America Invents Act: helping or hurting entrepreneurs?
The key question behind the seismic changes coming in US patent law as a result of the America Invents Act (AIA) is whether these are good changes for stimulating entrepreneurship? The key objectives that drove the AIA are: to...
Four Entrepreneurs: One Story; Immigrant-Owned Businesses Strengthen the Economy
What do the son of an Indian diplomat, a formerly undocumented Salvadoran, a former Chinese warehouse worker and an Iraqi refugee have in common? They are all successful entrepreneurs who created businesses in the United States....
Can the NSF I-Corps turn great science into startups?
Creating great startups from great science from our leading research universities. Turning scientists into entrepreneurs. Making America more competitive. Nothing less is the target for the new National Science Foundation’s...
Two by Two: Founder Couples as Partners
People talk about startup co-founders as like being in a marriage. Some really are – married that is. Last week I facilitated a panel on founder couples at Google headquarters in Mountain View for Carnegie Mellon Bay Area alumni....
No time off for busy parent entrepreneurs
Solve a problem that you have. That’s usually good advice to first-time entrepreneurs. And that’s exactly what Angela Conley and Chaz Giles did – they founded MomTrusted because THEY NEEDED CHILDCARE! With two young children, the...
Made in Pittsburgh. Staying in Pittsburgh
Rumor has it that VCs investing in Pittsburgh companies force them to move – to Boston, to Silicon Valley, to Austin. But that’s not always true. Witness Flashgroup.com, a startup founded by two world-class Carnegie Mellon...
If you build it, who will come? Utilizing market research in a startup
Entrepreneurs, like any group of people, are not singularly homogenous. However, anyone who proudly bears the title of entrepreneur will agree that there is a single common characteristic that all of them share: the proclivity...
Goodbye is all we have : Remaining the True Entrepreneur
A good idea is only good or remains that way (in the entrepreneurial world) if there is a clear exit strategy. For emerging entrepreneurs, million dollar ideas have the potential to grow and expand exponentially yet, there are...
Ace in the Hole: Luck’s role in the success (or demise) of the entrepreneur
“A good idea is about ten percent and implementation and hard work, and luck is 90 percent.” – Guy Kawasaki, author, The Art of the Start In Guy’s world, luck is an important factor to any business venture, particularly so...
Why Entrepreneurship Is So Different between US and China: A Comparative Cultural Perspective from a Chinese Student
I still remember that 4 years ago, when I just entered my first year in a university in Beijing, my friend introduced me to two Chinese students studying at Harvard and University of Virginia. I was astonished hearing that they...