The newest of the cadre of robots being deployed into extreme conditions comes out of UC Berkeley’s Skydeck Accelerator from a company named Squishy Robotics. Devin Coldewey of TechCrunch.com writes that the company went public recently at the Robotics + AI Sessions event hosted by TechCrunch, and that the inspiration for the company came from the need for on the ground reconnaissance of extreme situations where first responders can potentially lose their lives. The robot uses a proprietary “tensegrity structure” — technology based off of a complex web of cable-activated rods. Read More>>
Monthly Archives: April 2019
Start Me Up: Where Mobility Investments are Going
What areas of the market have projects that are so huge that multitude of groups of investors must team up to realize the full potential of the project? Research by Daniel Holland-Letz, Matthias Kässer, Benedikt Kloss, and Thibaut Müller of McKinsey and Company indicates that electrification, the Internet of Things, smart mobility, and autonomous technology all represent a significant investment by major players in industry. Many of these technology investments constitute transactions valued at greater than $1 billion. What are trends that you should keep track of going forward and what of note has happened in the mobility investment realm in the past twelve months? Read More>>
Why Hiring Senior Leaders Early is Worth the Investment
Since the very onset of business it has been common knowledge that people are the key to a business’s success. What is less talked about is how pivotal the timing in which you hire these key people is. Philip Mundy of OpenView.com talks about hard-learned lessons regarding talent acquisition. This element of his business made the difference between the slow growth and necessary restructuring of his first venture versus the boom of his second. What are the benefits of hiring the senior level talent of your business early on and how can this timing make or break your venture? Read More>>
Deloitte reports on technology forces reshaping space sector
“Space, the final frontier”, says Spock in the opening lines of Star Trek. The show is one of a multitude of different pop culture phenomena that flourished largely due to the fascination of humanity as to what must lie in the unknown that our planet floats through. We are lucky enough to live in a time where this frontier is being slowly and surely penetrated through the efforts of private companies and governments alike. The company Deloitte publishes yearly reviews on the general technology trends happening in industry but this year released a publication on trends in technology shaping space travel in particular. Debra Werner of SpaceNews.com reports on some of these trends. You may have the technology of the future in your home already. Read More>>
You Just Bought a Small Business. Now It’s Time to Lead
Acquiring a small business can in many cases be a lot different from starting a business from scratch. However, the personal reasons for starting or acquiring a business stay consistent; the ability to impact an outcome, your own personal development, confidence and faith in yourself, or financial reward. Although acquiring a business usually is a faster and easier route to take, it does offer unique challenges that many entrepreneurs are not prepared for. One major challenge is establishing credibility in an organization that is already developed. Convincing your employees to trust in your vision and goals can help to create a strong organizational culture, which will, in turn, lead to a more successful- profit bearing company. Read More>>
As researchers pursue links between bacteria and human health, startups stand to benefit
In 2009 The National Institute of Health discovered that there was a direct correlation between gut bacteria and overall human health. This encouraged many investors to start to look towards investing in companies who are willing to commercialize tools that can help discover this correlation. Startups like: uBiome, Viome, Finch Therapeutics, Kallyope, Second Genome, Human Longevity, Maat Pharma and Seed have raised over half-a-billion dollars in just these few short years. Some of these companies sell to big pharma, while others sell directly to consumers. These consumer first companies offer an at home microbiome kit to customers and then offer feedback on what possible changes these consumers can make in their diet to improve their overall health. Read More>>
The Performance Trick Elite Athletes Use That Every Entrepreneur Should Know
There are an abundance of tropes made in comparison between professional athletes and entrepreneurs that most of us have heard before: “endurance and mental strength are the most important elements of successful entrepreneurship”, “practice makes perfect”, “determination is key”. Nicholas Sonnenberg, the co-founder of the entrepreneurial outsourcing platform Leverage, writes in an Inc.com article that a less talked about tool in the arsenal of some of the greatest athletes could be instrumental to entrepreneurs. What do the Rock and Kobe Bryant have in common and how can you use it to step away from some of your limitations and “show up the way you want to show up” in your job or new business? Read more>>
If You Can Show Me These 7 Elements In Your New Venture Plan, You Are on the Road to Success
Many people have begun to voyeur in new venture creation in the past few years as the climate becomes increasingly favorable to entrepreneurs. A huge part of the improvement in market climate comes from the swelling ranks of venture capitalists (VC) looking to grow their capital with promising businesses. These VCs see a number of different entrepreneurs in their quest to invest. According to Martin Zwilling of Inc.com there are some key attributes that unite the entrepreneurs that obtain financial backing and differentiate them from the entrepreneurs that do not. How do a few very basic steps taken very early on in the venture planning process prepare a business to go to market and thrive? Read more>>
What You Need to Know about the Newest Frontier of Brand Storytelling
Transmedia storytelling is a marketing approach in which the idea is to create a coordinated story experience to the consumer through the use of the four P’s: pervasive, persistent, participatory, and personalized. This approach first started to emerge in 1999, with the Blair Witch Project. This was a fictional documentary with a series of different events to help find missing persons. This story kept audiences on their toes and eager to watch the next episode in order to help find the missing people. Since 1999, transmedia storytelling has been able to take off with the help of social media. When brands use this approach to marketing, audience members are able to actively participate through various social media channels. When the brand is able to actively communicate with their audience it helps to build a connection and ultimately create brand loyalty. Read More>>
Difficult Conversations Can Jump Start Company Innovation
Autocratic or authoritarian leadership is an approach many successful companies have taken, like Apple and Harley Davidson. However, this leadership ultimately kills organizational morale and in the long-run can deteriorate the success of a company. Brené Brown author of, Dare to Lead, explains how being a vulnerable leader ultimately breeds more success than being an autocratic leader. Having the courage to be vulnerable and let your employers in, can build stronger workplace relationships and ultimately build a stronger overall organization. When leaders allow themselves to be vulnerable it encourages their employers to share their thoughts and feelings towards a situation. Knowing what your employers feel and what they want allows them to feel cared about and valued, which can help lead to less turnover. Read More>>
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