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As of 2016, nearly 14% of Americans have started or run their own business. However, every business makes avoidable mistakes when first starting out. While some are generally harmless, others can be detrimental to the health and well-being of your company. Let’s get into some of the major mistakes you must be aware of when planning out your startup. Fearing Failure Sure, it sounds cliched, but it’s still a real obstacle for most entrepreneurs. Fortunately, many very successful business owners failed plenty of times before landing their wins. Don’t get discouraged. If you believe in your idea and your ability to execute this plan, don’t let any negativity or fear-mongering stop you! Avoid getting lost in your own thoughts or comparing yourself to others. Instead, just keep moving forward. Underestimating Budget  Startups undoubtedly cost money — you already know just how much. Most people think (and worry) about the big expenses. However, they neglect all…

The statistics for Lyme Disease are as frightening and getting worse. Around 300,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year, and that number is on the rise. A major issue in the treatment of the disease is that current tests for Lyme in the first month of infection are frequently wrong, meaning that people can wait months or even years to get a correct Lyme diagnosis, and subsequent treatment. And there lies the crux of the treatment problem for Lyme. When diagnosed and addressed early, the infection is treatable. Get to it too late, however, and it can become chronic and result a wide and debilitating range of symptoms, leaving as many as 40 percent of Lyme patients suffering from long-term health problems.   Concerns about the unreliability of Lyme testing have resulted in some state governments in areas heavily affected by the disease requiring…

The tech world is constantly evolving. Ideas that were once considered brilliant have now become obsolete. Some ideas for the future don’t yet have the technology to bring them to life. And some lucky startups hit upon the perfect idea at the perfect time, resulting in tremendous success. Wherever your idea lies on the spectrum, one of your biggest ongoing concerns as a business owner is product growth. Since a dismal three in four startups fail, this is a valid concern. How will you advertise your brand? Who will buy your product? Read on to learn five key ways to drive product growth. Maximize The Relevance & Responsiveness of Your Brand To spur growth, your brand needs to have momentum behind it. How can you create that momentum? Consider the following: How important is your brand’s promise to your customers? Does your product help customers make money or save time? How…

When you think of brushing your teeth, what comes to mind? If you’re like most people, probably unpleasant trips to the dentist and annoying daily routines. Although there have been some variants of smart toothbrushes on the market–even ones that convert the exercise into a hygienic smartphone video game–they still require users to actually brush their own teeth. Annoying, right? And time-consuming. Hey, it’s a gig economy out there. If you really want your product to take off, take time and responsibility off of consumers’ plates. Enter: the automatic toothbrush. The Amabrush automatic toothbrush is a hands-free device that brushes all of your teeth at once; it’s entirely automatic, and it finishes in ten seconds (insert “marriage sex life” joke here). The brush has built-in micro-channels that efficiently transport toothpaste to the user’s teeth, while being soft enough to prevent gum damage. Similar to a run-of-the-mill-now-effectively-antique electric toothbrush, Amabrush sports a magnetic connection for…

A pitch deck is a critical tool for all entrepreneurs in any tech industry. You need to communicate your deal to potential investors in a way that captures what your company is all about, grabs the attention, and does not get bogged down in detail. If you are in a tech-heavy enterprise, your pitch needs to be intriguing, not just informative. Pitch Deck Part 1 Your potential investors will want to know why they should care. Start with a description of the problem your product or service is meant to solve. Use examples of real people. Make them feel the pain. After setting the stage, go into a sales pitch about the novelty of your idea, and the opportunity that it represents. If you have a dream team of well-known experts and engineers, then lead off with them. Never talk tech or benefits too early. Pitch Deck Part 2 Ultimately,…

Yep. We’re talking about sex robots. Because, apparently that’s the moral battleground of the future, what lonely folk do while alone at home. You wouldn’t think there’d be an argument against this since it means there is a new option for people who are otherwise lonely or can’t obtain physical intimacy: a sex robot that can communicate and interact with its end user. Companies like Realdoll are racing to produce the first functional sex robot that crosses the uncanny valley.     But, apparently, there’s a contingent of folk out there, who strongly disagree with the idea of sex robots as a whole. So I’m going to open this one up, and you might disagree with what I have to say, but you also have to admit you’re invested. The Argument for Sex Robots If I summarize here, it’s because everyone’s rather familiar with them. A sex robot allows someone…

Carrying a wallet is something almost everyone does, and it’s something most people don’t give much thought to. Despite being an essential element of daily routines, 30 million wallets are lost annually in the world? It might seem trivial, but technology is finally advancing to make wallets more advanced with a smart wallet.     Volterman is the world’s most powerful smart wallet with a few smart functions. The first feature of note is the built-in power bank which fully charges users’ smartphones on the go, both wirelessly and with a cable. It comes in multiple capacities ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 mAh. To help prevent users from losing their phone or their wallet, there’s a built-in Bluetooth alarm system which sends alerts if the phone or wallet leave a specific range. The built-in Wi-Fi hotspot helps to ensure users have internet access wherever they travel. On average the internet cost…

Could your desk ever be anything more than a cluttered mess of stationery, gadgets, cables and sundry other objects? Apparently, it can, according to Carnegie Mellon researchers Chris Harrison, Scott Hudson, and Robert Xiao. The team has created a system using which you can turn regular work desks into interactive surfaces on which you can use smartphone applications via augmented reality. Desktopography, as it’s called, is still a research project, but points towards the kind of technology we could have at our disposal in the near future.     The main idea behind Desktopography is to blur the lines between physical and virtual objects. As complex as that sounds, the system only really requires a depth sensor and a projector light to make that possible. Both of those components are housed within a standard light bulb fixture in the prototype created by the team. The purpose of the projector is…

Michelin recently revealed a prototype of the MICHELIN Visionary Concept. It is a tire made out of recycled materials. The wheel has no internal pressure which makes it puncture-proof and also means that the tires won’t be affected by bad weather. The tread adjusts to the driving condition and can also be modified and replenished at any time.     The wheel has a honeycomb structure which Michelin explains in its news release as a form that mimics the natural growth process at work in the plant, mineral or sometimes even animal world, such as in coral. Since the tire is made out of recycled materials, the tire itself is, of course, fully recyclable. Despite this, the tire is designed to last as long as the vehicle. A 3D printer can easily replenish the tire tread whenever needed. According to Michelin, “the material used, which draws on cold cure technology, delivers the same performances…

When it comes to living in hot climates, there’s nothing better than having a cool breeze from an air conditioning system. Unfortunately, in many cases, these systems require significant amounts of power and energy – the costs of which add up significantly in hot climates where users need to run the AC continuously. The makers of Mistbox are looking to help reduce energy consumption with their connected device that pre-cools intake air to boost the user’s AC efficiency by 30%. By using sensors to monitor AC operation and climate conditions, Mistbox can optimize the mist and oversee the health of the user’s air conditioning system. Mistbox involves positioning nozzles around the AC condenser to create a fine water mist which evaporates to pre-cool the existing air. By using a proprietary combination of water treatment technologies, Mistbox ensures it doesn’t cause any damage to the user’s equipment. Rather than relying on…

There’s no question that AR—augmented reality, the less sexy but arguably more useful stepsister of virtual reality—is going to be revolutionary. Medicine, logistics, gaming, and a load of other industries will benefit from the tech. But before they can make use of it, the tech has to be built in a usable fashion, and AR developers have hit more than a few bumps in the road as they race to the finish. Closures, Buyouts, and Fakes, Oh My! One contender, we can cross off the list is CastAR, a recent and surprising casualty in the AR war. Despite a successful Kickstarter campaign that yielded to outside venture funding—CastAR took in $15 million from legit investors and returned the $1m they had raised through Kickstarter, which allowed them to postpone their release date—the company suddenly shuttered last week when the fund ran out. A skeleton crew is hanging on to try…

Ah yes, Boaty McBoatface.  The internet’s hero.  Some would say that Boaty McBoatface is the pinnacle of all the hope of 2016, apart from Pokemon GO.  Boaty McBoatface, surpassing everyone’s expectation and surviving the harshest environments.  The Antarctic cold, public scrutiny, and the harshest of places, the British Government.     For those of you who can’t recall the awesomeness that is Boaty McBoatface, back in early 2016, there was a poll proposed by the British Government to let the internet vote for a name for their new polar research ship.  Little did anyone suspect, but the name Boaty McBoatface rose in popularity above all else. Tragedy struck when the British Government, disregarding all the people’s choice and just overall having no sense of humor about the entire situation, decided to name the ship the Sir David Attenborough, after the famous naturalist.  However, hope was not lost.  To keep the…