By Dan Munro, Contributor There’s a temptation on the part of many cities to think that a startup culture requires “a top down cluster.” The conventional wisdom is that in order to be successful startups need to be in close proximity to science parks, venture capital and research universities. Vivek Wadwha – the noted Stanford Fellow, Duke, Emory and Harvard Professor (now at Singularity University) – recently argued otherwise as part of the Wall Street Journal’s forum called The Accelerators.  His brief argument is worth reading (here) which he then summarizes in the last paragraph: “Innovation is all about people. Innovation thrives when the population is diverse, accepting and willing to cooperate. Having a community that understands the odds of failure lowers the risk for people taking the leap into entrepreneurship. Any region that wants to thrive economically has to get these ingredients right.” Well known startup investor and VC Brad Feld also supports this view with what he calls his Boulder Thesis (amazing 3-minute video by the Kauffman Foundation with narration by Brad here). Two key principles that Brad highlights are being inclusive and incorporating both “leaders” and “feeders.” You have to have both. More than anything it was the people that made the Grand Opening of SEED SPOT – a non-profit incubator here in Phoenix – so successful last fall. Over 600 people showed up at 605 Grant Street – a landmark building just a few blocks south of downtown that’s chock full of local history and character. The excitement was palpable – even if the air-conditioning wasn’t – but then Phoenix is ideally positioned to serve their startups piping hot. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton was on hand – as was Startup America CEO Scott Case – as well as other regional and national dignitaries. There were over 190 startups that applied for entrance to SEED SPOT’s first eight-month program. The Grand Opening in October was the introduction of their first cohort of 16 startup companies and the passionate commitment was clearly evident with each and every presentation. I took note of two that had a healthcare focus and then learned a 3rd one had been added shortly thereafter. Last week I had a chance to visit SEED SPOT Co-Founders Courtney Klein Johnson and Chris Petroff – and those 3 healthcare startups in their new home just north of downtown Phoenix. _____________________________ From Davos to Dubai to D.C., the whole world is becoming obsessed with obesity and it’s often the number one topic at health conferences I’ve been to over the course of the last year. Trouble is, the myths surrounding weight loss are widely held and longstanding (including this list from an article just last week in the New York Times: Myths of Weight Loss Are Plentiful, Researcher Says). Still in development, SaucyPants is targeting a suite of applications to help bring sensible nutrition back to the dining room table and streamline the process of cooking at home – from recipe discovery to grocery delivery. The entry point is SaucyKids a food journal app for kids that promotes and encourages healthier food choices. Started by sisters Coreen and Kristi Murphy, SaucyKids was recently selected by venerable food publication Bon Appétit as one of five finalists for their Food Innovator Award (a national competition sponsored by Bon Appétit, Lexus and RocketHub). As a part of the contest, each of the five finalists are using RocketHub to crowdsource a small funding project – which will determine the winner (and the added bonus of $10,000 from Bon Appétit). Bon Appétit wrote about SaucyKids (here) and the crowdsourced competition through RocketHub (here) ends this coming Wednesday (February 6). _____________________________ TheraSpecs® is eyewear that is scientifically designed to filter out harmful light. The precision tint has been shown to reduce migraines and provide measurable relief for dozens of other conditions related to light sensitivity. Some facts on the migraine market alone:
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest