBin, this is my bread and butter.

Image: http://firstround.com 

Redesigned Website Offers More Content with Easier Navigation

Today, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) re-launched its website: www.eda.gov. The redesigned website provides improved functionality and benefits for users including easier navigation with links to the most useful pages, more case studies and access to a state-by-state resources directory.

EDA conducted research and analysis to help the agency identify and understand how its stakeholders need to use the site. The new site includes quick links to the pages most in demand and provides prospective EDA applicants with easily accessible information on the application process, best practices and case studies. The state-by-state resources directory provides critical local resources including EDA’s regional office contacts, state government and regional planning contacts and contacts for organizations providing local technical assistance and economic development planning.

The website also connects visitors to EDA’s social media outlets, ensuring that the agency’s stakeholders can be connected to the latest news and opportunities.

Before April 16, 2014, NIH permitted one resubmission (A1) of an unfunded application (see NOT-OD-09-016). The extension on the NIH grant number could follow the pattern (A0, A1). A first-time submission is informally referred to as an A0, and the first resubmission is known as an A1. Any virtual A2s would be flagged by the NIH Center for Scientific Review.

For all application due dates after April 16, 2014, following an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application, applicants may submit the same idea as a new (A0) application for the next appropriate new application due date (see NOT-OD-14-074).

There is a belief in the business world that founders can’t scale.

That is, to put it another way, a company’s growth curve will eventually outstrip the capabilities of its founders. And the statistics seem to bear this theory out: Only 50 percent of founders remain chief executives after being in business for three years, 40 percent after four, and a sadly low 25 percent of founders actually make it through their company’s IPO as CEO .

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute at the University of Utah announced today a $12 million gift from Pierre Lassonde, bringing his total contribution to $25 million. The new donation will be used for a transformative building for student entrepreneurs. Estimated to cost $45 million, the 148,000-square-feet facility will unite 412 residences with 20,000-square-foot “garage” space for students to gather, build prototypes and launch companies. Officials expect the building to catapult the university’s reputation for entrepreneurship education.

Image: http://lassonde.utah.edu - Pierre Lassonde has donated $25 million total to support entrepreneurs at the University of Utah. His latest donation will be used for a transformative new building. 

SEATTLE, Washington, April 21, 2014 — Five for-profit and non-profit organizations in Washington will receive a total of $1.25 million in Proof of Concept grants to accelerate maturation of promising health-related technologies from ideas into commercial products, the Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) announced today. Also announced was a $300,000 Entrepreneur Mentoring Program grant to the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association (WBBA) to launch a statewide advisory network to train the next generation of entrepreneurs and help early-stage companies achieve commercialization success. (See Backgrounder Information.)

From next month you’re going to start seeing a whole range of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) popping up online. Alongside longstanding ones like .com and .net, you’ll see geographic, special interest and brand name ones like .africa and .joburg, .sport and .radio, and potentially, .cocacola or .microsoft. Should you rush out and secure every possible permutation that vaguely relates to your existing site or business? Probably not.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

A new treatment for macular degeneration is close to the next stage of human testing—a noteworthy event not just for the millions of patients it could help, but for its potential to become the first therapy based on embryonic stem cells.

This year, the Boston-area company Advanced Cell Technology plans to move its stem-cell treatment for two forms of vision loss into advanced human trials. The company has already reported that the treatment is safe (see “Eye Study Is a Small but Crucial Advance for Stem-Cell Therapy”), although a full report of the results from the early, safety-focused testing has yet to be published. The planned trials will test whether it is effective. The treatment will be tested both on patients with Stargardt’s disease (an inherited form of progressive vision loss that can affect children) and on those with age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss among people 65 and older.

Image: Vision support: The cells used in Advanced Cell Technology’s clinical trials produce dark pigments and cobblestone-like patterns that can be readily recognized in cultures. 

Whether they're battle-tested veterans or fresh-faced newbies, entrepreneurs undergo an intense learning process when establishing and launching a business. Even those who've been through it before typically face a certain amount of uncertainty. That's why it's critical that they learn as much as possible about their specific area of business as well as entrepreneurship as a whole.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

By Marc Parry

Many professors and students gravitate to Google as a gateway to research. Libraries want to offer them a comparably simple and broad experience for searching academic content. As a result, a major change is under way in how libraries organize information. Instead of bewildering users with a bevy of specialized databases—books here, articles there—many libraries are bulldozing their digital silos. They now offer one-stop search boxes that comb entire collections, Google style.

Image: A.J. Mast for The Chronicle - Andrew Asher, assessment librarian at Indiana U. at Bloomington, studied how students use new library search tools. “It’s a logical impossibility to create a querying tool that doesn’t have any form of bias,” he says.  

From jeans-and-sneakers offices in Silicon Valley to the White House there is anxious talk these days about income inequality and how the venture wealth pie is shared.

Amidst jaw-dropping reports of heady private valuations of Uber, Square, and Dropbox--not to mention the Twitter-Facebook-LinkedIn market capitalizations and shareholder exits--Google’s Eric Schmidt says that he is “very worried” about inequality in the Bay Area.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Every business leader has blind spots which limit their effectiveness and success, but due to ego, over-confidence, or deferential subordinates, many live totally in the dark. Some are smart and humble enough to assume that they don’t know what they don’t know, but lack an effective process for shining a light on their blind spots. Both are equally surprised by their every setback.

SAN DIEGO — A trip to almost any bookstore or a cruise around the Internet might leave the impression that avoiding cancer is mostly a matter of watching what you eat. One source after another promotes the protective powers of “superfoods,” rich in antioxidants and other phytochemicals, or advises readers to emulate the diets of Chinese peasants or Paleolithic cave dwellers.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

To quote Dr. Phil:

“Are you living a life that is more in tune with your “authentic” self (who you were created to be) or your “fictional” self (who the world has told you to be)?”

Gee, I never thought I would write a post where I would quote Dr. Phil!

This is it. You’ve aligned calendars and will have all the right decision-makers in the room. It’s the moment when they either decide to give you resources to begin to turn your innovative idea into reality, or send you back to the drawing board. How will you make your most persuasive case?

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

First Warning Systems, the Reno, Nevada-based company that’s working on wearable sensors for early detection of breast cancer, has raised $560,000, according to CEO Rob Royea. Steven Welch, a private investor and former COO of BP (not to be confused with DreamIt Health founder Steve Welch) led the round with a $300,000 contribution. The rest came from a syndicate of investors in Singapore, where First Warning intends to launch its product in early 2015.

Image: The Smart Bra concept from First Warning’s 2012 YouTube video. 

Startup and investor marketplace Angel List launched a fund last week, which allows people to back investors and the companies they choose. The new approach, coupled with their slightly different fee structure, has set the VC industry talking.   The standard fund charges a 2% fee and 30% carry for investors, compared to Angel List’s $25 million Maiden Lane fund which charges no fees and a 30% carry.  

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Are you interested in biotech entrepreneurship? Do you want to stay informed about the rapidly evolving US biotech industry?  If so, make sure to subscribe to BioHealth Innovation’s weekly newsletter and find out what we are doing to make the state of Maryland the next big US biotech cluster.

Please contact Rich Bendis, President & CEO of BioHealth Innovation for questions and comments.

View the latest edition here

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(Rich Bendis who edits InnovationDAILY also edits BioHealth Innovation's Weekly Newsletter)

Building a startup company is something that one can not understand until trying to do it.  It is painful, arduous and at times seems absolutely impossible.  Yet at the same time, it can be one of the most exciting and rewarding things one can ever take on in their life.

As a serial entrepreneur, I have learned both from experiences and inspiring people who have taught me what it takes to succeed in business and grow as a person.

Image: http://under30ceo.com 

When I meet with entrepreneurs, I am often asked about the VC “pipeline.”

How many deals do we see? How many meetings? How often do we conduct due diligence? How many of those companies do we invest in?

I thought it would be helpful to provide visibility about the VC pipeline, while also outlining what helps a company move from an intro meeting into a closed investment.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Sometimes in life, it becomes clear that you’re on the entirely wrong path.

Whether it’s a business that’s floundering or a career that is increasingly intolerable, your gut is telling you that something has to change--drastically.

But how do you reinvent yourself if you’re making a dramatic career change or moving your business into an entirely different sector without seeming flaky or unreliable?

The IRS is increasing scrutiny into a complex practice for using retirement accounts to fund a business. The practice may trip up business owners who take advantage of it.  In the end, it could cost them not only their retirement nest eggs, but open them up to paying back taxes and large penalties to the IRS.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Entrepreneurship evangelists often see their work in some parts of the world as a war on poverty. This week, President Barack Obama will visit Philippines’ President Benigno Aquino III as part of his Asian tour. While the Philippines is the second-best performing economy in Asia, growing at an average of 6 percent since 2012, poverty incidence affects more than 20 percent of its population. For President Aquino, now is the time to look beyond necessity-driven entrepreneurship and address his country’s challenges in helping high-growth firms start and scale.

Image: http://entrepreneurship.org 

Many entrepreneurs still don’t understand that building a business culture today of doing good, like helping people (society) and planet (sustainability), is also a key to maximizing profit. Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. Every company needs this focus to attract the best minds and loyalty in both categories.

Creating a company from the ground up while generating a successful revenue steam is the essence of the American Dream; but if this were an easy task, there would be a flood of employees quitting their "nine-to-fives" to found startups.

The autonomy that comes along with building a business around personal goals, talents and interests is compelling for many workers who are fed up with their daily grind. On the other hand, leaving a stable employment situation can be stressful — and it's a decision that shouldn't be taken lightly, even if you're not entirely satisfied with one or more of the aspects of your current job.

Image: FLICKR, THEILR 

Applications are now being accepted for the $100,000 Innovations in American Government Awards.

Offered by Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, the Innovations Award is the nation’s premier award for the public sector. It recognizes programs that demonstrate creative and effective government at its best.

All units of government — federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial — from all policy areas are eligible to apply for recognition.

This year, the Ash Center is also offering the Roy and Lila Ash Innovations Award for Public Engagement in Government, a special Innovations Award that will recognize government-led innovations that demonstrate novel and effective approaches to increasing public engagement and participation in the governance of towns, cities, states, and the nation. The top winner of the Innovations in American Government Award and the winner of the Roy and Lila Ash Award will each receive a $100,000 grant to support replication and dissemination activities in 2015. Top finalists will also receive monetary grants.

Applications and additional information are available at www.innovationsaward.harvard.edu

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE ON JUNE 20, 2014

If you have any questions about the application or our website, please contact the Innovations staff at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (800) 722-0074.

Innovations in American Government

Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

Harvard Kennedy School Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

ash.harvard.edu

AUTHOR BRIGID SCHULTE SAYS COMPANIES SHOULD STOP REWARDING OVERWORKED EMPLOYEES AND FOCUS ON PRODUCTIVITY INSTEAD.

Do you rush through the morning paper, barely skimming the headlines while answering emails and making kids’ lunches? Do you compete with coworkers over how late you stay at the office each night?

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

When it comes to choosing whom to work with in business, there’s a huge difference between choosing to partner with a small startup versus a large Fortune 500 corporation.

Both have their own merits and it really depends on what the end result is meant to be.

Check out our list of what really separates the little guys from the big corporate companies below.

Image: http://under30ceo.com 

Despite the insistence of many that startups can thrive outside Silicon Valley, it clearly pays to be there, or in New York or New England if you want venture capital.

Nationally, VCs invested at a rate not seen since mid-2001, putting $9.5 billion to work in 951 deals in the last quarter, according to a report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. That was a 12 percent increase in total investment, with much of it flowing into large deals for later stage companies like Dropbox, which raised $325 million in February.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Previous research has revealed a moderate and positive correlation between procrastination and impulsivity. However, little is known about why these two constructs are related. In the present study, we used behavior-genetics methodology to test three predictions derived from an evolutionary account that postulates that procrastination arose as a by-product of impulsivity: (a) Procrastination is heritable, (b) the two traits share considerable genetic variation, and (c) goal-management ability is an important component of this shared variation. These predictions were confirmed. First, both procrastination and impulsivity were moderately heritable (46% and 49%, respectively). Second, although the two traits were separable at the phenotypic level (r = .65), they were not separable at the genetic level (rgenetic = 1.0). Finally, variation in goal-management ability accounted for much of this shared genetic variation. These results suggest that procrastination and impulsivity are linked primarily through genetic influences on the ability to use high-priority goals to effectively regulate actions.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Personality and IQ have traditionally been viewed as distinct domains of human functioning. However, research over the past three decades suggests that IQ is a personality trait. In an excellent book chapter, personality neuroscientist Colin DeYoung points out that many personality traits involve cognitive processes and abilities. It’s just that IQ is primarily measured with ability tests, whereas personality tests are primarily measured with questionnaires. But this is more a reflection of a lack of ingenuity on the part of psychologists than a real difference in domain of human functioning.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

C.K. Prahalad and Stuart Hart’s seminal book The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid gained a wide audience when it was published in 2004 and has continued to be widely read ever since. Its iconic phrase, “bottom of the pyramid,” entered the English lexicon. The book was a call to action to the world’s largest companies to develop new products for the four billion people living on $4 a day or less—a market representing what was in effect the new frontier for corporate expansion.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net