Access to Capital: Be Prepared to Secure Additional Support for Your Company

This resource aims to guide you through the process of securing financial support, goods, assets, and production for your business

Identifying important success factors in new venture creation [Business Creation in Australia, Paper 8]

This paper seeks to uncover the factors that lead to a successful entrepreneurial experience and or venture. Findings of interest in this paper include: • A venture’s initial aspirations are a double edged sword. Ambition may lead to improved performance by striving to reach harder goals. Harder goals are more difficult therefore this may lead to some dissatisfaction, and possibly abandonment of the venture. • Venture legitimacy is important to establish where possible. Firms that formalize their legal form are more successful, as are those set up a shop-front in order to makes sales. • Increased use of technology and higher levels of novelty does not guarantee success early on. Firms of this nature have longer processes, and attempting to create brand new markets is difficult to achieve. At the same time developing your own technology and securing this intellectual property is important for success. • Having goals to work towards and business planning may be useful, but only if the plan is actively revised. Just having a business plan does not matter. Business plans are more useful as a thinking tool than as a blueprint for action. It is the process of thinking through while reviewing the plan that provides the benefit, not following its instruction to the letter

How does intellectual capital align with cyber security?

Purpose – To position the preservation and protection of intellectual capital as a cyber security concern. We outline the security requirements of intellectual capital to help Boards of Directors and executive management teams to understand their responsibilities and accountabilities in this respect.Design/Methodology/Approach – The research methodology is desk research. In other words, we gathered facts and existing research publications that helped us to define key terms, to formulate arguments to convince BoDs of the need to secure their intellectual capital, and to outline actions to be taken by BoDs to do so.Findings – Intellectual capital, as a valuable business resource, is related to information, knowledge and cyber security. Hence, preservation thereof is also related to cyber security governance, and merits attention from boards of directors.Implications – This paper clarifies boards of directors’ intellectual capital governance responsibilities, which encompass information, knowledge and cyber security governance.Social Implications – If boards of directors know how to embrace their intellectual capital governance responsibilities, this will help to ensure that such intellectual capital is preserved and secured.Practical Implications – We hope that boards of directors will benefit from our clarifications, and especially from the positioning of intellectual capital in cyber space.Originality/Value – This paper extends a previous paper published by Von Solms and Von Solms (2018), which clarified the key terms of information and cyber security, and the governance thereof. The originality and value is the focus on the securing of intellectual capital, a topic that has not yet received a great deal of attention from cyber security researchers

Customized Employment: Applying Practical Solutions for Employment Success (Volume 1)

[Excerpt] The Customized Employment process is a flexible blend of strategies, services, and supports designed to increase employment options for job seekers with complex needs through voluntary negotiation of the employment relationship with an employer. The job seeker is the primary source of information and drives the process. The Customized Employment process begins with an exploration phase, which lays the foundation for employment planning. Planning results in a blueprint for the job search where an employment relationship is negotiated to meet the needs of both the job seeker and the employer

High Tech and High Touch: Headhunting, Technology, and Economic Transformation

[Excerpt] In High Tech and High Touch, James E. Coverdill and William Finlay invite readers into the dynamic world of headhunters, personnel professionals who acquire talent for businesses and other organizations on a contingent-fee basis. In a high-tech world where social media platforms have simplified direct contact between employers and job seekers, Coverdill and Finlay acknowledge, it is relatively easy to find large numbers of apparently qualified candidates. However, the authors demonstrate that headhunters serve a valuable purpose in bringing high-touch search into the labor market: they help parties on both sides of the transaction to define their needs and articulate what they have to offer. As well as providing valuable information for sociologists and economists, High Tech and High Touch demonstrates how headhunters approach practical issues such as identifying and attracting candidates; how they solicit, secure, and evaluate search assignments from client companies; and how they strive to broker interactions between candidates and clients to maximize the likelihood that the right people land in the right jobs

National research and development project on healthy universities: final report

This report presents the findings of a National Research and Development Project, undertaken by the Healthy Settings Development Unit at the University of Central Lancashire and funded by the Higher Education Academy Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre and the Department of Health. The aim of the project was to scope and report on the potential for a national programme on Healthy Universities that could contribute to health, well-being and sustainable development. The project comprised four strands: - Literature Review: A rapid review of relevant academic and policy-related literature conducted in order to clarify theory, scope practice and distil key contextual issues. - HEI-level Research: Comprising an overview audit and follow-up mapping and consultative research, this strand of the project provided an overview of Healthy University activity across English HEIs, generated in-depth data from a purposive sample of universities and explored perspectives on the potential development of a national programme on Healthy Universities. - National-Level Stakeholder Research: Using semi-structured interviews with nine key national stakeholder organisations, this strand of the project mapped current health-related roles and responsibilities and explored views regarding the potential development of a national programme on Healthy Universities. - Joint Action Planning and Reporting: In addition to reporting interim findings at relevant conferences and events, an interactive workshop was held with members of the English National Healthy Universities Network to present findings, validate data, inform the action planning process and secure further buy-in. The project highlighted that higher education offers enormous potential to impact positively on the health and well-being of students, staff and the wider community through education, research, knowledge exchange and institutional practice. It also suggested that investment for health within the sector will further contribute to core agendas such as staff and student recruitment, experience and retention; and institutional and societal productivity and sustainability. The research revealed the richness of activity taking place within HEIs and evidenced a rapid increase in interest in the Healthy University approach, pointing to a growing appreciation of the need for a comprehensive whole system approach that can map and understand interrelationships, interactions and synergies within higher education settings – with regard to different groups of the population, different components of the system and different health issues. There is a clear challenge involved in introducing and integrating ‘health’ within a sector that does not have this as its central aim, is characterised by ‘initiative overload’, is experiencing resource constraints and comprises fiercely autonomous institutions. However, there is also a widening recognition that such a system-based approach has significant added value – offering the potential to address health in a coherent and joined-up way and to forge connections to both health-related targets and core drivers within higher education. The report concludes that there is clear demand for national-level stakeholder organisations to demonstrate leadership through championing and resourcing a Healthy Universities Programme that not only adds value within the higher education sector, but also helps to build consistency of approach across the entire spectrum of education. It issues a number of recommendations with a view to responding to the findings and moving forward

On IP and secrecy : The relevance of intellectual property rights to design-led start-up businesses

This paper will unveil how design-led start-up businesses can enhance their growth potential through securing exclusive access to intellectual property (IP). Many design-led start-up companies commonly see themselves confronted with a dilemma in that they need funds for the design development of their offerings, prototyping, field tests etc., as well as for overheads on the one hand, and for IP on the other. In their book, 'The Smart Entrepreneur', Clarysse and Kiefer claim that 'Patents are particularly important when your business is not close to market, because the exclusivity afforded by a solid patent can buy you some time by preventing competitors from encroaching on your idea while you develop applications.' (p.127) The UK Design Council on the other hand suggests to 'Approach patenting with caution. Multinational cover is expensive and premature filing can do more harm than good' (www.designcouncil.org.uk). Clarysse and Kiefer admit that '...a patent suit can cost $10-15 million and drag on for several years' (p.93). This beckons the question as to what is the best IP strategy for a design-led start-up. Is a patent an effective means for start-ups to overcome competition? In search for an answer, this paper will show a range of case studies of award winning British designs including the SEA Interface, a patent-pending platform technology for building pressure-sensitive touch interfaces, Cupris, a smartphone-enabled clinical device that transmits data between patients and healthcare practitioners, Yossarian Lives, a novel metaphor-based database search engine, and Arctica, a highly sustainable ventilation system. The inventors of these technologies will be interviewed in relation to their IP strategy, and in relation to their personal views on the international patenting system. The comparative study of interviews will identify the best approach to IP protection for design entrepreneurs whose funds are limited. Through reconciling the seemingly opposed views expressed by the Design Council Design Council on the one hand, and Clarysse and Kiefer on the other, this paper will discuss how designers can optimize the form and timing for IP protection for their start-up businesses. The author has previously received a business development award from NESTA (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), and was subsequently involved in the Design London business incubator scheme, which was the birthplace of some of the ventures listed above. He is now studying for PhD at the Department for Service Design at the Royal College of Art in London, UK.Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio

Securing Our Future Homes: Smart Home Security Issues and Solutions

The Internet of Things, commonly known as IoT, is a new technology transforming businesses, individuals’ daily lives and the operation of entire countries. With more and more devices becoming equipped with IoT technology, smart homes are becoming increasingly popular. The components that make up a smart home are at risk for different types of attacks; therefore, security engineers are developing solutions to current problems and are predicting future types of attacks. This paper will analyze IoT smart home components, explain current security risks, and suggest possible solutions. According to “What is a Smart Home” (n.d.), a smart home is a home that always operates in consideration of security, energy, efficiency and convenience, whether anyone is home or not

On IP and secrecy Management for Innovation : the relevance of intellectual property rights to design-led start-up businesses

In their book, ‘The Smart Entrepreneur’, Clarysse and Kiefer claim that ‘Patents are particularly important when your business is not close to market, because the exclusivity afforded by a solid patent can buy you some time by preventing competitors from encroaching on your idea while you develop applications.’ (p.127) The UK Design Council on the other hand suggests to ‘Approach patenting with caution. Multinational cover is expensive and premature filing can do more harm than good’ (www.designcouncil.org.uk). Clarysse and Kiefer admit that ‘…a patent suit can cost $10-15 million and drag on for several years’ (p.93). This beckons the question what is the best IP strategy for a design-led start-up. Clarysse, Kiefer also explain how the lack of complimentary assets can hinder an entrepreneur’s market entry, and how “bottlenecks” in the value chain can be by-passed through focusing on niche markets (Clarysse, Kiefer, 2011, p.72ff). Here Clarysse, Kiefer expand on Teece’s understanding of complimentary assets, which are thought of as the “additional resources and capabilities needed to bring a technology product to market” (Clarysse / Kiefer, 2011, p.80). Back in 1986 Teece analysed how these assets can increase a company’s chance to succeed in the industry. David Teece has further defined appropriability as “the environmental factors… that govern an innovator’s ability to capture the profits generated by an innovation.” (Teece, 1986, p.287) He refers to IP as one of the most important factors in relation to appropriability. In search for an answer to the question whether or not a patent constitutes an effective means for start-ups to overcome competition, this paper will show a range of case studies of award winning British designs including the SEA Interface, a patent-pending platform technology for building pressure-sensitive touch interfaces, Cupris, a smartphone-enabled clinical device that transmits data between patients and healthcare practitioners, Yossarian Lives, a novel metaphor-based database search engine, and Arctica, a highly sustainable ventilation system. The inventors of these technologies will be interviewed in relation to their IP strategy, and in relation to their personal views on the international patenting system. The comparative study of semistructured qualitiative interviews will help identify the best approach to IP protection for design entrepreneurs whose funds are limited. Through reconciling the seemingly opposed views expressed by the Design Council Design Council on the one hand, and Clarysse and Kiefer on the other, this paper will discuss how designers can optimize the form and timing for IP protection for their start-up businesses. The author has previously received a business development award from NESTA (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), and was subsequently involved in the Design London business incubator scheme, which was the birthplace of some of the ventures listed above. He is now studying for PhD at the Department for Service Design at the Royal College of Art in London, UK.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio