All weekend long, Rice Alliance director Brad Burke needled members of the Goose Society with affectionate trash-talk, urging them to live up to their reputations as generous investors.

After all, the “Grand Order of Successful Entrepreneurs” has provided much of the drama over the years on the final night of the Rice Business Plan competition. Since the first Goose prize in 2005, members have, upped the ante in the award presentation’s final moments, sometimes doubling the prize or creating an entirely new prize to the delight of a second student startup.

Image: http://www.xconomy.com/ 

Crowdfunding site SeedInvest today will ask its own community to back it with $3 million, to top off the $2 million it has already raised from venture capitalists for its Series A round.

SeedInvest is an equity crowdfunding site, where backers pay for a stake in a company rather than swag, goodwill or an effective preorder — as they do on better-known crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

As early as February, analysts were saying that it would be a good year for healthcare IT companies looking for venture capital.

Communications and consulting firm Mercom Capital echoed that today with results from its first-quarter investment analysis which found that healthcare IT companies raised more VC money last quarter than in any quarter before.

Image: http://medcitynews.com 

Early employees are the backbone of most startups — they took a risk joining a fledgling company, and thereafter have an immense impact on said startup's growth. They buy their own equipment, they establish the culture, they interview future hires and they work hard to maintain the culture as the company grows. They jump on the proverbial rocket ship and work, work, work — fueled by passion, ambition, coffee, free snacks and the good stuff in the kegerator. Thus far in our series The First 100, we've introduced you to hires 1 through 90 at various startups. Here's a smattering of the companies we've included:

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

In a handful of communities throughout the country, it seems as if nearly everyone is happy with where they live.

A Gallup-Healthways survey published this morning examines attitudes of Americans over a two-year period, finding 85 percent were satisfied with the city or area where they lived.

In 30 metro areas surveyed, at least nine out of every 10 residents reported being satisfied. The Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo., area ranked first nationally, with a satisfaction ranking of nearly 95 percent. Other localities high on the list tended to be out West or in parts of the Midwest. Residents also gave high marks to San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif. (94.1 percent), Holland-Grand Haven, Mich. (93.4 percent) and Billings, Mont

Image: Bikers on the Blue Sky trail in Fort Collins, Colo. FlickrCC/Yann Ropars 

What attracts top talent? Is it great benefits, flexible hours, steep pay packages, or state-of-the-art training? New research suggests it’s something simpler – but more difficult to obtain.

Prestige.

The status of a firm is quite possibly the leading driver in attracting the best of the best, at least in investment banking, according to a paper recently accepted by the Strategic Management Journal. Matthew Bidwell, an assistant professor at Wharton, and his colleagues wanted to better understand how something not-so-concrete like reputation stacks up against more tangible enticements.

WARREN BERGER, AUTHOR OF A MORE BEAUTIFUL QUESTION, COLLECTED THE PROVOCATIVE QUESTIONS TOP DESIGNERS, TECH INNOVATORS, AND ENTREPRENEURS ASK THEMSELVES TO SPARK CREATIVITY.

WRITTEN BY Warren Berger

In a previous post, I shared questions that can help in overcoming fear of failure. But sometimes, there’s an even more basic problem that can stop us from pursuing bold challenges and ambitious goals: not knowing which challenges or goals to pursue. These days, you're urged to “follow your passions” and “lean in”--but what if you’re not sure where your particular passion lies? What if you don’t know which way to lean?

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

The Roomba maker is working on technology that could enable robots to help with more household chores.

By Tom Simonite on April 14, 2014

Thanks to iRobot, the idea of having a robot vacuum your floors no longer seems futuristic—the company has now sold more than 10 million of its Roombas around the world. But most housework is still far beyond the capabilities of any robot on the market. Engineers in iRobot’s R&D labs are hoping to change that by developing technology to enable robots to understand and interact with their environment. The company’s chief technology officer, Paolo Pirjanian, met with MIT Technology Review’s Tom Simonite last week to explain.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

The most extensive collaboration between the patient social network and a drug company to-date is likely to be just the first of its kind.

PatientsLikeMe, the largest online network for patients, has established its first broad partnership with a drug company. Genentech, the South San Francisco biotechnology company bought by Roche in 2009, now has access to PatientsLikeMe’s full database for five years.

Silicon Valley has many strengths, but a classic complaint is that the region has no artistic culture.  People moan that it lacks the funky, artsy vibe for which San Francisco is famous.  Given that innovation and entrepreneurship thrive in a culture of diversity, eclecticism, and creativity, then why has the Valley lacked a complementary edgy art, music, and literary scene?  That question has been fair game to ask in the past.  In recent years, however, things have changed noticeably.  An emerging subculture movement in San Jose has burst into visibility.  San Jose, some might say, is like the new San Francisco.

If you have a unique product or service, and you are not selling it around the world on the Internet, now is the time to start. The cost of entry has never been lower. Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, lawyers, venture capitalists, or Angels.

In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites, for example, cost a million dollars to set up. Now the price is closer to $100 if you are willing to do the work yourself.

The field of medicine is rapidly evolving with the emergence of new technology in the health sphere. Consequently, patients are able to better engage in their own health while doctors are able to more effectively treat conditions and perform less invasive procedures. New developments in 3D printing and prosthetics are enabling individuals living with disabilities to experience the world in whole new ways.

Image: http://gearburn.com/ 

Death. Divorce. Moving. Illness. Losing a job.

You probably know the list of things you might need to survive, because life inevitably changes and deals you losses along with the wins. Agony often accompanies loss, because your sense of yourself is shattered. Agony rushes in when you lose your sense of safety, stability, hopefulness, peace-of-mind, and happiness.

Image Courtesy of graur codrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? Is it being born a prodigy? Is it having a Type-A personality? Is it being an extrovert who spends all their time tinkering around on projects?

While some entrepreneurs have those traits, they rarely define the characteristics that make a majority of entrepreneurs. Not everyone is born with an intellect that will change the world. That student who couldn’t make it through college, like Bill Gates, is more likely to succeed than the lifelong overachiever.

Image: http://www.forbes.com 

OKLAHOMA CITY, April 14, 2014 — Launching a business venture while you’re in college is no easy task. The last thing a college students thinks about is starting a business. Students are dealing with their studies, attending class and busy trying to find a job or internship at the last minute. Today’s students may not realize it, but they are entering a job economy that does not promise the forty-year career in a single company. Or even a rewarding position in their major field of study as opposed to washing dishes at the minimum wage for a late night shift.

Image: Young entrepreneurs. (Credit: Sal Falko via Flickr, Creative Commons 2.0) 

You always get to see this scene before the start of any short-distance running event at the Olympics. The runners start warming up, getting their muscles loose by stretching and staying active. Some of them are quietly speaking to themselves, trying to get into the "zone" and staying focused and eliminating distractions. They slowly start to take up their positions on the race track. A few minutes go by, and the runners have all taken up their respective spots. Their bodies are still, they look forward, anticipation kicks in.

Image: http://profit.ndtv.com 

You wake up in the morning when your body wakes you up.

You don’t race to get dressed and ready or fight a long commute.

There’s no bad boss telling you what to do or threatening your future.

You can stop in the middle of the day to exercise or go to your child’s school conference.

You can follow your dream, live out your life passion, while doing work you love.

Image: http://www.barriedavenport.com 

Media attention was on Rwanda last week as the country commemorated the 20th anniversary of the 1994 genocide. While the tragedy of human loss amounting to 800,000 people in just 100 days will never be forgotten, entrepreneurs are offering hope for a better future.

While still far from an idyllic business environment, Rwanda has become an example for the African continent− and beyond− of how a country can envision and follow a healthy economic path despite the burdens of history and geography.

Image: http://entrepreneurship.org 

U.S. venture capital firms raised more cash in the first three months of this year than at any time since the final quarter of 2007, but it’s still a handful of funds driving up the numbers.

Venture firms raised $9.64 billion in the first quarter, a 111% increase over a year ago when the total take was $4.56 billion, according to Dow Jones VentureSource, a data provider owned by VentureWire publisher Dow Jones & Co.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

The 13th Annual RE$EARCH MONEY Conference is happening next week! And we can't wait to delve into everything innovation with our unbelievable lineup of panels and keynote speakers. Here is just a taste of some of the amazing happenings at this year's conference: