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.
Mel Gravely says his construction company might not exist today if he didn't have mentors to guide it.
Gravely's company, TriVersity, joined a program called a minority business accelerator even before he bought a controlling interest in the Cincinnati-based company in 2006. It helped the company get started and win contracts that have helped Triversity's revenue double.
Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
“Stories are the way our teams get excited, aligned, and rallied around the same goal,” says long-time IDEO Project Lead Nicole Kahn. “But more importantly, we know that our designs don’t live on with our clients without a good story attached to them. This is something we wanted to shift — to ensure that all of our designers would also see themselves as storytellers.”
Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
Crowdfunding is becoming increasingly mainstream, recently tied to social giant Facebook after their recent acquisition of Oculus VR, a successfully crowdfunded gaming headset. With the skyrocketing adoption of crowdfunding and the incredible success that crowdfunded companies are having, there is little doubt that it is truly an industry on the rise. Crowdfunding websites raised a staggering $5.1 billion dollars last year alone and crowdfunding campaigns of all types are getting funded on a daily basis.
Sales of electric vehicles in China, the world’s largest auto market, have been minuscule despite government incentives meant to put five million of the cars on the nation’s roads by 2020. Tesla Motors hopes to begin changing that as it makes its first deliveries of Model S sedans to customers in China this month.
Image: http://www.technologyreview.com
We meet so many people in our business activities at events, conferences, meetings, workshops and even randomly. I have found that if I invite and attract someone to me by my energy, attitude and self confidence all wrapped up in a big, warm smile and a firm handshake, it’s worth a thousand words.
Image Courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Google has come one step closer to making its balloon-powered Internet initiative, Project Loon, a reality. The tech giant recently acquired Titan Aerospace, a New Mexico-based company that builds drones for high altitudes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though the price of the acquisition hasn’t been released, Business Insider estimates that it must be higher than the $60 million offer Facebook made earlier this year.
Image: http://smallbiztrends.com
If you’re in government, ignoring or cracking down on tech can come at a massive cost. While some have questioned the idea that social media was vital to the success of the Arab Spring, there can be no doubt that it was an important organising tool. In the Ukraine meanwhile, the one of the first things the protesters who recently overthrew the government did was set up Wi-Fi so that they could continue communicating with the outside world.
Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
Traditionally, the majority of entrepreneurs have been logical thinkers, problem solvers, and pay attention to details. These are the stereotypical left-brain engineers. Yet I see a big shift from the knowledge age, with its left-brain foundation, to a critical focus today on visualization, creativity, relationships, and collaboration, which are more in the domain of right-brainers.
The chronic procrastinators of the world know that the struggle to find a way to get themselves motivated is real. We block distracting websites. We try meticulous to-do lists to help us prioritize the tasks we don’t really want to do. And — perhaps most commonly — we give ourselves fake deadlines to pressure ourselves into doing said tasks.
Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
1. "The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said." - Peter Drucker
2. "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." - George Bernard Shaw
3."Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people." - William Butler Yeats
4. "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak." - Epictetus
Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
Last year 5.5% of jobless managers and executives launched a business, up 31% from 2012 and the highest level since 2009, says outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas.
Confidence in the economy and access to individual health insurance via Obamacare help fuel the trend, says CEO John Challenger.
Image: http://money.cnn.com
Sharks are usually thought of as primitive creatures, sometimes called "living fossils." But a new study of a 325-million-year-old shark fossil — the most complete of its kind — suggests modern sharks have evolved significantly from their bony ancestors.
The ancient fossil has characteristics of both bony fishes and modern sharks. But its gill structures more closely resemble those of bony fishes, challenging the notion that modern sharks have remained unchanged over evolutionary time.
Image: The exceptionally well-preserved fossil of Ozarcus mapesae from two different lateral views. The scale bar is 10 millimeters AMNH / F. Ippolito
It’s hard enough for 30 year-olds like me to find any job in today’s job market. Finding meaningful work is even more challenging. One in four adults between 18 and 34 years old say they have moved back in with their parents after living on their own and according to the Pew Research Center, only 54% of American adults ages 18 to 25 are currently employed, the lowest percentage since the government began collecting data 60 years ago. Breaking from tradition, my generation may grow up to be less wealthy than our parents’ generation.
Image: http://www.fastcoexist.com
DURING A RECENT TALK AT THE COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL, ARIANNA HUFFINGTON OUTLINED FOUR WAYS TO ACHIEVE WHAT SHE CALLS THE THIRD METRIC FOR SUCCESS: THRIVING.
BY RACHEL GILLETT
Arianna Huffington believes we are living in a brave new world--today's work environment is somewhere between the dark ages and the renaissance.
The dark ages, she says, include environments and a culture fueled by stress, but she maintains that in order for businesses and individuals to thrive we must transition to a "renaissance" time of mindful living and w
Image: http://www.fastcompany.com
Much to many entrepreneurs’ chagrin, having an idea is not enough to start a company. Being able to fundraise is just as important as the big idea.
I’ve been very frank in sharing how one of my startup companies failed because I did not have sufficient funding to compete, so I know how long and arduous the fundraising process can be. Most of my entrepreneur friends and I agree that we do not find pitching to investors particularly enjoyable, and at times, it can be wasted effort. But, it remains a necessary evil.
Image: http://www.xconomy.com/
WASHINGTON, April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Spring National SBIR/STTR Conference will take place June 16-18, at the Gaylord Hotel & Convention Center at Washington DC-National Harbor. The conference provides entrepreneurs, universities, and businesses with important information about competing for SBIR/STTR grants and contracts, which amount to approximately $2.5 billion in available funding each year. Attendees can meet one-on-one with federal program managers; hear from industry-vetted SBIR funded innovators; and learn successful commercialization strategies through business and government experts.
Image Courtesy of porbital / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
SELF-APPRAISALS DON'T HAVE TO BE STRESSFUL IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR BOSS IS AFTER AND HOW TO TOOT YOUR OWN HORN IN THE RIGHT WAY.
BY SAMANTHA COLE
Taking stock of your own professional worth is no easy task. Studies show that we’re poor judges of our own performance; underachievers often believe themselves to be all-stars, and overachievers are their own worst critics.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
On March 21, 2014, the European Commission adopted a new package of rules for the assessment of technology transfer agreements (TTAs) under EU competition law. The package consists of: (1) an updated Block Exemption Regulation for TTAs (TTBER) substituting the previous TTBER adopted in 2004; and (2) new guidelines to reflect the changes in the TTBER, the most recent case law and developments on the assessment of TTAs that fall outside the TTBER. The main changes focus on the scope of the TTBER, patent pools, termination clauses, exclusive grant-back obligations and settlements.
Microsoft has today released a report calling for an urgent review of how the Australian innovation ecosystem works, in order to make the most of the burgeoning tech innovation movement. Joined-Up Innovation outlines seven steps Australia can take to boost the fragmented innovation workforce.
Image: http://www.startupsmart.com.au/
If tech startups like Paofit have their way, people will no longer be able to cite boredom as an excuse not to exercise.
Paofit is combining high-definition video with avatars and mobile technology to turn the treadmill into a virtual reality experience that takes runners and walkers through courses all over the world
Image: http://medcitynews.com/
