Apple and Intel may capture the headlines, but entrepreneurs are the drivers of the economy. A focused effort to foster an entrepreneurial culture in Arizona, which has generated a tremendous number of business incubators and accelerators, has been building in just the past several years. “State development folks realized we were overly dependent on defense, construction and … [More]
MaryAnn Guerra, BioAccel
Arizona has been recognized by Fast Company as the top state for entrepreneurial activity. And small business is a significant economic driver for our state, as it is for the country as a whole, powered in large part by technology. Technology development is moving at great speed, emanating from many diverse sources and a variety of fields of study. The problem is not in … [More]
Venturing in Today’s Age of the Entrepreneur
Now is the age of the entrepreneur, and today’s entrepreneur operates in a sphere where changes follow each other in rapid succession. In the coming years, the interests of the consumer will once again become a focal point in business. Entrepreneurs are advised to seek a personal relationship with their clients by taking account of their individual needs and desires. Social … [More]
Cracking the Code to Innovation
Everyone says they want innovation in their organization, but when an ambitious employee offers it to a CEO, for example, the idea is often shot down. Senior leaders often miss the value-creating potential of a new concept because they either don’t take the time to really listen and delve into it, or the innovating employee presents it in the wrong way. Innovation should be … [More]
Meetings: Make Them Time Well-Spent
Typical executives spend more than 20 percent of their time in meetings with five or more people. At the same time, surveys indicate that a majority of them are dissatisfied with the value and outcome of their meetings. There is a simple technique that takes only minutes (no pun intended) that can effortlessly eliminate some of the collisions, faux pas, cancellations, delays … [More]
Underestimating the Value of an MBA: The Latest Fad
Why go back to a university after all these years just to incur mounds of student debt? Why learn finance, marketing and leadership skills when there are numerous examples of successful entrepreneurs who founded businesses without getting advanced degrees? Why try to learn business content in a world where ever-changing technology creates dinosaurs faster than Steven … [More]
Working Out Equity and Ownership Issues
“One of the most important things for startups to know is how precious their equity is; the ownership in their company is,” says Peter Wand, a partner with the law firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber, noting that in some incubators and almost all accelerators there is an aspect of investment in exchange for a share in the company. All incubators and accelerators operate differently, … [More]
P3s: Partnering for the Future
A $600-million convention center expansion. Scientific, medical, research and educational collaborations in the heart of the city. A state-of-the-art automated Sky Train … Indeed, today’s downtown Phoenix is markedly different from what it was even a decade earlier. So how did this transformation take place in such a short span of time? It was due, in part, to public-private … [More]
Trish McCarty: Innovating Education
As founder and CEO of StarShine Academy, a K-12 charter school in Phoenix, Trish McCarty feels strongly that her most important customers are the students, some of whom are just 5 years old. “Our main customers are our children, and the second-most important customers are our teachers,” she says. McCarty was inspired to open StarShine Academy in 2002 because she was deeply … [More]
Blink Once to Guard Against Fraud
As millions of Americans fall victim to identity fraud each year, USAA is unveiling its solution to offer its 10.1 million members safety against such theft: biometric recognition. A new USAA app has to recognize a user’s face before allowing access to the individual’s accounts. USAA, which offers banking, investing and insurance services to people and families who serve or … [More]
Paper-to-Digital Software for Law
Addressing the particular needs of the still-paper-intensive legal industry, DocSolid is a software and services company that creates paper-to-digital solutions. President Steve Irons, creator of the company’s intellectual property, explains, “The technology is a patented way to get paper scanned and integrated with existing software solutions and infrastructure like copiers, … [More]
New Platform for CRE Marketing
RealMassive, an open-data commercial real estate platform recently launched in Phoenix, will serve commercial real estate land owners, property managers and leasing agents who want to get marketing information “out to the rest of the world” but have up to now been stymied by existing data systems that have not allowed the information out to the public, explains Joshua McClure, … [More]
Auction Alert
Thanks to a partnership between eBay and Invaluable.com that united the global leader in commerce and technology with the market leader in online live auctions for fine art and collectibles, Invaluable member J. Levine Auction & Appraisal recently experienced an unexpected bidding frenzy over a bronze statue that was originally estimated to be worth between $100 and $300, … [More]
Parking Meters Go App
Using its PaNGoTM platform, Pango Mobile Parking, Ltd., allows drivers to “feed” the meter through the ease of a mobile phone app, to pay for parking at parking meters, add more time from a remote location, track where they parked and also receive discounts from local participating businesses. The service recently debuted in Phoenix. … [More]
When Patients May Misremember
Dr. Randall Porter’s frustration that patients were not correctly recalling what he said to them during appointments sparked an idea. That spark was further fueled by his dealings with his own father’s cancer diagnosis. The idea: Record exam room visits so nothing is left to chance. The spark came in 2008 and Dr. Porter, a neurosurgeon who moved to the Valley from Chicago in … [More]
Accolade Explodes Healthcare Employment
Accolade, a national company that streamlines the fragmented array of member services, nurse lines, disease management and care management programs typically deployed in healthcare coverage into one integrated service its members access through their own Accolade Health Assistant, recently opened an office in Scottsdale. Umair Khan, customer operations lead for Accolade’s … [More]
Wheelchairing in Style
For the 3.3 million people in the United States who currently use a wheelchair, Wheelchair Solutions has introduced a patented product line that will help make them more comfortable, protect their valuables and, founder Kathy Mondotte hopes, put a smile on their faces. Designed by the Scottsdale resident to address shortcomings she experienced when an injury confined her to … [More]
PCH Advances Genomic-based Care
Partnering with healthcare technology visionary Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., Phoenix Children’s Hospital will serve as the exclusive national hub for pediatric genomic research and translational precision medicine through its new Chan Soon-Shiong Children’s Precision Medicine Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Housing one of the few dedicated supercomputers in the … [More]
