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BE EXCITING, BE AUTHENTIC, AND BE POSITIVE when pitching or storytelling in business, are the lessons in this short article. A great read for entrepreneurs, who always need to clean up their pitches. http://lnkd.in/YecUGd View in LinkedIn

THREE PLACES I CALL HOME ARE SAN FRANCISCO, BOSTON AND BARCELONA, and all share an unusual environment that celebrates and fosters emerging companies, especially Tech companies. Each city has an infrastructure of intellectual excellence (universities), advanced medicine (teaching hospitals), logistics (incubators, science parks, bootcamps), and finally, investors (VCs and Angel networks). Young people leave PoDunk to seek their fortunes and passions in these exciting cities. The unlikely is born in bars and clubs and social events and the rest is history. http://lnkd.in/Fk-gst View in LinkedIn

SIGNS THAT ANGEL INVESTORS ARE COMING BACK TO INVESTING, as outlined in this article, and coupled with my personal experience and personal anecdotes seems to be the case. These important investors bridge Friends and Family earliest money and the first VC money for most Tech startups, and are often sophisticated former entrepreneurs or CEOs. They play a key role in helping a new generation of emerging companies be born. http://lnkd.in/kts_ic View in LinkedIn

USE THE SNIFF TEST OFTEN. When a new circumstance or proposal that requires you to make a decision and act, try and first apply the Sniff Test. This is variously called your gut feel, wisdom from your mama, or plain common sense. Imagine you were telling a younger family member about the options in a non-technical and boiled-down way. Does it sound sensible or half-baked? View in LinkedIn

BEING CURIOUS CAN LEAD TO REALIZING THAT THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES as this author explains, when arriving at a contrarian view of leading business thinkers. Let's not forget that business theories, like anything else, run in fashion lockstep, dominated by a popular idea quite often, and how healthy it is to take a step back and apply the sniff test. http://lnkd.in/rXTsqy View in LinkedIn

WORKING STYLES ARE IMPORTANT since in startups with few employees each person's character is magnified in importance. I used to have a senior executive who would throw the phone across the room in temper tantrums (when his first baby arrived he mellowed a lot!). This had a big impact in a company of ten people, and he could be quite intimidating. Knowing somebody's working style ahead of time is an important hiring issue to figure out unless you want this kind of problem. http://lnkd.in/7PuNxZ View in LinkedIn

THE CULTURE OF AN EMERGING COMPANY IS IMPORTANT and usually, if not always, reflects the values of the CEO or Founder. This article examines the balancing act of cultural fit versus talent in hiring, and that an ideal hire should have both. The culture you create in your new company matters enormously. I can walk into a new company and within 20 minutes have a feel for it. Some are closed and suspicious; others trusting and curious; some are overly hip and experimental, while others too stiff and formal. Your culture will determine your interaction style with the outside world. http://lnkd.in/Vqdjby View in LinkedIn

ANALYSIS OF WHERE TOP BUSINESS LEADER WENT TO UNIVERSITY is very interesting but it would also be interesting to add in great scientists, artists, etc. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0AvtuvkWxbg-JdGRhc1VxWGFOQ3laY2lLYjlac1YxTHc&usp=sharing View in LinkedIn

CLUSTERS ONLY WORK WITH INTERACTION. The MRC Unit at Cambridge (UK) has had more than its share of famous scientists. The reported answer to why, was surprising. Because at 10:30 am and 3:30 pm the tea lady rang a bell and people emerged from their labs for a cuppa. They chatted about their experimental" "problems, and cross-fertilization of ideas occurred. Combined with a lively pub scene where ideas also got debated and unlikely friendships crafted, this was a healthy, interacting early cluster that was very productive. Without interaction, there is only proximity. http://lnkd.in/uVx-xM View in LinkedIn

BLOOD STEM CELL TRANSPLANTS ARE USED WIDELY TODAY and will increase in the future. We are in the midst of an important change in the way we treat diseases. Small molecule drugs are being trumped by biological medicines (in terns of annual approvals), and biological medicines may one day be trumped by cellular medicines. We are in the midst of truly fundamental and historic changes in medicine. http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2013/01/30/519544/10019770/en/1-Millionth-Blood-Stem-Cell-Transplant-Marks-Major-Medical-Milestone.html View in LinkedIn