Think you've got a killer app idea? Think again, says Trevor Owens from Lean Startup Machine. Until you've validated the concept by asking the opinions of real potential users, don't bother wasting time coding up an alpha, buying a domain name, or printing business cards. In this video, the first of a new series produced by General Assembly for FastCo.Labs, you'll learn how to quickly test your startup concept by finding the weakest link in your logic--also known as the "riskiest assumption." Look out for more Co.Labs Classes in the coming weeks at drop us a tweet @FastCoLabs if you have any special lesson request. Chris Dannen, Editor

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Few things rouse our appreciation for nature as much as spending every day in an office. Employees with windows that overlook vegetation report themselves much more satisfied than those with a view of other buildings and sidewalks. Workers in windowless offices tend to hang pictures "dominated by nature themes," according to one scientific survey. They also have five times greater odds of buying plants to put around their workspace, according to another.

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When it comes to being productive, we are a nation obsessed.

Look no further than the launch last February of email-management app Mailbox, which allows users to put off dealing with certain emails until a later date while prioritizing others. Email--that great productivity destroyer--was transformed into a productivity enhancer. Almost immediately, nearly 1 million people joined a waiting list to receive the app, and on March 15, before it was even available to the public, Dropbox acquired Mailbox for a reported $100 million.

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With the launch of this year’s Global Innovation 1000 study, Booz & Company’s annual analysis of R&D spending, the topic of innovation has been on my mind. As I combed through scores of innovation-themed multimedia pieces on the web, I was particularly struck by a bite-sized video on Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen’s disruptive innovation theory, produced by Harvard Business Review (video embedded below).

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Bill Gates made a bad decision early in his career. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that some other people made even worse mistakes, we might not ever have heard of him.

Yes, Gates was and is brilliant, and he worked hard. Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers, attributes his success to the 10,000 hours he spent mastering computer programming at an early age.

Over the summer, my startup, Hublished, was featured twice in TechCrunch, once in VentureBeat and about a half-dozen other times in tech and startup publications. While media coverage should never be used as any indication of the health of a startup, the exposure nevertheless gave our community and us cause to celebrate.

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The ubiquity of smart phones means we never lack for a way to spend time. Stuck waiting for the elevator for 30 seconds? Next thing you know you’ve got your phone out of your pocket, and you’re deleting newsletters you can’t remember subscribing to.

Cleaning out the inbox feels productive, but in the grand scheme of things it’s not all that fun. Nor is it accomplishing much. At the end of your life, no one’s going to talk about your pristine inbox. Here are 17 better ways to spend bits of time to bring bits of joy into an ordinary day:

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The pharmaceutical industry needs better scientific models for testing drugs before they get to the proving ground of human clinical trials. Current lab dish models and animal testing models are time-consuming, expensive and chronically unable to predict which drugs are going to work in clinical trials. The industry is crying out for new modes of early testing that can shorten the timelines, reduce the cost and increase the odds of success in clinical trials.

A new startup accelerator has launched in Pittsburgh with an eye on robotics. AlphaLab Gear opened on Monday, inviting early-stage companies working in hardware and robotics to join the accelerator program. AlphaLab Gear's accelerator initiative starts first with cash. The company will offer $25,000 to startups for 5 percent equity. Those firms that need $50,000 will have to hand over 9 percent of the company to AlphaLab Gear.

Transforming how people find information and communicate, the Internet provides the perfect solution for startups to obtain the funding they need to make their passion projects successful through crowdfunding videos. Creating the perfect pitch to draw in potential investors can be extremely difficult, especially when it comes to designing a crowdfunding video. Businesses who wish to utilize crowdfunding videos to raise the necessary funds for their specialized projects should take into consideration six key factors to ensure their project is a success.

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THE recent announcement by a team of astronomers that there could be as many as 40 billion habitable planets in our galaxy has further fueled the speculation, popular even among many distinguished scientists, that the universe is teeming with life.

The astronomer Geoffrey W. Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley, an experienced planet hunter and co-author of the study that generated the finding, said that it “represents one great leap toward the possibility of life, including intelligent life, in the universe.”

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Not to get all Dickensian on you but it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That was the case at a conference I attended recently. To accommodate the schedules of two high powered CEOs who agreed to speak during the lunch session, the meeting organizers scheduled two keynote addresses during the meal.

That’s a risky agenda move but one that could work if both speakers rock the house. Unfortunately that was not the case. The first speaker was awesome. The second speaker was just awesomely bad. So bad, in fact, that after 30 minutes I just couldn’t stand it anymore and slipped out the back door of the ballroom. It turned out I wasn’t alone. There were other terrible speech refugees hanging around waiting for the next session to start.

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On the way to work this morning, I had a call with a fellow entrepreneur (we’ll call John for the purposes of this post) that is getting his tech startup off the ground.  I’ve been very impressed with the vision of his company and his approach to validating the idea in the market.  During a lunch meeting he had yesterday, a wealthy friend of his liked his company so much that he offered to invest $100k to help him finish product development and get the idea into market.  While John was excited about the offer, he was filled with nervousness because he didn’t know how to respond.  He wasn’t sure if his friend was his first choice for a new investment partner, but didn’t want to dismiss the offer either.

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What is entrepreneurship and what makes a successful entrepreneur? If you look at the pure definition of entrepreneurship it is described as ” the capacity and willingness to develop, organize, and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to achieve profit”. I believe that what distinguishes a mediocre entrepreneur from a great entrepreneur depends on the following 10 skills.

Since we had a chance to interview and follow so many entrepreneurs, we thought it would be fun to classify them based on their characteristics. You may or may not find your type here because some of you are probably a mix. Some of our categories don’t read as great as others, but you shouldn’t feel offended should you fall under them. Just let your product speak for you! Here’s our list on 9 types of entrepreneurs:

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Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Amway Managing Director Jim Ayres discusses the global entrepreneurship report. He speaks on Bloomberg’s Television “Money Moves”. (Source: Bloomberg)

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We have too few processes and models that can help companies that want to embrace open innovation. There is the “Want-Find-Get-Manage” model as developed by Gene Slowinski, but that is about it.

This needs to change and I have begun developing a model on how companies can embrace open innovation. It is based on these 7 steps:

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Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions hit a record high of 35 billion tonnes in 2012 and are poised to grow by another billion tonnes this year, according to a new study. Global CO2 emissions were 2.2% higher than in 2011 and are expected to soar by another 2.1% this year, according to the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo (Cicero).

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How big a deal was Batkid? Bigger than you might think.

The story of Miles, a 5-year-old with leukemia who wanted to be Batman and was assisted in this wish by pretty much all of San Francisco, touched many hearts on Friday. Now that the analysis is complete, we can see just how far and wide Miles' story went — and how fast a heartwarming event can go global via social media.

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Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki?moon's public lecture, as prepared for delivery, at Tallinn University on 16 November:

Good morning.  I am delighted to be here.  What a wonderful group of young people.  Thank you so much for coming here on a weekend.

I understand there are many members of the United Nations Association club.  Thank you for your engagement as part of a rising generation of global citizens.  I have only been here a short time but I am already inspired.  Estonia is truly a valued United Nations partner.

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