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Are You 'Intelligent' Enough to Be an Entrepreneur?

Many people feel that they just aren’t smart enough to be an entrepreneur, yet there seems to be no convincing evidence that a high IQ is a prerequisite for this lifestyle. We all know of successful businesses started by first-time entrepreneurs who dropped out of school, and according to many sources, “street smarts” (experience) tends to trump “book smarts” (intelligence) every time.

Another perspective is that there are in fact multiple types of intelligence, and we all have strengths and weaknesses along all of these scales. It does appear that most successful entrepreneurs are those with the broadest range of interests, skills and experiences (street smarts), while a maximum depth in any given discipline is not so important.

Here are basic definitions for the eight most commonly recognized intelligences that cover the potential of most humans, prioritized by my view of applicability to the entrepreneurial role:

1. Word-smarts (linguistic intelligence)

People with a high linguistic intelligence display a high facility for word usage and languages. They are typically good at communicating ideas, reading, writing and telling stories. Good entrepreneurs need these skills to lead a team, sell ideas to customers and investors and write business plans.

2. People-smarts (interpersonal intelligence)

These attributes are the embodiment of social skills. Entrepreneurs with high social skills interact more effectively with all their constituents. They are able to sense the feelings, motivations and temperaments of others, to enlist their support and negotiate effectively. They love working with people.

3. Self-smarts (intra-personal intelligence)

Intra-personal intelligence is the capacity to understand your own strengths, weaknesses and motivations, and to capitalize on these insights in planning and strategy. Good entrepreneurs must be able to surround themselves with advisors and partners who complement their skills to find satisfaction and happiness.

4. Number-smarts (logical-reasoning intelligence)

Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to calculate, quantify and think logically. Entrepreneurs use strengths in this area to balance their passion for a specific solution and to develop the specific steps and financial resources required for building, rolling out and scaling the business to success.

5. Nature-smarts (naturalist intelligence)

This sort of environmental and cultural insight is deeply rooted in a sensitive, ethical and holistic understanding of the world and its complexities. I believe that good entrepreneurs use this to see new markets first, predict world trends and devise effective marketing campaigns and demographics for focus.

6. Picture-smarts (spatial intelligence)

Spatial intelligence is the ability to think in three dimensions and the ability to visualize with the mind's eye. Core capacities include mental imagery, spatial reasoning and an active imagination. It’s easy to see how this is important for entrepreneurs in marketing, solution design and product branding.

7. Body-smarts (kinesthetic intelligence)

This intelligence involves a sense of timing and the perfection of skills through mind-body coordination. Business entrepreneurs who are also good at invention and building innovative new products are especially strong in this area. Strengths here also lead to leadership presence and public-speaking prowess.

8. Music-smarts (musical intelligence)

Musical intelligence is the capacity to discern pitch, rhythm, timbre and tone. In addition to being key to any business directly or indirectly related to music, this skill help entrepreneurs to be better listeners, orchestrate events and develop marketing programs. Music-smart people also tend to be logical.

In addition to looking at intelligence, every aspiring entrepreneur needs to look at mindset. The mindset that works best is one that sees challenges as exciting rather than threatening, setbacks as learning opportunities and a conviction that effort and perseverance will overcome any obstacle.

If you have that mindset and even a few strengths among the multiple intelligences described above, don’t let anyone, including yourself, tell you that you aren’t smart enough to be an entrepreneur.

Source: entrepreneur.com

Contributor: Martin Zwilling

GIST Tech-I Competition

The Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Tech-I Competition is an annual competition for science and technology entrepreneurs from emerging economies worldwide. Aspiring innovators submit their ideas and startups online in an application consisting of an executive summary and promotional video. Their applications are then reviewed by experts and voted on by the global voting public in order to determine the finalists. Up to thirty finalists receive a trip to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), this year in Silicon Valley, to showcase their ventures and to receive intensive training. GIST Tech-I winners, selected by experts at the GES, win prizes, and receive one-on-one mentorship and training.

Since 2011, innovators from around the globe have showcased their science and technology ventures to the world through GIST Tech-I Competitions. Thousands of expert reviews have taken place and the online voting public has cast over 1 million votes in support of these talented young innovators.

Now is your turn to participate and share your amazing ideas with the world! The GIST Tech-I 2016 application opens December 7, 2015!

Visit:  http://www.gistnetwork.org/tech-i/howtoapply for more information

One-Day-a Pill to Ease the Fear of Hysterectomy

Development in treatment of fibroids could save women from surgery

A one-a-day tablet could ease the fear of hysterectomy and offer the hope of starting a family to thousands of young women blighted by a painful, fertility limiting womb condition. The new development in the treatment of fibroids – non-cancerous blood-filled lumps that grow in or around the uterus – could save them from ever needing surgery.

The drug, Esmya, was approved in 2012 for use to shrink fibroids before surgery to remove them. But a watershed ruling by the European Commission, which follows stunning clinical trial results, means sufferers can now be prescribed Esmya long-term, whether they go on to have surgery or not.Gynaecologists believe it could transform the way uterine fibroids are treated.

Around 40 in every 100 women develop fibroids at some time in their life, most often aged between 30 and 50. Many don’t know they have fibroids until they have a routine gynaecological examination, but for others symptoms may be debilitating – including heavy, long and painful periods, bleeding between periods, a feeling of ‘fullness’ in the lower part of the stomach, pain or discomfort during intercourse, fertility problems and miscarriage.

In some cases growths can be so large they press on nearby organs, such as the bladder, bowel or kidney, causing further complications.The cause of fibroids isn’t known, though they are more common in women who haven’t had children. If symptoms can’t be controlled with medication, fibroids can be removed by keyhole surgery.

Women with large fibroids may undergo a uterine artery embolisation, in which a radiologist blocks the blood vessels that supply the fibroids, causing them to shrink. In the most severe cases a myomectomy – open surgery to remove the fibroids followed by reconstruction of the uterus – or a hysterectomy – complete removal of the uterus – may be carried out. Martin Powell, a consultant gynaecologist at the Nottingham Treatment Centre, said: ‘Prescribing Esmya for long-term control of fibroids gives women a choice. ‘Finally we have a viable treatment that can shrink their fibroids and reduce the bleeding, rather than having to undergo major surgery.It is particularly significant for those women who want children and therefore wish to avoid surgery that could damage their fertility or, in the case of a hysterectomy, prevent them being able to start a family.

Nitu Bajekal, a consultant gynaecologist at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in Hampstead and co-founder of Women For Women’s Health UK, says by not having surgery, patients are avoiding the risk of damage to nearby organs, infections and the need for blood transfusion. 

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Why Attitude Is More Important Than Intelligence

When it comes to success, it’s easy to think that people blessed with brains are inevitably going to leave the rest of us in the dust. But new research from Stanford University will change your mind (and your attitude).

Psychologist Carol Dweck has spent her entire career studying attitude and performance, and her latest study shows that your attitude is a better predictor of your success than your IQ.

Dweck found that people’s core attitudes fall into one of two categories: a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

With a fixed mindset, you believe you are who you are and you cannot change. This creates problems when you’re challenged because anything that appears to be more than you can handle is bound to make you feel hopeless and overwhelmed.

People with a growth mindset believe that they can improve with effort. They outperform those with a fixed mindset, even when they have a lower IQ, because they embrace challenges, treating them as opportunities to learn something new.  

Common sense would suggest that having ability, like being smart, inspires confidence. It does, but only while the going is easy. The deciding factor in life is how you handle setbacks and challenges. People with a growth mindset welcome setbacks with open arms.  

According to Dweck, success in life is all about how you deal with failure. She describes the approach to failure of people with the growth mindset this way,

“Failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, and I’m a problem solver, so I’ll try something else."

Regardless of which side of the chart you fall on, you can make changes and develop a growth mindset. What follows are some strategies that will fine-tune your mindset and help you make certain it’s as growth oriented as possible.

Don’t stay helpless. 

We all hit moments when we feel helpless. The test is how we react to that feeling. We can either learn from it and move forward or let it drag us down. There are countless successful people who would have never made it if they had succumbed to feelings of helplessness: Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas,” Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a TV anchor in Baltimore for being “too emotionally invested in her stories,” Henry Ford had two failed car companies prior to succeeding with Ford, and Steven Spielberg was rejected by USC’s Cinematic Arts School multiple times. Imagine what would have happened if any of these people had a fixed mindset. They would have succumbed to the rejection and given up hope. People with a growth mindset don’t feel helpless because they know that in order to be successful, you need to be willing to fail hard and then bounce right back.

Be passionate.

 Empowered people pursue their passions relentlessly. There’s always going to be someone who’s more naturally talented than you are, but what you lack in talent, you can make up for in passion. Empowered people’s passion is what drives their unrelenting pursuit of excellence. Warren Buffet recommends finding your truest passions using, what he calls, the 5/25 technique: Write down the 25 things that you care about the most. Then, cross out the bottom 20. The remaining 5 are your true passions. Everything else is merely a distraction.

Take action. 

It’s not that people with a growth mindset are able to overcome their fears because they are braver than the rest of us; it’s just that they know fear and anxiety are paralyzing emotions and that the best way to overcome this paralysis is to take action. People with a growth mindset are empowered, and empowered people know that there’s no such thing as a truly perfect moment to move forward. So why wait for one? Taking action turns all your worry and concern about failure into positive, focused energy.

Then go the extra mile (or two) 

Empowered people give it their all, even on their worst days. They’re always pushing themselves to go the extra mile. One of Bruce Lee’s pupils ran three miles every day with him. One day, they were about to hit the three-mile mark when Bruce said, “Let’s do two more.” His pupil was tired and said, “I’ll die if I run two more.” Bruce’s response? “Then do it.” His pupil became so angry that he finished the full five miles. Exhausted and furious, he confronted Bruce about his comment, and Bruce explained it this way: “Quit and you might as well be dead. If you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there; you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

If you aren’t getting a little bit better each day, then you’re most likely getting a little worse—and what kind of life is that?

Expect results

People with a growth mindset know that they’re going to fail from time to time, but they never let that keep them from expecting results. Expecting results keeps you motivated and feeds the cycle of empowerment. After all, if you don’t think you’re going to succeed, then why bother?

Be flexible 

Everyone encounters unanticipated adversity. People with an empowered, growth-oriented mindset embrace adversity as a means for improvement, as opposed to something that holds them back. When an unexpected situation challenges an empowered person, they flex until they get results.

Don't complain when things don't go your way

Complaining is an obvious sign of a fixed mindset. A growth mindset looks for opportunity in everything, so there’s no room for complaints.

Bringing it all together

By keeping track of how you respond to the little things, you can work every day to keep yourself on the right side of the chart above.

Source: www.entrepreneur.com

Contributor: Travis Bradberry (President at TalentSmart)

Juggling a Business and Day Job?

The light-bulb just went off. And now you have a million dollar idea.

Should you quit your day job? The situation varies from individual to individual, but before you put-in your two weeks notice, weigh the pros and cons of launching a business while holding down a full-time job. I had to do this before I quit my job.

The obvious pro of keeping the job is that you’ll have a consistent income. This will help take care of your bills and debts as you put your new business venture into motion. The main concern about keeping your full-time position is that you’re going to run out of time. Spending 40 hours or so per week at your day job doesn’t leave a whole lot of other time to build your business and have a personal life. The good news is that this is temporary. You may have to do this for no more than a year or so.

I had to weigh in these options when I quit my job years ago. I was scared, much like I'm sure you are. I ended up working for almost a year while I was building my side venture. Now, years later, I look back on the time I spent and wish I would have done it sooner. Here are 10 of best ways to launch your business while keeping your job.

1. Take baby steps

There is absolutely no way that you’re going to be able to launch a new business overnight. It’s going to take time - maybe even years. There’s no need to rush in and suddenly devote 40 hours to some nonexistent business on top of your already hectic schedule. Ease into it. Take baby steps. Maybe start with just an hour each night after dinner. Later, add add another hour first thing in the morning.

During the first couple of weeks, you need to figure out the schedule that best suits you. If you’re a morning person, get up early to work on your business instead of just watching the morning news.

Once you have a schedule, stick to it as much as you can. However, keep one thing in mind. You don’t have to spend an exact amount of hours each week, such as 40 hours. If you can maximize your time and accomplish your goals in just in an hour, then you probably don’t have to spend any more time on your business for the night.

2. Don’t burn bridges

Even though you’re launching your own business, you still have certain obligations with your current employer. You still have to be at work everyday on time, complete all of your assignments in a timely manner, and never work on your business on your employer’s dime. This will keep your professional integrity intact. You never know. Your former boss could be a potential client or could even refer you once you’re up and running.

Prior to launching your business, examine documents like non-disclosure agreements and any other employment or assignments agreements that you have signed. If you’re not familiar with the legal jargon, seek the advice of a local startup attorney.

3. Test, test, and test again

Hopefully, you’ve validated your business idea. If not, stop right now to research and test. If no one is going to purchase your product or service, then you’re just wasting your time and money. If you have validated your idea and things look like they’re on the up-and-up, you’re not completely off the hook for testing. Test your business ideas continually to make them stronger, better and more appealing to your target audience.

Ask for feedback from your friends or family. Talk to potential customers wherever and whenever you can. Create a landing page. Ask potential leads to fill out a survey with SurveyMonkey. Build a prototype and showcase it at industry events or film a product demo.

4. Set realistic goals

Think of goals like a road-map. If you've never been in a specific place before, how else do you expect to know where you’re going? It’s common for successful businesses to establish three sets of goals - daily, weekly, and monthly - to help them achieve both short and long-term goals.

Your daily goals should be the items you can cross off you to-do-list, like responding to emails. Weekly goals are slightly larger projects that you probably can’t complete in one day, such as working on the design of your website. Monthly goals are milestone events like launching your website the first month, having any sales at all the third month, quitting your job in the sixth month and hiring your first team member in the ninth month.

5. Invest what you can into your business

One of the best things about keeping your full-time job is that you can use any extra money to invest into your new company. Instead of taking out a huge loan, you can piece together your business plan over the next several months. For example, you can invest in anything from proper research, product development, website development, marketing, and legal counsel while you're still bringing in an income to keep you afloat until your business takes off.

6. Find a co-founder

Launching a new business is serious work. Launching a new business while holding down a full-time job can is brutal. That’s why you should find a co-founder for your startup. Co-founders can bring a different set of skills to the business. Let’s say you’re a good marketer, but don’t have the coding skills to build a website or app. A co-founder with those skills will save you time and money while making you more attractive to investors. Co-founders share the workload and stress, offer a listening ear. They are your brainstorming partner and increase your productivity.

When looking for a co-founder, make sure that they are a good fit for both parties. You can start by taking a look at the scope of your needs. If you’re a strong marketer, do you really need or want another marketer as your partner? You also need to look at their skill level, passion, experience and personality.

While you’re still putting in your 9-5, you should be networking at industry events and searching on sites like Startup Grind, CoFoundersLab and StartupWeekend.

7. Throw away the television

I don’t want you to literally throw away your television. You should, however, limit your distractions. Let’s say that you set aside 7 pm to 10 pm every weeknight for your business. You need to spend that time focusing only on your business. Have a quiet place to work in your home. Turn off your smartphone. Get off of Facebook, when you should be doing influencer outreach. Only do one thing at a time. The research on the multitasking is beginning to show the truth of the matter, that multitasking is a myth. Do one thing at a time. Do the task faster, but just one task at a time.

Removing distractions will boost your productivity so that you can achieve your business launch date.

8. Outsource as much as you can

As you juggle between two jobs, you’re going to quickly realize how valuable your time is. So why waste it on tasks that you could outsource? Maybe you could hire a writer to start churning out content for your blog. Or, you could hire a virtual assistant to help keep you on track, such as book appointments, and respond to emails. There are 53+ million freelancers out there who can help you with pretty much any task imaginable.

Outsourcing will you save time and you’ll also have someone who has a different set of skills. Instead of throwing your keyboard against the wall because you don’t understand a piece of code, you could outsource your web development to someone who has a web development skill.

Sites like Freelancer, Upwork and Elance are good places to start.

9. Start generating revenue

As soon as you make that first dollar, you’ll suddenly realize that this has gone from an idea to a bona fide business. As the dollars keep coming, you can continue to invest even more money back into the business, which in turn means that you’ll be one-step closer to completely going out on your own. I recommend that you re-invest all the money back into the business to make more.

If you are providing a service, you can start consulting on the side since you have the skills to offer to others. If you have product, you can consider taking pre-orders for the product.

10. Family always comes first

Don’t walk in the door and immediately head to your home office. Spend time with your family. Whether it’s eating dinner together, watching a television show, going for a walk or helping the kids with homework, it’s necessary that you have this time with your loved ones. Becoming a business owner is already going to put a strain on your relationships. Don’t make matters worse by being completely absent from the family portrait.

I personally like to set "working" hours that are acceptable to my family. Those hours tend to be in the morning because I find kids don't remember mornings but never forget evenings. Don't let this venture take over your life.

If you’re single, then make sure that you spend quality time with your friends. You need to blow off some steam every now and then. Burnout isn’t going to increase your productivity.

Source: entrepreneur.com

Contributor: John Rampton

How Listening To Your Gut Can Make You a Better Founder

Being a founder of a company is a tricky career path. Unlike the typical corporate-ladder structure, there is no roadmap telling you how to run a company.

1. Burn your security blankets

At the beginning, I sometimes got stuck on a project for too long, because I was too comfortable to admit it wouldn’t work. I ignored data right in front of me. After investing a lot of time, energy and capital, it’s only natural to become attached to a project or idea. You can even convince yourself that you’re doing well when you’re not.

But when you get overly content, you’re not listening to your gut anymore; you’re not even listening to facts. Remain objective. Step back and look at the raw data. What is it telling you? You need passion to make something work, but you also need the intellect to cut bait when it isn’t working.

2. Break open the suggestion box

I started Leadnomics while I was in college, and early on, I could have benefited from some expert direction to guide me through early-stage challenges.

Sometimes, having one person’s instinct in agreement with your own is the push you need to move an idea forward. On the other hand, a questioning voice can help you think differently and save you from a critical mistake. Steer your gut in the right direction by calling on trusted advisers when you need a second opinion.

3. Never betray your instincts

An adviser may have more experience than you in some areas, but that doesn’t mean it’s applicable to every situation you’ll face when launching your business. Scrutinize each adviser’s point of view, background and areas of expertise against your own.

Value others’ opinions and weigh them appropriately, but don’t take them as gospel. You’re the only keeper of your vision, and if the data and your intuition are backing it up, you’re probably right on track.

4. Escape a false sense of productivity

While founding your own business, there are a million ideas and items that can sidetrack you. And it feels good to be busy. After all, busyness signals progress, right? Be careful: a false sense of productivity won’t get you anywhere. What’s more, juggling multiple tasks at once can cost up to 40 percent of your productive time.

Keep your business, and your instincts, on track by setting big goals. Each day, I try to accomplish three smaller steps that are directly in service of my goals and avoid getting roped into projects and conversations that aren’t.

Every day, I’m grateful I followed my gut and launched my company. In entrepreneurship, the risks are yours to bear, but so are the achievements. Make following your passions less scary by always looking to the data, keeping trusted advisers around, setting and celebrating goals and trusting the instincts that guided you in the first place.

Source: entrepreneur.com

Contributor: Zach Robbins (Co-Founder of Leadnomics)

Apply For The Unilever Young Social Entrepreneur Awards 2015

The Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards were launched in 2013 to inspire and support the innovation and creativity of young people who are responding to the greatest global challenges facing us today.

It is one significant way to inspire action—that is why the search is on for young innovators aged 35 or under that have already begun to address the challenges at the heart of the Global Goals.

In partnership with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), and in collaboration with Ashoka, Unilever is looking for innovative and scaleable technologies or initiatives that are contributing to one or more of the eight Global Goals identified as most relevant to their business and entrepreneurs.

This year, seven young entrepreneurs will receive a total of €200,000 in funding and support to help take their sustainable solutions to the next level. The prize package includes funding, customised expert mentoring support, access to an online business development programme, a two-day accelerator workshop at the University of Cambridge, and networking with senior executives and sustainability leaders at Unilever’s headquarters.

One entrepreneur will take home the greatest prize fund and be presented with the HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize at an unforgettable event in London.

If your initiative is already helping people to live more sustainably and is ready to scale up to shape the better future described by the Global Goals, enter today! Help make this the generation that secures the health, safety and future of the planet for everyone on it.

PRIZES TO BE WON

Six finalists will each receive cash prizes of €10,000, along with support and mentorship (worth €10,000).

One winner will receive a €50,000 cash prize and will be awarded the HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize at an event in London in Spring 2016 and €25,000 worth of support and mentoring.

All entrants will benefit from exposure to a range of leading sustainability experts, entrepreneurs and investors during the process, along with recognition via Unilever’s global channels and the networks of the University of Cambridge and Ashoka.

External Link: https://www.changemakers.com/globalgoals2015#competition-pane-1471

How Often Should You Update or Rebuild your Website?

When it comes to updating your business website in a timely manner, the one rule is this: There are no rules. That’s according to Christian Riggs, president of Riggs Creative Group, a user-experience design and website development firm in San Diego. Riggs says that deciding whether to update, redesign or reengineer your site should depend entirely on your business goals, objectives and economic considerations, rather than on some superficial time frame pulled out of thin air. We asked him to explain. 

Q: Why would I redesign the look and feel of my website but not rebuild it?

A: A variety of factors can make a redesign worth considering, but here are several that almost always require an update. You’ve got new branding and color standards, and you need to make sure your new look extends to your website. Your bounce rates are extremely high, meaning people visit but few convert; a well-thought-out redesign can turn this around. Or your business has grown, and plans call for new products and services; your site’s design may need to reflect that change. Last, your customers complain about your site, claiming that it looks outdated or doesn’t work well.

Q: What developments might require me to reengineer my website from scratch?

A: The most important one is if your current site doesn’t adapt to mobile device screens. Fixing this is an absolute must in today’s mobile-driven world. Another would be if your site was originally built using Flash: Apple’s iPads and iPhones don’t support Flash. That’s reason enough to rebuild, but there’s another reason: Flash can slow your site down.

Anyone in your company should be able to learn and use your content management system (CMS) to update your site. You shouldn’t have to hire a programmer to make simple changes and fixes. Along those same lines of keeping things simple: If your site takes forever to load, you need to reengineer the backend. Nobody puts up with long waits anymore.

Q: Should I invite my customers to be part of the redesign process?

A: Yes! Customer opinion and feedback give you the kind of insights that convert visitors into customers. Start by asking what they think of your proposed design and if it appeals to them. Then ask about the problem they’re looking to solve and if the information they need access to is easy to find in the new design. After you relaunch the site, ask them again if they like it. If they say no, address their concerns through incremental design enhancements, which your new site should allow you to do without starting over.

In short, you want to follow the lead of sites like Apple.com and Amazon.com, which rarely undergo complete facelifts. Instead, their sites evolve over time using an iterative process that results in near invisible refinements that have the bonus of maintaining the user experience that customers know and like.

Source: Entrepreneur.com

Contributor: Mikal E. Belicove

Don't Stop Networking

When I ask an audience, “How many of you are here hoping to possibly sell something?” almost everyone raises their hands. When I ask that same audience, “How many of you are here to possibly buy something?” nobody raises their hands. 

Ever. Not one person. 

This is what I call the networking disconnect. Too often, people show up at networking events wanting to sell something but nobody ever goes wanting to buy something. This is how networking can be done badly.

So, it didn’t surprise me when I recently read an article entitled “Stop Networking.” It went on to explain how the process of networking is so “mercenary.” The problem is that every example the author gave about how networking doesn’t work was an example of really bad networking! The conclusion was to stop networking. Instead of networking, the author said you should do these five things:

1. Focus on relationships, not transactions.

2. Don’t ask for something before you give something.

3. Don’t make the process about you.

4. Strive for quality, not quantity, in your relationships.

5. Volunteer for leadership roles in organizations you belong to.

Relationships, not transactions. 

The key for networking events is to make solid connections with individuals so they will remember who you are when you do follow up with them. You want them to be interested to meet with you for coffee or lunch. If you go to networking events with the intention of just trying to sell to people, they won’t want to meet with you later because they know you’re going to pitch to them.

Invest in some social capital. 

If you want people to be eager to meet with you after networking events, the key is to find ways to help them. Think back to the people in my audience. Think about all the relationships that had the possibility of forming and how many of them most likely didn’t. If everyone focused on learning who they could help, as opposed to who they could sell to, imagine the relationships that might have been. Good networking is all about investing in some social capital before asking for a withdrawal.

Be interested, not interesting.  

It’s not all about you. Do you want to make a connection (especially if you are networking up to someone more successful than you)? If so, be interested in what they are doing.  Don’t pitch them the moment you meet them. But wait, it never hurts to ask, right? Wrong!  Contrary to popular belief, it is does hurt to ask for business before there’s any kind of relationship.

Quality over quantity. 

The only thing more important than the size of your network is the quality of your network. It’s a people puzzle, not a numbers game. It’s about finding out about the people you’re meeting with. It’s not about collecting as many cards as you can. If your network is a mile wide and an inch deep, you’ll never have a powerful personal network at your disposal.

Become engaged in the groups you belong to. 

If you really want to stand out in a network, volunteer and become a leader in it. It is amazing how much exposure you can receive when you are helping to run a group that you are active in. However, remember two things. First, just being a leader doesn’t mean you’ll get business. At some point, when you have developed a relationship, you do have to let people know that you’d like to do business with them. Second, whatever you do, don’t step down from a leadership role and then immediately quit the group. That really makes it look like you were there for only one reason (and the wrong one at that). Being a leader in a group is about giving back. The secondary benefit is that you can build great credibility.

Source: entrepreneur.com

Contributor: Ivan Misner

Use Technology to Foster Collaboration in Your Office

Avoiding a generational divide in the workplace requires a systemic approach to collaboration, one that values inputs from all, appreciates and respects the contributions of everyone, is seamless to the business and is easy to use.

The processes needed to build out a more collaborative office don’t necessarily change from what you have experienced in the past, but the tools and technology that enable collaboration certainly have.  

Make use of new -- and old -- interfaces.

The advent of new technologies has opened the office up to collaboration that extends beyond a simple phone call or email. New interfaces allow for instant video chat. Twitter feeds and hash tags can be built in support of new projects or products. Interactive and cloud-based guides can allow planners to adjust in the moment and send out instantaneous updates to all affected parties.

As technologies continue to advance, so does the opportunity to collaborate more effectively in the workplace. That said, there’s still nothing better than true, face-to-face communication. The new technologies shouldn’t be seen as tools that subvert traditional communication patterns, but rather as ways to complement them. 

You don't have to be a tech wizard.

Less technical employees need not to worry. Technologies available to us that can help extend collaboration efforts are fairly intuitive. The idea of the millennial as a technical wizard, in most cases, is really less about them being highly technical and more about the technologies being highly intuitive. The interfaces have become simple. It’s just a matter of practice. Hand a 3-year-old an iPad and watch with amazement how easily they can navigate the device.

The new collaboration tools in the market make using their technology simple. Take the new start-up, High Five. They promise to simplify the way we interact with one another at work. Still in beta-testing, High Five promises to disrupt the existing collaboration tool set in our workplace. Imagine emails, instant messaging and video conferencing all in one easy-to-use interface that requires little more than knowing a URL and having an understanding of how to plug in a USB cord.  

This type of technology is simple and easy to use. It’s a way to bring collaboration to the forefront of all that you do in the workplace, and it’s critical to how we can collaborate across generations, in a seamless, easy-to-use way. Technology continues to change our landscape, but it’s not enough to just implement the tools and walk away.  

Establish protocol to embed new technology.

Building a collaborative work environment requires the right processes and the right people. It’s easy to make assumptions about technology as the saving grace and in many cases it can be, but it’s not simply enough to put technology in place and walk away from the structural support needed to embed the technology into the culture of the organization. 

Establishing clear processes and protocol for how interactions happen and encouraging employees to set ground rules for one another about how they prefer to collaborate is a first step. As you certainly know, not everyone chooses to collaborate in the same manner. Some people prefer face-to-face meetings to discuss any relevant issues, and others would prefer to be left alone and handle all communications through email and / or text messaging. 

Evaluate performance expectations and rewards

Looking at your policies in regards to performance expectations and rewards can also help foster collaboration across generations. There’s a lot of wisdom and knowledge embedded in organizations, only most of it is hidden from view. Most of it becomes tribal knowledge, learned by doing, failing, and doing again.

When the boomer generation walks out the door for retirement, how much of their tribal knowledge has been passed down to the younger generations? Are you actively working to collect what they know, are you encouraging them to share it? There are tools that can help you do this. 

Collaboration is key to working across generations, and new intuitive technologies can simplify how we collaborate with one another, but they’re only effective if you have the policies, processes and people in place to make them work. Buying new technology in the hopes of making your workplace more collaborative without appropriate structural support is like flushing money down a toilet.

Put the right support in place and watch the collaboration grow. It’s not rocket science, but it certainly takes time and effort to make it happen.  

Contributor: Curtis Odom

Source: Entrepreneur.com

InspireIT Dilapidated Lab Project:Help Raise Funds on GoFundMe Website

Many secondary school science labs in Africa are in very bad conditions. 

Let us help and renovate these science labs including getting new science equipment.

Please donate, no matter how little. I will be very grateful.

I'm raising money for InspireIT Dilapidated Lab Project. Click to Donate: https://gofund.me/9jbobw?pc=tw_cr_n … via @gofundme

Airbnb Co-Founder: If Rejection Slows You Down, Entrepreneurship Isn't For You

When Airbnb was first shopping its idea to investors five years ago, it faced a lot of skepticism. Today, even as valuations of the apartment-sharing company hover around $10 billion, Airbnb is still pushing against a wall of naysayers. The San Francisco-based startup is in the midst of legal battles with the State of New York and its CEO has recently had to answer for wild orgies happening in rented apartments.

If Airbnb's founders had perfectly thought through every single scenario and unintended consequence of having strangers rent accommodations from each other, they probably wouldn't have entertained the business idea for more than half a beer. But determination is what makes a successful entrepreneur, above all else, says Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk. If you wait for perfection, you will miss some epic opportunities.

Success as an entrepreneur is “less about the idea and more about the person,” Blecharczyk told an audience at a conference on the sharing economy at New York University’s Stern School of Business last week. “All along the way, people said, ‘No, this isn’t going to work, don’t do this.’”

Some investors that Blecharczyk and his partners Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia approached in their early days walked out halfway through the meeting. “I remember going to somebody who we respected, pitching them about what we were doing, and he said, ‘Ah, I hope that’s not the only thing you are working on.’”

Five years later, Airbnb – for all its controversy – is seen as a missed opportunity by some investors. One of the premier venture capital firms in the U.S., Union Square Ventures in New York City, was approached by Airbnb when the founders had graduated from the Y Combinator accelerator program. The founders had run short on cash and were desperately searching for backers. Unable to come up with any funds from investors, the Airbnb cofounders bought a bulk supply of generic Cheerios, put the cereal in boxes labeled “Obama-Os” and “Cap’n McCains” in honor of the presidential election happening at the time and charged $40 a box. The Obama-Os were more popular and so the co-founders ate the remaining Cap’n McCains to save on food money.

Fred Wilson, co-founder of Union Square Ventures, still has a box of the Obama-Os sitting on a mantle in his conference room. “We couldn't wrap our heads around air mattresses on the living room floors as the next hotel room and did not chase the deal. Others saw the amazing team that we saw, funded them, and the rest is history,” wrote Wilson of his investing blunder. “We missed Airbnb even though we loved the team. Big mistake. The cereal box will remain in our conference room as a warning not to make that mistake again.”  

Wilson wasn’t the only investor to miss the Airbnb boat. Luke Williams, the executive director at the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at NYU Stern, said that 15 A-list venture capitalists all listened to Airbnb's pitch and declined to invest.

Since those early days of constant rejection, Airbnb’s growth has been exponential. In the first four years, Airbnb served 4 million guests. In its fifth year alone, it served 7 million guests.

Still, despite Airbnb’s international success, there are still loads of doubters and countless hurdles for the company to navigate. Regulators struggle to define how to classify Airbnb guests and income for tax and rental purposes. Blecharczyk recognizes that there are issues to be worked out, but says that if they had waited to have all of the pitfalls bridged over before launch, a tremendous amount of benefit would have been forfeited at the feet of hesitation.

“Sometimes there is an expectation that all these problems should already be solved, and you just can’t do everything at once. We are certainly very eager to address them as quickly as possible,” said Blecharczyk.

Rather than a “No, don’t do that” attitude, entrepreneurs need to have a “Yes, but please come up with a solution” attitude, he says. And he argues that regulators and city officials should, too. “We should be looking forward and asking ourselves what kind of future do we want to create.”

Blecharczyk is determined to create a future that he himself wants to live in. Even as the co-founder of a company with a valuation in the billions, NYU's staff was unable to convince Blecharczyk to let them book him a hotel for the conference; he only makes arrangements through Airbnb. “I have spent most nights this year living on Airbnb," he says.

Source: entrepreneur.com

The Indigenous Game: Sango Run

Sango Run is a 3D runner game, developed by 24 year old Emmanuel Omene. The game is Nigeria's first infinite runner.

The game can be found on Google Play Store, MTN App Store and Airtel App Store.

Nigerian Student Builds Fully Functional Artificial Intelligence Robot In Sri Lanka

A twenty-four year old Nigerian, Bobai Ephraim Kato, has built a fully functional artificial intelligence robot for his final year project at the International College of Business and Technology (ICBT) in Sri Lanka. While he developed an interest in computing and technology early,  initially he wanted to be a doctor.

After his secondary school education in 2009, he wrote JAMB exams twice trying to get into Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria to study medicine, but was not admitted. He couldn’t get into the remedial school at ABU, and Kaduna State University (KASU) did not accept him either. It was not until he started a program at KASU’s remedial school that opportunity presented itself through the NIIT (National Institute of Information Technology) scholarship exam. Kato’s success story took shape over the next four years as he eventually ended up in Sri Lanka and studied Software Engineering.

Kato admits that the idea of artificial intelligence was random. The knowledge he gained from previous classes on Artificial Intelligence Systems set the pace for his work with the robot. His first work with Artificial Intelligence was “Wine Quality Test”, a piece of software which uses artificial intelligence to determine the quality of wine. When the directive came to his class to create software that uses Artificial Intelligence for predictions and solutions, he couldn’t think of anything. It was not until he did some research that the idea of a robot, which could solve puzzles struck him.

A Nigerian Software Engineering student, Kato personally built and developed the algorithm that enabled the robot to solve a Rubik’s Cube in a matter of minutes – a feat he admits to have never achieved himself. Kato, who hails from the Atyap tribe in Kaduna claims that his journey to success was not smooth, as he had to deal with a lot of failures in the course of his project and an unimpressed supervisor.

“My first 5 tests were a failure. The robot always shot a scanning error, and this was a week to my final submission. All I could do was pray. I didn’t know what to do again. I was confused and restless. I kept grinding and it finally started working. At that stage, the robot wasn’t intelligent enough and I had to train it to solve many puzzles to get more skills to save in the database.”

Kato spent two nights building the robot. After construction, he installed the software which served as the brain into a memory card for testing. A week to Kato’s final submission, the robot was still not functional. It took six tries to get the robot to work, and then a few days to increase its intelligence quotient. It was hard work for Kato, as he could not solve the Rubik’s Cube himself.

Kato claims that there isn’t a lot opportunity in Nigeria, but it is the responsibility of the populace to create opportunity. He also believes that the country can get rid of terrorism if they employ savvy and sincere individuals to man digital investigation, cyber security and forensic computing.

In the spirit of giving back, his new focus is on forensic computing, cyber security, and digital investigation, which he hopes to put to full use when he goes back to Nigeria.

“I’m happy to return back to Nigeria as a Cyber Security and Digital forensic Tech,” he says. “If anything, that’s what Nigeria needs more. We need people who are savvy and sincere in Digital Investigation, Cyber Security and Forensic computing.”

Source: Ventures Africa

Tanzanian low-cost water filter wins innovation prize

A water filter which absorbs anything from copper and fluoride to bacteria, viruses and pesticides has won a prestigious African innovation prize.

Its inventor, Tanzanian chemical engineer Askwar Hilonga, uses nanotechnology and sand to clean water.

He told the BBC his invention should help the 70% of households in Tanzania that do not have clean drinking water.

The prize, worth £25,000 ($38,348), was the first of its kind from the UK's Royal Academy of Engineering.

Head Judge Malcolm Brinded said, "His innovation could change the lives of many Africans, and people all over the world."

The sand-based water filter that cleans contaminated drinking water using nanotechnology has already been trademarked.

"I put water through sand to trap debris and bacteria," Mr Hilonga told the BBC's Newsday programme about the filter.

"But sand cannot remove contaminants like fluoride and other heavy metals so I put them through nano materials to remove chemical contaminants." He said that before one filter costs $130 but, after winning the £25,000, he will buy materials in bulk and the cost will reduce.

"For people who cannot afford water filters, we have established water stations where people come and buy water at a very very low, affordable price," he added.

Mr Hilonga explains on his YouTube video from 2014 that other resins can remove up to 97% of micro-organisms but his target was to produce nano-filter "that can 99.999% of micro organisms, bacteria and viruses".

His family regularly suffered from water-borne diseases growing up in rural Tanzania, so when he graduated from his PhD in nanotechnology in South Korea he started looking at nano materials that would be suitable for water purification, he told Technology4Change.

The Royal Academy of Engineering aims to help sub-Saharan African engineers to develop solutions to African challenges into businesses.

Mr Hilonga and the three runners-up, who received £10,000 each, have already spent six months developing a business plan.

Source: bbc.com

Apple Watch Credited With Saving Life: What Conditions Can It Detect?

A Massachusetts teen says the Apple Watch saved his life, by alerting him that his heart rate was much higher than normal, leading to a diagnosis of a life-threatening condition. Experts say the gadget — and similar devices — could potentially detect alterations in people's heart rates that might be a sign of health problems.

Paul Houle Jr., a high school senior, said he felt back pain after two football practices on the same day, but he didn't think much of it, according to Huffington Post. However, he later noticed his Apple Watch revealed that his heart rate was 145 beats per minute — about double his normal rate. Although he thought the watch might be broken, Houle told his athletic trainer, and after an exam, was taken to the emergency room.

Houle was later diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which muscles release a protein that damages the kidneys and other organs, and can cause a rapid heart rate. Houle had suffered damage to his kidneys, heart and liver.

"Doctors told me that if I had not said anything and [had] gone to practice the next day, I very easily could have died," Houle told the Huffington Post.

It's important to note that the Apple Watch is not a medical device, and cannot be used to diagnose heart conditions. But because the device monitors heart rate, it could potentially alert people to a health problem that should be evaluated, said Dr. Allen Taylor, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

"Heart rate is a general signal for how much stress your body's under," Taylor said. The stress could be due to exercise, mental stress or an illness, he said.

Like a fever, a high heart rate could be a symptom of many conditions, and so it cannot be used for a diagnosis by itself, Taylor said. But "For certain conditions, [if] patients find their heart rates running faster, it could alert them to say 'something's not right here,'" Taylor said.

Other conditions that might be detected by a heart rate monitor include:

• Atrial fibrillation, or an erratic heartbeat, might be detected by a heart rate monitor, Taylor said. An episode of erratic heartbeat can last for seconds, minutes or days, and the symptom isn't always present when a patient goes to the doctor. That's why self-detection of the condition can be important, Taylor said.
• Anemia, or a low red blood cell count. This condition can cause problems with the heart's electrical impulses and lead to a faster-than-normal heartbeat, according to the Mayo Clinic.
• Overactive thyroid. When the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone, this can also interfere with the heart's electrical activity and lead to a fast heart rate, even one of more than 100 beats per minute, the Mayo Clinic says.

A heart rate monitor might also be useful for patients who are taking medications to prevent a rapid or erratic heart rate, so that doctors could see if the medications are working, Taylor said.

Dr. Ragavendra Baliga, a cardiologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, noted that a new app for the Apple Watch, called AirStrip, can allow doctors to view patients' vital signs, including their heart rates. For people with heart failure, which can cause a rapid heart rate, doctors could use AirStrip to make adjustments to the patient's medications, Baliga said.

However, it's also possible that some patients might be overly assured by monitoring their heart rates, and believe that nothing is wrong if they have a normal heart rate, Taylor said.

"A normal heart rate doesn't mean you're not sick," Taylor said. For example, a heart rate monitor can't detect if you're having a heart attack.

Still, overall, wearables have the potential to empower patients to think about their health in news ways, Taylor said. "Whether it's detecting conditions early, or whether it's monitoring conditions, or whether it's just having grater self-awareness of their health …There're so many potential advantages" to wearables, he said.

Source: livescience.com

Scientists May Have Discovered a Cure for Blindness

When Wayne State University researcher Dr. Zhou-Hua Pan placed a light-sensitive green algae protein into blind mice in 2006, he was amazed to find that it restored the subjects' vision almost immediately. Fast forward to 2015, the year of many great things, and that protein is now the subject of a forthcoming set of human trials aimed at unveiling a potential cure for blindness in humans.

RetroSense Therapeutics, the company who leased the research from Dr. Zhou-Hua Pan and recently received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to administer human trials, is expected to begin testing the protein on 15 patients by the end of the year. 

According to Singularity Hub, channelrhodopsin-2 is the same "magical switch" protein already famous for its ability to "turn a gentle mouse aggressive, shut down obsessive grooming behavior, and implant false memories in unsuspecting mice."

The protein is placed directly into the retina using gene therapy, allowing the rod-and-cone system to be bypassed entirely and giving the eye's ganglion cells the ability to sense light on their own. Though some levels of colorblindness may persist even with successful implementation of the forthcoming human trials, some researchers speculate that the human brain could potentially make adjustments in order to counteract the color loss.

Source: complex.com

Mistakes That Hold All Great Ideas Back

Getting backers for your ideas takes energy and creativity. But it also takes a little bit of self-awareness. Sheer volume alone won’t help push your project forward. Success isn’t a numbers game. It’s about developing a feedback mechanism where you learn from each conversation you have and then refine each pitch as you go.

To help you devise that feedback mechanism I’m going to do a deeper dive and share some of the common mistakes people unknowingly make and 7 strategies that will help you overcome them. I’ve tested these strategies out with engineers who were looking to lead projects, founders who were looking to raise money from investors, and even entry-level employees looking to get their first job!

1. It’s not about you. I’ve noticed that many people just sit down and start talking about themselves, and what they need. They don’t take the time to thank the other person for their time, and get to know what their interests are. Start by giving the other person 3-5 minutes. Let them speak and share their background.

Here’s a simple script you can use:

“Thanks for taking the time to meet with me. Before I dive into telling you about myself and what I’m working on, I’d like to get to know. I know you’ve done a lot, but I’d like to know what your current interests are and what you’re working on?”

This may lead them off-topic, but it will clear their mind. You’ll notice that they’ll put their cell phone down and that they’ll pause to reflect and then speak. They’ll open up to you, because you asked them to. They’ll also tell you something you can use to persuade them: what matters to them and what doesn’t.

2. Talk vision, not skills. Pitches are about possibilities. I’ve come across many engineers who say, “Oh I’m a Ruby on Rails developer.” Instantly the person on the other ends think, “Oh too bad I was looking for a Python developer, moving on…” The engineer should have instead said, “I’m a backend engineer, who has built web applications for growth stage startups. I pick up new frameworks pretty quickly. In fact, here’s an example of a time I had to learn iOS within a weekend for a hackathon…”

3. Offer unique expertise. If you are a domain expert, highlight that, and give clear examples. Think about your own experiences and how that has led to you have a particular expertise.

I just met with a founder yesterday, who told me that everyone on his founding team had worked for at least one of the competitors. Talk about unfair advantage!

And if, after reflection, you find you truly don’t have any unique expertise to offer, consider this your wakeup call. Go out and find something that only you can offer so you – and your ideas – are truly irreplaceable.

4. Build trust. I cannot emphasize this point enough. People are concerned about their ass being on the line if they back you in any capacity: hiring, financing your idea, even working with or for you. So you need to take the time to mitigate any concerns they have about risk.

Luckily, trust is built in a number of ways. You can have a set of referral customers, highlight where you went to school, past employers who are reputable, tell them about awards you’ve received and showcase things you’ve built. Even writing and speaking builds trust.

My best backers show up to a meeting or call having googled me, read a post, or watched one of my YouTube videos. They already have a solid impression of me before I’m in front of them!

5. Call out the competition. If you’re doing something that everyone else is doing that is OK. It’s not about being original, it’s about how you’re better than the other person, and better also means highlighting how you’re different.

For example, when I was hiring an editor last year for my first book, I met with a handful of editors. Most told me: I do grammar edits, I cost $75/hour, and my turnaround time is usually 48 hours.

The editor that I ended up hiring took the time to tell me how she was different. She explained her process, she asked me questions about my audience, and she even gave me a sample edit of a chapter so I could get a taste of what the finished product would look like. It was a no-brainer for me to choose to hire her versus the pool of candidates who all sounded the same.

6. Plan – but experiment, too. Clear visions are important, but you also need to bring it down to reality. Show how you are going execute. It’s OK to present people with a plan, and make it specific, and acknowledge how that plan might evolve or change. It shows great foresight.

7. Explain the urgency.  Don’t end the meeting wishy washy. Tell them why you need their backing now, not five years from now. When someone isn’t interested, ask for intros for others. Just because they aren’t interested doesn’t mean their friends won’t be.

I had an investor who once didn’t understand my space, he referred me to his friend. His friend was psyched after our meeting, invested, and then convinced the original investor to put in capital along with another. Interesting things happen when you ask.

8. Practice, Practice, Practice. If they aren’t asking to follow up or asking insightful questions, then they aren’t interested. This is not a sign of failure. This is another step closer to your turning point. You edge closer with each request as long as you stay self-aware and read their cues. Ask for feedback, process it and address what you think is relevant to future meetings. Commitment to this strategy will help bring your project to life.

Source:  Poornima Vijayashanker (Founder of Femgineer)

High-tech vest that could protect workers and rescue personnel from highway hazards

Researchers hope to cut roadside dangers by using ever-shrinking radio sensors, GPS tracking, and connected vehicle technology to link highway workers to an alert network. 

Working at a construction site is loud, dirty, and often dangerous. Roadside construction workers deal with the added risk of being struck by car or truck as it passes through a work zone, its driver unaware or ignoring flags, cones, or other warnings.

Fatalities happen: 579 people were killed in highway work-zone related incidents in 2013, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

Virginia Tech researchers want to cut that statistic by combining ever-shrinking radio sensors that construction workers can wear on or inside vests with connected vehicle technology that allows cars to "talk" to one another, roadside infrastructure, and personal electronics such as mobile phones.

The idea: If a collision is about to occur between a vehicle and a worker, the vest can warn the worker in a matter of seconds, thus saving a life. Likewise, the motorist will receive a dashboard notification. The instantaneous alert is possible by short-range communication.

"Any warning we can give them is better than no warning at all," said Kristen Hines of Clarksville, Tennessee, and a doctoral student with the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who is helping lead the combined effort of the College of Engineering and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

The InZoneAlert vest has seen numerous changes in its design and intended use. As of 2014, the vest portion of the alert system -- which incorporates GPS tracking -- had evolved from that of a backpack-sized apparatus to the size of a cell phone. New incarnations could shrink it to the size of a pack of gum.

The vest or similar clothing with GPS-oriented dedicated short-range radio could have wide-ranging uses.

"There are a lot of roadside workers who are not necessarily on construction sites who could benefit from such a warning," said Tom Martin, a professor with the College of Engineering who researches "smart" clothing -- that is, wearable items with woven-in electronic components that can provide data such as a person's movements. "There are folks monitoring the status of interstates, policemen [and] first responders. Anyone who has to be out on the interstate with passing vehicles could benefit from an individualized warning."

Martin started the effort in 2013 with then-doctoral student Jason Forsyth, who graduated in 2015 with a doctorate in computer engineering and is on faculty at York College in Pennsylvania.

The team wants to make the InZoneAlert vest user-friendly, part of a worker's established uniform or equipment. The alert itself also must be distinct but not jarring.

"We don't want to add to their cognitive load," said Martin. "We don't want to give them false alarms. We just want to give them a few seconds notice to know that someone is coming toward them and then give them a chance to get out of the way."

In early tests of the InZoneAlert system, Martin said predictions for potential vehicle-worker conflicts met a 90 percent success rate.

Various alerts are being tested and must work within a loud, tough, dirty, and busy construction site.

"One possible way to get over that challenge is to use other things that the worker is using," said Hines. "Let's take the hearing protection for example. The auditory alert could be placed inside of the hearing protection in a work zone, which means that it can always be heard over everything. Another possible way is to include other alerting methods, such as tactile alerts that use a person's sense of touch. This ranges from vibrations or your clothing suddenly shrinking on you [or] cuffs compressing."

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute will test the vest in real-world demonstrations that involve highway-speed traffic. The institute already is spearheading work on vehicle-to-vehicle to vehicle-to-infrastructure communication at the Virginia Smart Road in Blacksburg, as well as the Interstate 64 corridor near Fairfax, Virginia. Closed-course tests would occur on the Smart Road.

"We have been simulating the concept in demos done on the Smart Road along with other applications such as animal detection, collision avoidance, etc.," said Andy Alden, a researcher with the institute.

Funding for the project has so far comes from inside the College of Engineering, transportation institute, and Virginia Tech's Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, the latter of which Martin is associate director. The researchers are seeking support from the federal and Virginia units of the Department of Transportation.

"Roadside deaths are a major problem and the advent of connected vehicle [technology] has opened up new opportunities for a technical solution that will save lives," said Alden, adding that with proper investment, the vest could start appearing along highways within five years.

Source:Virginia Tech 2015