Four Finalists Chosen in the East Coast Campaign of Solve for X, a Google Initiative  

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Novel solutions for sustainable, ultra-low emission production of concrete and electricity, a microbe-based fertilizer alternative, a cancer research innovation and a new approach to nanofiltration are the among winning concepts to be presented at Rutgers on Feb. 2 

Four East Coast “pioneers,” who are proposing radical new solutions to several global problems have been selected as finalists in the Solve for X: New Jersey campaign, part of Google’s global Solve for X initiative.

These pioneers will present their proposals known as “moonshots” to an audience of scientists, technologists, policy makers, venture capitalists and visionaries February 2 during an event on the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All four concepts employ breakthrough technologies that provide radical solutions to huge, global problems such as food and water shortages, harmful fertilizer runoff, pollution generated by industrial development and the intricacies of personalizing cancer treatment.

The four finalists were drawn from 24 innovators who gave presentations at recent events across the Northeast. Those 24 were chosen from an initial pool of 72 applicants. The feedback the scholars provide at the February 2 event will help these pioneers refine and accelerate progress on their solutions through commercial and noncommercial avenues.

The four Solve for X: New Jersey finalists are:

  • Lou Elwell, a South Jersey entrepreneur as well as co-founder and CEO of Bio Soil Enhancers, will describe his microbe-based fertilizer alternative called Sumagrow.  Elwell says his product remediates soil, increases crop yields, eliminates harmful chemical runoff and absorbs carbon dioxide from the environment.
  • Susan MacKay, a chemist from Maine and CEO of Cerahelix, will address her company’s efforts to “unravel the potential of nanofiltration.” Their approach uses DNA-based filters that can significantly increase the efficiency, efficacy and durability of water filtration devices.
  • Richard Riman, a distinguished professor at Rutgers and founder of Solidia Technologies® in Piscataway, will share a “Green Toolbox for Modernizing the World’s Infrastructure Sustainably.” His system will give communities in remote locations the ability to produce electricity, heat and concrete locally and sustainably via the co-utilization of carbonate-cement concrete technology and trash gasification technology.
  • Wenting Zhang, a doctoral student at Stevens Institute of Technology, will present a new platform for reconstructing patient-specific cancer models via the use of microfluidic devices.

 

This content is via Rutgers, to read the rest about this amazing experience Read Here.

Want to read all about Solve for X Read Here.

Small Business Financial Tune-Up

Wherever your small business lies in the business lifecycle, it may be time for a financial tune-up. Like the name implies, a financial tune-up is a fresh look at how well your small business is working for you, the owner. Here’s a short list of things to consider.

Type of business entity—Many small businesses start out as unincorporated sole proprietorships. The advantages are ease of formation and simplicity of operation. The disadvantages are exposure of personal assets to business liabilities and reporting net business earnings on your personal income tax return.

If your business has grown since you started out, it may make sense to consider a operating under a different business form. Some types of business entities popular with small business owners—limited liability companies, S corporations, and regular C corporations—protect the individual business owner’s personal assets from claims of business contractual and tort creditor. Furthermore, some of these other business forms offer tax advantages to small business owners that are not available to sole proprietors.

Retirement plan—When is the last time you considered whether your employer-sponsored retirement plan was the best plan for you?  Or, if you don’t have an employer-sponsored retirement plan, when is the last time you evaluated the benefits of starting a plan? The landscape for employer-sponsored retirement plans has changed considerably over the past few years and you may be missing out on a great opportunity for both you and your employees.

Health Insurance Plan—Rising health insurance costs remain a major concern for many small business owners, but there are options that can lower costs through tax incentives, for example the Health Savings Account. With an HSA, employees –and their employers, if they choose –contribute pre-tax dollars to an account earmarked for out-of-pocket health expenses. In addition to not paying tax on contributions, participants also pay no tax on earnings that accumulate in the HSA. Moreover, money not withdrawn to pay for medical care is carried over to the next year and continues growing tax-deferred. Provided money in the account is used for health-related expenses or to pay health insurance premiums, the participant pays no tax when withdrawals are made. There is the only catch—not everyone is eligible for a Health Savings Account. To qualify, you can only be covered by a high-deductible medical insurance policy, either through your employer or one you purchase as a self-employed person.

Life and Disability Insurance–Small businesses often find it challenging to attract and retain employees. Employee benefits offerings such as life and disability income insurance are often necessary to compete with the “big boys.” Group plans provide affordable coverage without the need for individual underwriting. This type of coverage can be offered as employee benefits paid for solely by the employer, an employer-sponsored plan paid for by the employee, or a combination of both.

Key-Person Insurance—Small businesses routinely insure their premises, equipment, and inventory. Less common is the business that insures its most valuable assets, its key employees. If you haven’t increased the amount of existing key person life and disability coverage to keep pace with increasing profits and business lines of credit or to reflect the addition of new key employees, there’s no better time to do so than now. As employees age and/or become health-impaired insurance becomes more expensive or outright unavailable. When it comes to acquiring key person insurance, the sooner you act the better.

Business Succession Planning— When business owners think about wealth transfer, they usually think about the transfer of their business or its value. Typically, businesses have only three outcomes at the death of an owner.

  1. Sale of the business to an outsider;
  2. Retention of the business for family members or other surviving owners;
  3. Liquidation of the business.

 

Business succession planning usually comes down to a decision to sell or retain the business. The decision is not an easy one. If your business has experienced growth, if you’ve brought a family member into the business, or if you are approaching retirement, it makes sense to revisit your business succession plan.

 

A tune-up can be as painless as an oil change for your car, or it can uncover some major work. But the benefit of a tune-up is that it puts you in control and minimizes the chance of getting stranded on a lonely road at night. A financial tune-up offers the same benefit—it prevents you from getting stranded without adequate retirement benefits, attractive employee benefits, or an up-to-date business succession plan.

 

This article provides general information for the subject matter covered.  It is not intended to render legal or tax advice.  An individual’s particular circumstances should be discussed with a personal tax or legal advisor. The Prudential Insurance Company of America, 751 Broad Street, Newark, NJ  07102-3777.

 

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Provided courtesy of Prudential.  For more information, contact Francis Piccirillo, a Financial Professional Associate with The Prudential Insurance Company of America’s South Jersey Financial Group.  He can be reached at (732) 202-4079.

Mercedes Concept Car at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

Mercedes made clear it’s concept of where transportation and technology meet. The F 015 is the equivalent to a mobile living room boasting state of the art amenities while you travel, Mercedes is making a statement about how as we travel, of wanting to stay connected, productive, all while maintaining a sense of luxury during travel. Plus, it is pretty amazing, point blank.

 

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“The car is growing beyond its role as a mere means of transport and will ultimately become a mobile living space.”

Head of Mercedes-Benz Dieter Zetsche.

 

Read more on Dezeen.com

OK Go – Still Pushing the Envelope!

We hope you’ve seen this already. But, just in case you haven’t (Or, even if you have.), check out OK Go’s latest music video for their single ‘I Won’t Let You Down’. Yes, these are the guys from the treadmill video. Yes, that is a singular, continuous shot. Yes, they used a drone. Yes, their chairs move. And, yes, the song is really good.

This video is probably the perfect merger of music, performing art, cinematography and tech and we want some more!

Check the video below for how this got made! (No, we’re not getting paid to promote the video. We’re just really excited!)

20 Cool Offices via Brit + Co

We dont know how we didnt make the list this year? But Brit + Co. Released the top 20 Cool offices.

 

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Sahibinden is improving productivity and employee energy by having an indoor running track.

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Urban Oufitters is truly giving its brooklyn headquarters a underground post mad man experience.

 

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We get it Drop Box you are an amazing light filled and engaging culture. Enough already, also your business level drop box is kind of amazing.

 

We Think our Office should have made the list! Check us out !

 

For more cool offices check out Brit+Co’s Article Here

6 Stories of Super Successes Who Overcame Failure Via our friends @ entrepreneurs.com

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Failure is not the alternative to success. It’s something to be avoided, but it’s also only a temporary setback on a bigger, more significant course. Everybody encounters failure at one point or another. What truly matters is how you react to and learn from that failure.

Take the stories of these six entrepreneurs. Their stories end in massive success, but all of them are rooted in failure. They’re perfect examples of why failure should never stop you from following your vision.

 

Our favorite of this article was about . recent Newark visitor Arianna Huffington

1. Arianna Huffington got rejected by 36 publishers.

 

Read more Via our friends at entrepreneurs.com

Article by Entrepreneur Contributor  

JAYSON DEMERS
CONTRIBUTOR
Founder and CEO, AudienceBloom

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