Author: knjohn

Google employee lives in a truck in the parking lot | Business Insider

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When 23-year-old Brandon S. headed from Massachusetts to the Bay Area in mid-May to start work as a software engineer at Google, he opted out of settling into an overpriced San Francisco apartment. Instead, he moved into a 128-square-foot truck.

The idea started to formulate while Brandon — who asked to withhold his last name and photo to maintain his privacy on campus — was interning at Google last summer and living in the cheapest corporate housing offered: two bedrooms and four people for about $65 a night (roughly $2,000 a month), he told Business Insider.

“I realized I was paying an exorbitant amount of money for the apartment I was staying in — and I was almost never home,” he says. “It’s really hard to justify throwing that kind of money away. You’re essentially burning it — you’re not putting equity in anything and you’re not building it up for a future — and that was really hard for me to reconcile.”

Read More

NASA Says It Will Start Licensing Technology to Startups | Small Biz Trends

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Could NASA be looking for funding to gear up for a trip to Mars?

Public interest in manned missions to Mars has been a fantasy for decades and is slowly becoming a reality.

Riding the wave of enthusiasm, NASA has tentative plans for missions to Mars and the asteroid belt. But with the government’s $18 trillion pile-up of debt, how will it be paid for? Perhaps by licensing the right to use technology developed by NASA to energetic new companies.

David Miller, NASA’s chief technologist, says:

“The Startup NASA initiative leverages the results of our cutting-edge research and development so entrepreneurs can take that research — and some risks — to create new products and new services.”

Read More

The Newest Lexus Is An Origami-Inspired Car Made From Cardboard | Co.Exist

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Using the digital files for an actual Lexus IS sedan, designers sliced up the drawing into tiny pieces and then cut that pattern out of cardboard with lasers.

It took three months to put together, as modelers dealt with problems like the fact that no sheet of cardboard is perfectly straight. “We had to glue one sheet at a time,” says Daniel Ryan from Lasercut Works, one of the companies that helped build the car for Lexus.

The car is an homage to “master craftsmen” at a Lexus factory, who have to prove their skill by folding a tiny origami cat with one hand. (While some work is done by robots, humans still take care of details like stitching on upholstery, and they need to be nimble).

Read More

2 of the Biggest Myths Surrounding Crowdfunding (Video) | Entrepreneur

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

downloadIf the thought of crowdfunding conjures notions of converting untold masses, it might be helpful to envision the process as slightly more personalized.

“The number one myth [about crowdfunding] is the word ‘crowd’ itself,” says Sally Outlaw, CEO of Peerbackers, a consulting firm. “You have to go out there really one-to-one. It comes back down to personal relationships — the success of a campaign.”

For more from Outlaw, including the second-biggest myth surrounding crowdfunding, check out this short video.

See Video

Starting a Business Later in Life? Tips for Older Entrepreneurs | Business News Daily

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When is the best time in life to start a business? There’s no “right” answer to this question, of course — every entrepreneur’s experience is different. But based on the seeming abundance of 20-something Silicon Valley startup founders, it’s easy to think that the younger you are, the better off your business will be.

By that same logic, it’s also easy to assume that entrepreneurs who are approaching retirement age may be too out-of-touch with current technology and culture to succeed in the business world. On the other hand, many founders who started their business after age 50 say their decades of experience have been their greatest advantage.

If you’re an older aspiring business owner, don’t assume you missed your chance at entrepreneurial success. Here’s why it pays to jump into the startup game later, and what you can do to make your business flourish.

Read More

  7 Ways to Deal with Negative Online Customer Reviews | Getentrepreneurial

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Word of mouth has always been one of the strongest forms of advertising for any business. With the proliferation of online review sites, it is easier than ever for people to go online and rate their experience with your business… good or bad.

Most people admit they’ve been influenced by reviews at one time or another when making a purchase. This underscores the need for every business to take their negative online reviews seriously.

Positive reviews are more common than negative ones but the negative ones can have a disproportionate impact on your business. Here are a few ways that you can handle those occasional bad reviews and possibly even turn them around to your advantage.

Read More

Nevada Says It Will Treat Daily Fantasy Sports Sites as Gambling | The New York Times

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Nevada regulators ruled on Thursday that playing daily fantasy sports should be considered gambling, not a game of skill, and ordered websites like DraftKings and FanDuel to stop operating immediately in the state until the companies and their employees receive state gambling licenses.

It is perhaps the most significant setback yet for a booming, unregulated industry that has spent the past two weeks in the midst of allegations that have prompted federal and state investigations into whether its employees, armed with inside information, exploited paying customers.

2015 DraftKings and FanDuel, each valued at more than $1 billion, have operated under an exemption to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which outlawed online poker and sports betting. Five states have prohibited them from operating, but none are as powerful and influential as Nevada, which has long been a bastion of legal gambling, operates under strict regulation, and has the nation’s only active sports betting.

Read More

US Factory Output Drops in Latest Sign of Weak Growth | ABC News

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

downloadU.S. manufacturing production fell for the second straight month in September as factories cranked out fewer appliances, computers, and electronics.

Factory output declined 0.1 percent, the Federal Reserve said Friday, following a drop of 0.4 percent in August. Manufacturers also cut back on production of steel and other metals.

The decline suggests that a strong dollar, weak overseas economies, and cautious U.S. consumers are holding back factory output. Many companies are also focused on reducing stockpiles that were built up in the spring by cutting back on orders for new goods.

Overall industrial production, which includes mining and utilities, fell 0.2 percent, also its second straight decline. Mining output plunged 2 percent as energy companies sharply reduced oil and gas drilling. Utility output rose 1.3 percent.

Read More

VW to recall 8.5m diesel cars across Europe | The Guardian

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Volkswagen is to recall 8.5m diesel cars across the European Union in the wake of the emissions scandal.

The full extent of the work required by the manufacturer to deal with the defeat devices in its diesel vehicles became apparent on Thursday after German authorities rejected its proposals for a voluntary scheme.

Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority ordered a compulsory recall of all the affected 2.4m Volkswagen cars in the country, triggering the EU-wide move by VW across 28 member states.

It means that all 1.2m vehicles affected by the scandal in the UK will also be formally recalled.

Volkswagen said it welcomed the German decision, which would “give customers clarity with regard to the continued unrestricted use of the vehicles”.

Read More