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Wine (Even) Cooler: The Entrepreneur Behind Booze-Infused Popsicles
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Can Technology Solve the Refugee Crisis?

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How The Internet Of Things Is Transforming Your World

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These Online Stores are Getting Physical

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These 5 Iconic Entrepreneurs Dropped Out of School. Now, They’re Investing in Education.

Many of our country’s most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders excelled in college, and many of them went on to pursue additional schooling and degrees. But not all of them. Some of America’s most renowned innovators and entrepreneurs from the past few decades started but never finished their undergraduate degrees – a pattern that has left some to question the importance of education in the realm of entrepreneurship. But here’s the thing: Those very entrepreneurs, the ones who dropped out of college, have made it awfully clear with their philanthropic efforts that they recognize the immense value of a strong education. That’s because many of them have chosen to invest in improving early education and making college more accessible, particularly for low-income students. Here are a few of the successful entrepreneurs who – despite the face or perhaps because they dropped out of school – have made great contributions to […]

These 5 Iconic Entrepreneurs Dropped Out of School. Now, They’re Investing in Education.

Doing good

The Immigrant Entrepreneurs Behind Major American Companies

The United States’ reputation as the “Land of Opportunity” didn’t just develop overnight. Throughout our nation’s history, we have benefitted from the millions of driven and talented immigrants who brought entrepreneurial ideas to our shores and built incredible, innovative, job-creating businesses from the ground up. In fact, some of America’s most renowned brands, ones that are today known the world over, were started by foreign-born entrepreneurs. In the infographic below, we took a closer look at some of these wildly successful businesses – ones that today exemplify the American Dream and remind us of the enormously important contributions immigrants make to the U.S. economy.    

The Immigrant Entrepreneurs Behind Major American Companies

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Innovation that matters

 

How Much Good Can Information Do?

How much is transparency worth? Or, to ask a better question: How much is access to information worth? According to a recent report from McKinsey & Company, open data—that is, information that the government or private-sector organizations chooses to make public—has the potential to create $3 trillion of value in just seven areas of the global economy. More importantly, unlocking the ever-growing pile of data sitting on government and private-sector servers and releasing it to a curious public increases the odds of finding solutions to serious social and economic problems. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Engagement Center (C_TEC) recently hosted a panel discussion during its TecNation 2016 event that focused on how open data stands to make the world a better place, whether by finding smarter ways to tackle crime or better preparing for natural disasters. During the session, five organizations spoke about their different approaches to using data […]

How Much Good Can Information Do?

Doing good

Businesses Backing Education

–Cross-posted from the Corporate Citizenship Center— The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center tells the stories of the positive social, economic and environmental impact of business. Since 2000, the Center’s Corporate Citizenship Awards have showcased how businesses make the world a better place. Every day, businesses serve as a powerful force for good in communities across the United States and in countries around the world. They solve today’s greatest challenges through innovation, expertise, efficiency, capital, and collaboration. Awards are given in eight categories, and we will feature the finalists in each category separately. The Corporate Citizenship Award for Best Commitment to Education Program recognizes initiatives to improve educational outcomes for students. The 2015 finalists show the significant, positive impact businesses have around the world. The finalists are: GE Foundation GE Foundation’s Developing Futures™ in Education Program supports quality K–12 public education in the United States. Focusing on school […]

Businesses Backing Education

Creating opportunity

This Tech Entrepreneur’s Success Strategy: Slow and Steady

There’s an inflection point for nearly every growing small business, when they reach the point at which it’s no longer possible to handle their information technology (IT) strategy on their own. Daniel Kalai has built his own growing small business around that very inflection point. Kalai’s company, Helix Systems, offers flexible IT support to small and medium-sized organizations, giving businesses high quality support that doesn’t require them to hire a full-time person or even start building their own internal information technology team. We recently chatted with Kalai about the early days of his business and how those formative years shaped the foundation and future plans of Helix Systems. How did Helix Systems get its start? In the early 2000s, I was studying computer science and programming. If you could do some basic HTML and coding, you could get paying customers, so that’s how I got my first clients. When I […]

This Tech Entrepreneur’s Success Strategy: Slow and Steady

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How Entrepreneurship is Helping Baltimore Bounce Back

Sometimes referred to as America’s Charm City, Baltimore has recently become an increasingly charming destination for innovators and entrepreneurs, and those groups are in turn helping the city emerge from the economic doldrums. Every month, Free Enterprise takes stock of one of America’s up-and-coming Silicon Cities; that is urban hotspots where small businesses are helping to foster innovation and build a vibrant technological sector. In September, we looked at how Baltimore is getting back on its feet after decades of decline in its once-robust manufacturing and shipping industry, with a little help from a growing startup ecosystem and technological innovation. Here’s what we found: A Community-based Approach to Entrepreneurship Between 2000 and 2010, the number of 25- to 35-year-olds with college degrees living within three miles of Baltimore’s downtown business district rose 92 percent. Part of the reason for that fast growth is a strong sense of local community support […]

How Entrepreneurship is Helping Baltimore Bounce Back

Silicon Cities

Can Technology Solve the Refugee Crisis?

Around the world, more than 60 million refugees have abandoned their homes to flee from desperate circumstances. Notably, six of every 10 Syrian citizens, an estimated 12.5 million people, have become refugees, an unprecedented number for a single country, according to the Pew Research Center. The Syrian refugee crisis is a complex political and humanitarian issue that has left many policymakers and public citizens searching for answers and desperate for a solution. Naturally, in our increasingly digital age, that has raised the question: What role can technology play? It turns out, a big one. A number of innovative mobile apps and online platforms have emerged in the U.S. and elsewhere to help migrants connect with lost loved ones, find aid, and even assimilate into new countries. Here are five startups that are using technology to help refugees. EmergencyBnB Inspired by Airbnb’s sharing model, Washington, D.C. resident Amr Arafa built a […]

Can Technology Solve the Refugee Crisis?

Doing good

These Online Stores are Getting Physical

While it’s no secret that most traditional retail stores are looking to expand their online presence, a select group of formerly e-commerce-only companies are moving in the opposite direction by opening physical stores. While it may seem counterintuitive for online companies to seek out physical spaces, the move can actually prove incredibly beneficial for their bottom lines, according to a CUT YEAR report by management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. The study found that physical stores play a contributing role in online purchases, giving customers a chance to touch and feel a company’s products and immerse themselves in the brand experience before making a purchase. Additionally, two-thirds of consumers who purchase goods online visit a physical store before or after the transaction, according to the report. Here’s a closer look at five of the online retailers that are responding to those trends by establishing a brick-and-mortar presence. Warby Parker Warby Parker […]

These Online Stores are Getting Physical

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