If you have noticed the design and layout of solar panels around, you would have thought a minute or two about its aesthetics. Though not too bad, the dark colored cells could be a put off. Scientists have now decided to add some color to them. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute of Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Germany are working on a new type of photovoltaic using thin film technology to give some color to the panels.
Once upon a time, there was a website designed to crowdfund small, creative projects—a garage band’s new self-recorded album; a short film; a dance video. That website was called Kickstarter.
Then, along came Tim Schafer and Double Fine Adventure, the video game now known as Broken Age, which transformed the site into an indie video game crowdfunding platform overnight. Kickstarter termed it the “Blockbuster Effect.”
Well, not just a video game funding platform, but these days many of the biggest projects—from the Ouya to Star Citizen to Torment: Tides of Numenera—are video games or video game accessories. And these projects all have, at least in part, Schafer and his game to thank. Broken Age was the catalyst, the trailblazer, the portent of things to come.
And now, despite the $3.3 million the game raised on Kickstarter (and the additional $1.2 million Double Fine raised for its second Kickstarter game, Massive Chalice) Broken Age is out of money.
These days, clothing is so much more than something to cover you up and keep you sheltered from the elements. Manufactures are making clothes do unbelievable things. The latest addition to this list of functional clothing is Wearable Solar, the brainchild of Gelderland Valoriseer’s Christiaan Holland, fashion designer Pauline van Dongen, and solar-panel specialist Gertjan Jongerden. Wearable Solar is a line of clothing that boasts embedded solar panels wired to allow for personal device charging; basically, it turns you into a walking talking charger! Just plug in your Smartphone and get it charged while you are on a leisurely walk through the park.
There are so many things we have to teach our children but one that is often overlooked in today’s world is teaching kids about money. Unless your child has a large trust fund in their name or some other financial windfall heading there way they will need to learn about personal finance. The earlier you start teaching children about financial matters the better. During the most impressionable years of their lives, young people will formulate an opinion about money that will likely stick with them throughout adulthood. With that being said, it’s important to be straightforward with kids. They need to know the value of a dollar and you’re their best teacher.
Use everyday activities to teach lessons about money.
Take your children to the grocery store. Teach them how to find the best deals by watching for sales, comparing prices, and using coupons. Purchase a small calculator for your child and work on adding and subtracting while you shop. This is especially helpful for elementary aged children who are learning to differentiate between a dollar bill and a hundred dollar bill.
Building a website is like building a house. When built properly, they both combine interdependent components into a functional and attractive whole. In a house, the components are things like plumbing and ventilation; in a website, they’re things like search engine optimization SEO and navigational structure.Both are enormous projects with thousands of variables, and although there may be 10 right answers to every question, there are also 50 wrong answers, which may explain why so many houses and websites turn into money pits. To keep this from happening to your site, avoid these 10 common traps.
1. Imprecise or Improper PurposeWhy am I building this website? Until you answer that question with the eloquence of an orator, do not start grabbing any tools. Many firms have only a vague idea of what they want their site to do. Others ask their site to do too much, not enough, or the wrong thing altogether. Behind every great business site is a crystal clear, sensible vision.
Below is the transcript of the full interview I conducted with Dr. Richard Sudek, Director of Chapman University’s Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics. The center is nationally recognized as a leader in the field and Chapman has produced a number of notable entrepreneurs, including our client, Frank Delgadillo, creator of the Ambiguous and Comune action wear lines.
Excerpts from this interview appeared in Impact (formerly Caypen) magazine in both their online and print editions.
Q: Can you give us some background on the Leatherby Center and what you do here?
Sudek: I’m the Director of the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics.
PM: What is your background?
Sudek: I had my own computer company, built starting with $250 and sold it, so I’m not your typical academic. What I’m really trying to do is change the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in OrangeCounty. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is poorly connected from my perception. We’d like Chapman to be involved in helping connect it. We’d like Chapman to be the place where entrepreneurs, inventors and investors meet and collaborate.
Most of our energy is outward facing rather inward facing.
One of the things to point out is that Chapman one of the best kept secrets here in OrangeCounty. We’re a top 50 business school. We have a Nobel prize winner in economics. Our entrepreneurship program is ranked 13th by BusinessWeek. Because I wanted to cross connect the university, we built this thing called ESUN, Entrepreneur Student University Network. Originally it was designed to be small, so we started with the local schools; Cal Tech. USC, UCLA, Loyola, Pepperdyne, UCI, Fullerton and Claremont McKenna to try to cross connect our centers which we’re starting to do.
The thing that really launched this is we created this competition called California Dreaming. And we brought in other schools such as Oklahoma, BYU, Berkeley and Hawaii, etc and created a $100,000 business plan competition that we have in April. Next year it will be a $200,000. It’s going actually be two different competitions a business plan competition and fast pitch competition. Microsemi will be the anchor sponsor, as they were last year. The idea is to get students in front of investors, not just to win cash. I brought in VCs and angels from the bay area and local VCs and angels.
One of the teams, BYU, who won the competition, got some equity funding from this in late April. So that’s the idea is to get students connected to that.
PM: So you’re trying to build the hub for this kind of activity here?
Sudek: Yes. Now this reaches outward across different states so the idea is the help students in general although focused on Chapman, OrangeCounty, Southern California, going out from there.
Continue reading “Dr. Richard Sudek Interview | Peter Mehit”
College is a step toward adulthood for many, but the transition from bachelor’s degree to entrepreneur can feel a bit jarring. Keeping your chin up, a stiff upper-lip and other empty clichés everyone says to you can’t really prepare you for one really important truth: There isn’t a curriculum for adulthood. Knowing this, here are a few changes to expect when you take your first steps away from college and into starting you own business.
1. Attendance is always mandatory.
In college, you may have ditched class or ducked out early and still managed to pass. This isn’t going to fly in the startup world. Rain or shine, young treps need to show up and do so in a punctual fashion. Not only will it keep you in the loop of the day-to-day activities but will also set a good example for employees.
2. Scheduling isn’t set in stone.
Your Friday morning biology lab is finally over. What a relief. While you may be thanking your lucky stars you don’t have to roll out of bed after a crazy night to go and dissect a frog, don’t get too excited. Adult life and entrepreneurship means you’re beholden to a schedule of necessity rather than attendance sheets. As a young trep, you are the harbinger of your own success, meaning you sometimes will need to ask yourself to come in on a Saturday.
3. Free time isn’t free.
Just as there is no such thing as a free lunch, there is no such thing as “free time” in the world of startups. During college you may have had huge breaks between class or long holidays but startup reality is quite different. While most of your friends are working at finding a nine-to-five job and attending happy hour, you are slaving away at your business plan or putting out fires at your company. And that’s just the reality of being an entrepreneur — sacrificing free time in exchange for freedom.
via 10 Lessons College Won’t Teach You — But Entrepreneurship Will | Entrepreneur.com.
Our client Steve Tsirtsis, the owner of the Citrus City Grille restaurants in Orange and Corona, lost his son to cancer this year. Wanting to make his son’s passing meaningful, he and his wife Agatha established Tasos Projects for Kids, a non-profit foundation that,
“…is dedicated to helping kids who have lost a parent to cancer. From counseling services to music, athletic and educational scholarships and monetary support, Tasos Project is a resource center for kids 0-18 years old.”
Tasos Projects for Kids is having its inaugural fundraiser at the Citrus City Grille on Sunday, June 23, 2013 starting at 5:00pm. The event includes wonderful food, two drinks and a great time. Also will be a silent auction featuring including signed Fender guitars, (1) night stay in a bungalow at Rancho Las Lomas in Silverado Canyon, Dodger Tickets, Private Flight to Catalina with Lunch, Heidi Burkhardt artwork, Teeth Whitening/Sonicare Basket, Wedding Dress, Jewelry, Starr Motorcycle School Class Gift Certificate, Stila MakeUp GIft Basket, Mini Grand Piano and much, much more!
Tickets are available at Citrus City Grille in Corona and Orange, Blush Bridal Couture in Tustin.
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Today, President Obama issued the following letter to all Verizon customers:
Dear Verizon Customers,
Yesterday it came to light that the National Security Agency has been collecting millions of phone records from you each and every day. Since that news was released, many of you have called the White House with questions and concerns about this new program. To save my time and yours, here are answers to three of the F.A.Q.s (Frequently Asked Questions) we’ve been hearing from you:
