Several new startups are utilizing smartphone apps in order to provide dental care remotely. While patients will still have to go to an office for certain types of treatments, the use of smartphone technology will enable patients to cut back on the number of visits.  The goals of these businesses are to reduce costs and expand accessibility. Also, it will be interesting to see how this form of treatment will be treated by policymakers. There is an an obvious concern with quality of care, but also a strong potential for push back from certain lobbying forces.

Tech startups want to go inside your mouth

https://www.forbes.com/sites/elainepofeldt/2014/04/13/opportunity-not-necessity-drives-more-u-s-startups/#550e2344d625

This article, written by Elaine Pofeldt, discusses how the United States has moved away from necessity entrepreneurship and towards opportunity entrepreneurship (perhaps because of economic development). According to Acs’ article, “Opportunity entrepreneurship represents the voluntary nature of participation and necessity entrepreneurship reflects the individual’s perception that such actions presented the best option available for employment.”

Acs uses the opportunity-necessity entrepreneurship ratio as a potential indicator of economic development. Pofeldt mirrors Acs by identifying that though a smaller percentage of the population is starting new businesses, “People who did start businesses in 2013 were more driven by opportunity–rather than necessity–than in recent years.” Pofeldt also includes statistics of who and which industries have experienced and increase in entrepreneurship.

This article reminded me of our discussion last class about what makes a good entrepreneur. We discussed locus of control as being a major factor. This article discusses a study done in Africa that found psychology training made entrepreneurs more successful than business training. I believe this study is important for future education of those interested in pursuing a career in business.

https://www.economist.com/news/business/21729454-among-small-business-owners-togo-least-psychology-beats-business-training-when-it-comes

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chance-the-rapper-grammys-record-deal-independent-artist-unsigned-213355505.html

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/young_lawyers/publications/the_101_201_practice_series/an_overview_of_the_360_deal.html

Pozen’s observation that the traditional, business entrepreneur is today not the only one associated with the definition of “entrepreneur”, is no truer than in the instance of modern day music artists.

Traditionally, musicians signed “360 Deal”s with record labels, where they would be represented by the record label but also contract away a significant portion of their earnings for that representation.

Recently, artists like Chance the Rapper have defied this tradition by remaining record label free–instead preferring to produce and sell their music directly to consumers and without the protection of a brand name company backing them. The spirit behind this move is definitively entrepreneurial– viewing a problem in society/industry and directly addressing it; feeling constrained by set rules and taking efforts to break or go around those rules; paving a new path outside of traditional norms.

This strategy has most certainly paid off. Chance was awarded a Grammy for his chart’s topping streaming success, and other artists like Frank Ocean and Lupe Fiasco have followed his path. Furthermore, Chance has earned a loyal fan base, who support his endeavor by purchasing his merchandise and attending concerts–the two avenues by which he makes the most of his money.

As for how the law is involved in this, the ABA has noticed the impact of this entrepreneurial growth within musicians and advises legal counsel representing artists to “negotiate, negotiate, negotiate” for their client’s interests–signifying that the law is itself adapting and utilizing its means to aid this growth.

 

 

 

I thought this article was interesting for more than just sport fanatics. It describes how 11 different businesses are using technology in innovative ways to not only enter the marketplace, but to also fortify their position as a mainstay in the sport’s world. I was particularly intrigued by the innovations in the Atlanta Braves’ Stadium, the collaboration of Uber and Fanatics, and the new direction taken by TOPPS to ‘revive’ the trading card demand.

Even if Pozen would be correct with his assessment of the motivation that drives most entrepreneurs, stories like this article about the Gates Foundation and the recently started movement “The Giving Pledge” show that an entrepreneur might very well become a philanthropist and become motivated “to give back” once he has become successful.

In contrast to Pozen’s characterization, this article is about 6 entrepreneurs of the newest generation who are eager to give something back to society. The article also briefly writes about the motivation of entrepreneurs, especially those from modest backgrounds, to help others to become successful too.

Somewhat relevant to the Schumpeter article on understanding capitalism in light of an ever-changing market and in light of the effect on the market of new types/qualities of products.  Craft brewers committed to buying too many hops from hops suppliers this past year, because while their estimates were based on previous years’ double-digit growth figures, growth has slowed dramatically this year.  Note more generally some of the facts mentioned in the article about the impact of craft beer on farmers: this wave of brewer-entrepreneurs has changed the worldwide demand for hops and caused acreage devoted to hops in the U.S. to nearly double over the past five years.