The recent film “Her” gave us a glimpse into just what a futuristic world with a companion operating system might look like. However, Johnson appears to be aiming even higher as he looks to help fund the advancement of science and technology to improve everyday life. He explains: Many classic venture capitalists tend to shy away from investing in science and technology to take on easier returns. Johnson expresses this by saying: The OS Fund has made four investments to date....

They either do that, or sell your data to other parties. But that’s why Rick Peters, Peter Skinner, and Brian Jacobs founded Ekko – they want it to be unlike most mainstream apps that deal with data. At its base Ekko is a central hub for messaging and content. That is, it provides a strong UX for people who want all of their messaging platforms in one, easy to use solution....

Admittedly though, the Las Vegas she moved to in 1964 was much different than the Las Vegas we all saw at Celebrate 2015. Regardless, all of the properties downtown, the various companies that have relocated to the area, and all the entrepreneurs working to build Las Vegas’ startup identity make her incredibly proud. That’s part of the reason she was so excited about Celebrate 2015: for Goodman, it’s a perfect showing of how people are always willing to help and support the Las Vegas community....

When negotiating a license (regardless of which side of the transaction you’re on), here are the elements that come into play. Your attorney will dress up the contract, but these are the major business terms you need to be concerned about. This is being offered from the perspective of a company that is licensing IP into the company. You can reverse everything if the transaction is in the other direction, and you are licensing your IP to someone else....

Virtual Codecademy: An online platform with free courses in JavaScript, HTML and CSS, and jQuery. Plus, anyone can create a course and share it with aspiring programmers. They also organized Code Year, an initiative to teach more people to code in 2012, and Code Summer+, which teaches programming to disadvantaged youth.Code School: Online coding education for just $25/month. If you prefer to pick and choose, you can buy any of their grab-bag of courses individually....

With a decidedly tumultuous history in this country, African Americans have endured some of the most deplorable discrimination to date. However, black entrepreneurs have shown on more than one occasion that struggle can lead to success if you look at it the right way. In that vein, we’ve collected a number of quotes from black entrepreneurs on the topic of overcoming discrimination. When Burns was named the CEO of Xerox in 2009, she not only became the first woman to succeed another woman at a Fortune 500 company, she was also the first black woman to head a Fortune 500 company ever....

The annual report scores brands on value and contribution (but mostly on value), leading to a comprehensive list of brands that most people could recognize if you just showed them the logo. And, despite the hectic year we’ve had, most of the top global brands didn’t move much on the list compared to last year. The purpose of the report, as explained by David Roth, CEO of The Store WPP and author of the welcome column for the report, was to have a “definitive brand yearbook” that could aid in the analysis of global brands across the world....

It is true that the first step to achieving your dreams is the hardest. If you want your works to be published, you need to look for the best publisher. From the vast number of publishers, choosing the best for you requires consideration of a number of things. Here are 22 tips to finding the best agent and publisher: Help yourself. The first step to success always starts with you....

Sometimes all it takes is a slight shift in mindset to make us forget our evolutionary desire to hibernate around this time of year. I’m not promoting filling your co-working space with motivational posters of kittens hanging from trees, but it’s amazing what a few inspirational words from those who’ve gone before us can do to get us back on track. Here are a few quotes that help kick my ass back into gear when I’m feeling less than motivated....

Sales Reps Projected to Earn Too Much When you’re first starting out, it’s hard to know how much to assume you’ll make. Here’s a tip: Don’t assume $1MM per sales rep. If your sales rep can close $20K for each deal, they would need to close a deal each week to keep up, which is unreasonable given the lack of infrastructure and ramp time. From a series of financial projections tips given in a Medium post by VC Blake Koriath:...

Learning what the competitors are actually doing and what strategies are mainly thieving in the industry can actually give you a leg up in this field. Besides, you can always develop new strategies to counteract the well known trends or keep up with the trends with effective information about what people around you are doing. Here are some of the important strategies of content marketing that one should follow on the year 2017....

You need the right foundations in place before you start selling your products and services. This guide is going to introduce you to the critical mistakes that can cripple your startup before it ever gets off the ground. No Product-Market Testing Most companies will already have a product that they believe is going to make them into millionaires. But what they don’t have is any idea of how it’s going to sell....

1. Research the right match The fastest way to put off a potential influencer is to reach out with the wrong proposal. Assuming a budget travel blogger would be the right person to promote your luxury suitcase line or that all female bloggers are potential ambassadors for your mommy targeted product is rather obscure and highly ineffective, yet a surprisingly common case. Refine your email list, take your time and go through the content an influencer posts....

For women joining the movement, the tech industry has created mobile apps and sites that make solo travel not only easier but safer, as well. Here are the 4 tech-based tips women can use to make the most out of their travels, while alleviating safety concerns. The Sharing Economy While an increasing number of hotels are staffing female workers to make female guests feel more comfortable, there’s something more experiential about staying in a local’s home....

Fortunately, there is a lot of tech out there designed to make our connected world a little more accessible for everyone. Whether you’re sight-impaired, immobile, or hard-of-hearing, a little technology can go a long way in making everyday tasks a whole lot easier. From sign language translators to braille smart watches, the tech world is doing its best to make the digital world more accessible to those with disabilities....

Below is an infographic showing the five steps to create a successful website, which breaks down the most important steps in building any website or blog. This will guarantee your site is built efficiently, shows purpose, and offers value to your target audience. 1. Plan Your Site The first and most important step is planning. Find your focus, target audience, reasons why you’re building, and establish your overall site goals....

Think of Rosanna Pansino, whose baking brings her $2.5 million per year. Or Nick Palmisciano, whose hobby of putting funny words on T-shirts turned into a $20 million media company. It sounds promising, but here’s the problem: Starting a business is not as rosy as it seems. So before you decide to dive into your hobby monetization, make sure the below information is not about you. Don’t turn your hobby into a business if any of these five points applies:...

Coworking spaces are so much more than just somewhere to work. They are hustling, bustling epicenters of entrepreneurial energy that breed connections, passion, and success. After all, you are who you hang out with, and there are more than enough impressive people hanging around coworking spaces. Check out some of the important relationships you’ll form at coworking spaces around the country: The Networking Guru This person exists in every coworking space in the world....

Emphasis on User Experience and Customer Service Ecommerce has come to a point where technology is already able to address almost every possible need. Internet technology has greatly advanced over the years that creating various functions or features for online stores has become virtually limitless. It is expected that online stores will place greater focus on providing excellent customer service to distinguish themselves from the rest. There is a need to create a smooth shopping experience to prevent customers from going to a competing online store as they enjoy better experiences....

Jack McDermott, founder and CEO of Balbus Speech What he did: While a sophomore at Tufts University, McDermott was inspired to start his company because of his struggle with stuttering. Speech4Good and Fluently are the company’s speech therapy apps, which have been downloaded approximately 10,000 times. Make it work for you: McDermott took a problem and created a solution — a classic entrepreneurial move. He also chose to create that solution in the form of an app....