All startups operate within a landscape of competitors and alternatives. Fortunately researching that landscape is easier than ever in 2023. — Every successful venture founder needs to spend time researching the landscape of competitors and alternatives that their startup will operate within. A generation ago that would have meant hiring a market research firm. Today, there are incredibly powerful tools available, many of them free.

Here are the big trends that entrepreneurs and innovators should be paying attention to right now. — (adapted from my end-of-the-year podcast episode). This is the time of year when all the pundits issue their predictions for the new year. So I’ll give you mine, with a twist. …

Here is a list of free (and nearly-free) things you should be doing right now, even if your startup’s product won’t be ready for several months. — Successful startups begin their marketing efforts long before they actually have a product ready to sell. Customer acquisition always ends up being harder than you think it’s going to be, so begin the process of building a marketing foundation now. Also, great entrepreneurs know that product development needs to be…

I asked some startup founders and VC’s and got some great answers. — I was recently asked to give a lecture on “Entrepreneurial Mindset”. Hmmm. Great question. I had my own thoughts on the topic, but I wondered whether there was some sort of accepted definition. So I did a little research, beginning with Google (since that’s where all research begins these days). …

The future of the world is in the hands of young people today. But many of those young people are currently working in the rural fields of Perú, the remote mountains of Bolivia, and the impoverished outskirts of São Paulo. Underprivileged kids all over the world have the smarts, the…

Around the world, there are millions of people with intellectual disabilities such as Alzheimer’s and autism who require caregivers in order to live a safe and healthy life. For many families, finding, paying, and coordinating good-quality caregivers can be an overwhelming task. CareFlick is a new startup that has developed…

Marco Feng came to NYC for grad school a few years ago, got a Master’s degree at Columbia, and settled into a nice professional life on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He loves food, travel, exploring, and bringing his laptop and a camera with him everywhere. …

Container shipping is a huge business — something like $11 billion/year worldwide. And yet it is largely still managed is a very old-fashioned way. …

The promise of education technology has always been that it can help to close the achievement gap. Kids from all different backgrounds and learning styles can have access to high-quality curriculum, targeted specifically to them. And yet three years into the pandemic mostly what we’ve learned is that current edtech…