Data have become core strategic assets in most organizations, and data management has become a top priority for most C-suite leaders. The structured and unstructured information companies collect about people and processes has the power to spur cutting-edge customer acquisition and retention strategies. It can reveal areas where processes could be made more efficient, and it can help business leaders make better decisions that reduce overall organizational risk. Data are the cornerstone upon which companies are launching their digital transformations—investing in analytics capabilities, machine learning, robotics, and other technologies to boost their odds of success.

Declines in the venture capital market are hitting startups of all sizes, but the ones left particularly vulnerable are the thousands of young companies that raised seed funding during headier times just a year or two ago.

The seed frenzy peaked in the first quarter of 2015 when more than 1,500 startups raised their first rounds of capital, according to research firm PitchBook Data. Many of those companies are now running out of cash, and most won't be able to get more.

Sean Parker decided to take on cancer by throwing so many deep-rooted basics of research tradition out the window that he very nearly drove away the academics he wanted to attract.

Among the many curious things about the institute established in April by Parker, Facebook Inc.’s first president and a co-founder of Napster Inc., is that scientists must pledge to collaborate instead of compete and to concentrate on making drugs rather than publishing papers. What’s more, marketable discoveries will be group affairs, with collaborative licensing deals -- no matter who led the research.

Most innovations are only as good as their weakest link. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 may have been a great phone, full of new innovation, but most of us will never know. Obviously, that is an extreme example, but a great many innovations are let down, albeit to a lesser extent, by a weak link. As innovators, we are often passionate about a core idea. But if any part of an execution is flawed, it will likely not achieve its full potential, and in some cases may fail altogether.

Productivity growth is a hot topic in the United States right now. More specifically, the absence of productivity growth is creating headaches for the Federal Reserve and other policymakers, and prompting lower forecasts of American economic growth.

In August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. productivity growth had fallen for a third consecutive quarter, the longest such streak since 1979. This means that, since 2007, annual productivity growth, at 1.3 percent per year, has been half of what it was from 2000 to 2007.

Regardless of your political leanings, there is one thing anyone who believes in America can agree on: Job creation is the lifeblood of our economy. Studies from the academics, US Census Bureau and Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation have found that new businesses account for nearly all net new job growth and close to 20% of gross job creation. Angel investors are behind many of the new businesses that create these jobs, with both financial and intellectual capital.

Zane Lowe’s first show as a DJ on Apple Music was a bit dizzying. The songs he played lurched from punk-pop to post-rock to grime to electronica to stadium rock and beyond. He showcased previously unheard songs along with tracks recorded decades ago by well-known rockers. Yet despite the disarray—or probably because of it—I enjoyed the show. Each new track took me in a surprising direction, while the mix of artists and the energy of the songs seemed to match Lowe’s slightly deranged chatter.

China-based drug developer Innovent Biologics raised $260m in a series D round that featured a host of China-based corporate investors: Legend Capital, the investment arm of conglomerate Legend Holdings as well as insurance providers China Life Investment Holding, Taikang Insurance and Ping An Insurance. The round, led by an unnamed fund of China government-owned State Development and Investment Corporation (SDIC), also included Temasek, the investment arm of the government of Singapore and Hillhouse Capital.

President-elect Trump didn't talk a lot about the Food and Drug Administration while he was on the campaign trail, but judging from what he did say, he will want the FDA to approve new drugs and products much faster.

However, experts and agency veterans say that Trump will get pushback from career staff at the FDA if he tries to go too far.

The University of Michigan was ranked among the nation’s top three schools for  undergraduate entrepreneurship opportunities and sixth for graduate entrepreneurship by The Princeton Review in a November release. Only Babson University in Massachusetts and Brigham Young University in Utah surpassed the University on the undergraduate list.

The annual rankings take into consideration business and entrepreneurship academic programs available to students, student-to-faculty ratio, alumni entrepreneurship ventures, student-led programs and community support for entrepreneurial ventures.

In a strange series of events, a consumer microwaves his cell phone instead of a burrito, a lab worker drops his mobile device into a vat of toxic sludge, and a commuter throws her phone into the backseat of a departing taxi. Horrible mistakes? No. As becomes clear at the end of this Virgin Mobile TV commercial, these phone owners are all intent on “accidentally” destroying or losing their devices, thus necessitating an upgrade purchase. Is this simply a humorous advertisement, or can knowledge about the availability of product upgrades actually lead consumers to mistreat the products they own? Together with Josh Ackerman of the University of Michigan, we conducted some research to find out.

In the 90s, after building my software companies in Silicon Valley, I went home to Australia and started a venture capital fund, running it for five years with a business partner. Years later, with resilient determination, the company gave birth to one of the best performing VCs in Australia.

We then eventually exited that fund, sold the portfolio, delivered eight times the return to the investors, and then I found myself looking around for a better way to really serve the emerging startup community in Australia.

Access to capital continues to be a stumbling block for many entrepreneurs. However, there is startup financing and working capital available to business owners in need of investing in inventory, facilities, and staff to establish a solid market presence and generate a profitable revenue stream. It probably goes without saying that the first source of capital for your business is you—personal savings or supplemental income from a side hustle—followed by money from friends and family. There also are several sources of capital out there in the form of equity, debt, and grants or cash prizes.

The University of Chicago is establishing a new, unified center that will increase opportunities for entrepreneurship education, venture creation and research commercialization, bringing additional economic and social benefits for the Chicago region.

The center is supported by a $50 million commitment from University Trustee Michael Polsky, MBA ’87, founder and CEO of Invenergy and an alumnus of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

I’m envious of my friends who have the courage to give up secure jobs to take a risk on something entrepreneurial. They seem to find it so gratifying. As for me, I feel that I am too risk-averse to try something new and challenging. I am happy in my work but not passionate. Any suggestions for how to make that transition easier if I decide to do it?

Colleges were once the place where many students encountered their first computer -- and back then, the computer took up an entire room. Now, with computing power in every student's book bag and pocket, some colleges are finding the standard computer lab is no longer needed. St. Norbert College is one such example. The private Roman Catholic liberal arts college, located in De Pere, Wis., last year finished a complete renovation of its Gehl-Mulva Science Center. The last phase of the project included plans for a computer lab, but with the college about to phase in a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy -- requiring that all students bring their own laptops to campus -- filling that lab with desktop computers didn’t seem to make sense, said Krissy Lukens, the college’s director of academic technology.

SINGAPORE, Dec 5 (IFR) - Metech International, an electronic-waste management company, is marketing a S$2 million ($1.4 million) crowdsourced bond, the first of its kind in Singapore.

The recycling company is selling so-called listed company, or listco, bonds on Singapore-based crowdfunding platform FundedHere, which is hosting the securities in collaboration with the Singapore Exchange and under licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

You’ve heard the horror stories about many Americans retiring with puny nest eggs and little income to live on. Still, data show that more than two-thirds of Americans are out of the full-time workforce by age 66.

About half of Americans call it quits between ages 61 and 65 while 18% retire even earlier, according to the data shown here from LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. By age 75, 89% of Americans have left the labor force, LIMRA says.

Donald Trump descended on Indiana this week to praise Carrier Corporation’s decision to partly reverse its plan to ship 2,000 jobs to Mexico.

The president-elect and his running mate, Mike Pence, credit Trump’s deal-making prowess, of course. But the real prowess belongs to Indiana’s use of the almighty dollar. It’s the fungible asset that drives where business invests to create jobs and build communities. Or doesn’t.