Business angels are recognized as playing a key role in financing the start-up and early stages of new ventures. However, our knowledge of how business angels operate remains limited and highly fragmented. This Handbook provides a synthesis of research on business angels. It adopts an international perspective to reflect the spread of angel investing around the world. The increasing number of government initiatives to promote angel investing is also reflected in the book with an assessment of the most common support schemes. Adopting an international focus, the expert group of contributors examine business angels themselves; the evolution of the market; the various stages of the investment process and the role of public policy in influencing angel investment. They each conclude their chapters with an agenda for future research on business angels. Students and scholars of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial finance, and related subjects will find this book to be an invaluable resource to their work.In particular, they will benefit from the research agendas that that concludes each chapter This Handbook will also be of interest to policy-makers and other practitioners looking to enhance their understanding of the design and need for such interventions. Contributors include: F.M. Amatucci, M. Atienza, S. Avdeitchikova, T. Botelho, C. Carpentier, V. Collewaert, L. Hornuf, H. Keinonen, T. Lahti, H. Landstroem, D. Lingelbach, M. Liu, C. Mason, A. Maxwell, D. Politis, G. Romani, W. Scheela, A. Schwienbacher, J.-M. Suret, R. Sorheim, Y. Tan, J. Wang

This unique book is a collection of articles published by the author in leading newspapers around the world. The papers focus on food chains and new concepts and ideas on how to increase competitiveness and value within the food and agricultural sectors.

The book gives a comprehensive description of the food chain and suggests methods and tools that can be used by companies to re-structure their innovative market strategies. It discusses up-to-date trends, world food crises, integrated food chains and strategic planning for companies in the food sector. It also covers international investments and the role of governments in food chains.

The book will motivate readers to rethink how business is conducted in the food chain and proposes new strategies for companies in the food sector. It is a must-read for entrepreneurs and researchers who are active in the food chain network.

This edited volume systematically demonstrates the evolution of research in entrepreneurial ecosystems and highlights its importance to policy. Presenting two particular aspects of research in entrepreneurial ecosystems, the book begins with chapters that analyse multi-country contexts before going on to explore the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem. With state of the art research, this volume explores the economic, social, and policy approaches that characterize fruitful research on entrepreneurial ecosystems with economically meaningful implications for policy. Contributing to the rapidly expanding field of research, this is an insightful resource to students, researchers and policy makers interested in entrepreneurship.

While the US has traditionally been successful in commercialising new technologies, Europe is confronted with an increasing dependency upon fast developing technologies like biotechnology or ICT, despite having some of the best universities in the world. This book will explore the key attributes of commercialising academic knowledge, focusing on spin-offs. Bringing together the visions and best practices used by leading academics and professionals across Europe, Sven H. De Cleyn and Gunter Festel offer new and practical insights on technology transfer in an attempt to resolve the European Paradox. Innovative contributions provide new insights into the special approaches used by European institutes when it comes to fostering and supporting technology transfer activities and the creation of new academic spin-off ventures. This book illustrates the tools they have developed via compelling examples of successful corporate alliances with academic institutes and public research organisations. Practical and insightful, this book will appeal to researchers, policy-makers and educators interested in technology transfer and high-tech entrepreneurship. Investors will also gain from a greater understanding of the benefits of academic spin-offs and technology transfer offices will find a wealth of information to help improve operations for their creation. Contributors include: J. Bauer, M. Brandkamp, M. Cantamessa, S.H. De Cleyn, G. Festel, F.K. Fink, F. Gielen, V.A. Gilsing, M.L. Justesen, M. Keckl, M. Klofsten, F. Kirschenhofer, J. Kratzer, T. Lambertus, H. Lebret, E. Lundmar, U. Mahr, K.V. Moltzen, M. Mrozewski, I.M.M.J. Reymen, A.G.L. Romme, B. Schmalfuss, H. Schoenenberger, R.V. Basaiawmoit, E. van Burg, A. von Matuschka

Economic resilience is an emergent field in the social sciences. In this timely book, key scholars examine how individuals, organisations, regions and nations are affected by internal and external crises, and consider how the ways in which they respond will determine their future growth path. Providing a coherent and clear narrative, Creating Resilient Economies offers a theoretical analysis of resilience and provides guidance to policymakers with regards to fostering more resilient economies and people. It adeptly illustrates how resilience thinking can offer the opportunity to re-frame economic development policy and practice and provides a clear evidence base of the cultural, economic, political and social conditions that shape the adaptability, flexibility and responsiveness to crises in their many forms. Academics and scholars across the social sciences will find this book an enlightening gateway into the subject of economic resilience. Its eminently practical approach will also benefit government policy makers interested in how localities, regions and nations can respond more effectively to crises. Contributors include: D. Bailey, G. Bentley, C. Brooks, C. Brunelle, J. Clark, P. Di Caro, R. Doern, E. Evenhuis, S. Dawley, H. Gong, N. Gray, R. Hassink, R. Huggins, C.K. Monsson, L. Pugalis, J. Simmie, B. Spigel, P. Thompson, A. Townsend, T. Vorley, N. Williams

Business Voyages is not a business fairy tale. Much of it really happened. Don't read this book if you are looking for simple answers and magic formulas. Although the book includes some concepts and techniques anyone should know about people and business, it does not promise success. Business Voyages is problem-oriented, presenting some of the problems encountered by the author and others on their business voyages, while explaining tools and processes anyone can use for analyzing and dealing with inevitable problems that will be encountered in any business world. Business Voyages is also opportunity-oriented, showing the reader how one might embark on a business venture at the right time and place and enjoy the winnings of a successful voyage.

In December of 1963, grief over the recent assassination of President Kennedy gave rise to a heightened sense of urgency to "grab the brass ring now." So it was that on a snowy day in Dallas, a legal secretary looking for a brighter future for herself and her family answered an ad placed by a new company, Mary Kay Cosmetics. In Jackie Brown's brief interview with Mary Kay, she became convinced not only of the company's quality products and the founder's values, but also of the potential in the marketing plan. Here was a company that would reward her hard work and dedication with an executive paycheck Jackie rose through the ranks of Mary Kay Cosmetics as no one else did. Jackie's successes in selling and recruiting laid the foundation for a cosmetics empire and she herself became the gold standard for new recruits. But as the company's achievements spiraled ever higher, Jackie began to see flaws from within. And these were only the first warnings of a breach of trust so great it would start a battle between the two women. This is the story the public has never heard. The real story that fills in the gaps left by other published reports. It is a story of loyalty and betrayal, joy and heartbreak, recognition and disappointment, heady success and depressing failure. Ultimately, it is also a story of tragedy, and Jackie Brown is the only one who can tell it. Author Jackie Brown spent over forty years in the cosmetic business and was president of two cosmetic companies. Now retired, she lives in a small town in Arkansas.

Myrna Skoller relates stories and vignettes of Designer Resale, her most beloved endeavor. It is a true and well-intentioned book which will delight the reader because of its candid and whimsical recounting of past events from her early childhood up to the present time. The story reveals heartwarming tales of her disappointments, accomplishments and a persistent determination to succeed under the most trying circumstances.

This ground-breaking book exposes the myths behind startup success, illuminates the real forces at work and shows how they can be harnessed in your favour. The world isn't a level playing field. Meritocracy is a myth. And if you look at those at the top, you realise that behind every success story is an Unfair Advantage. But that doesn't just mean your parents' wealth or who you know. An Unfair Advantage is any element that gives you an edge over your competition. And we all have one. Drawing on over two decades of hands-on experience, including as the first Marketing Director of Just Eat (a startup now worth over GBP5 billion), the authors show how to identify your own unfair advantages and apply them to any project. Hard work and grit aren't enough, so they explore the importance of money, intelligence, insight, location, education, expertise, status and luck in the journey to success. From Snapchat to Spanx, Oprah to Elon Musk, unfair advantages have shaped the journeys of some of the most successful brands in the world. This book helps you too find the external circumstances and internal strengths to succeed in the world of business and beyond.

This edited volume develops an understanding of the strategies, processes, issues and concerns involved when small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) go international with their local products/services and vice versa. It is a compendium of eighteen selected chapters on the subject, supported by an introductory chapter. The contributions are organized in four parts based on the sub-themes they deal with. The first part, containing the introductory chapter, provides different perspectives on transnational entrepreneurship, returnee entrepreneurship and their linkages with the internationalization process. The subsequent parts have chapters dealing with three sub-themes of the subject - the internal factors (individual and firm-level resources), the external factors (entrepreneurial ecosystem), and the process of organizational transformation and change, respectively, in the context of SME internationalization. Special issues and challenges being faced by SME entrepreneurs in emerging economies have been highlighted in this book, discussing key contemporary issues with regard to internationalization in the three dimensions outlined above. Further, the book explains how an entrepreneur can engineer the transformation of his/her organization into an international SME. This book is a very useful resource for entrepreneurs and policy-makers in general, and for academics and researchers in particular, as it provides an overview of the contemporary research in the critical areas of SME internationalization and transnational entrepreneurship by highlighting the linkages between them with special reference to emerging economies.

The free market system is based on creative ideas: if you have one and know how to sell it, you'll make money. Few people have had more ideas or generated more revenue from them than the author of this book. Confessions of a Compulsive Entrepreneur is a practical, fascinating tale of Bill Tobin, one man who started ten companies, invented many products, holds fifteen patents, waged and won battles against some of the largest corporations in the world and Bill is the guy who figured out how to make money during the birth of the Internet in 1994. Confessions of a Compulsive Entrepreneur is an eye-opening, eye-level account of what it takes to transform dreams into business realities; how to form your idea, fashion it into a workable business, protect it and manage that dream to everyone's benefit; how to protect your assets and family when starting your business. Bill Tobin has been overwhelmingly successful not just once or twice - Bill has created ten separate start-ups to full-fledged business smash-hits. Confessions of a Compulsive Entrepreneur is a hybrid book: part memoir, part tutorial and first-hand historical account of more startups than you will experience in five lifetimes. Personal stories: how Bill rose from being raised in a City Assisted Housing Project in NY City to become Entrepreneur of The Year, how Bill evolved from one idea to the next and many more- are woven with common-sense Lessons Learned. The practice of living an idea and building a business is seen from the inside out, providing a path for you to follow. With his overwhelming experience in successful startups, Bill Tobin is uniquely qualified to share those insights. Above all, this is an important book for tomorrow's entrepreneurs. It's an idea-man's tale of repeated successes despite sometimes outrageous obstacles. Confessions of a Compulsive Entrepreneur shows the path for future idea-people to follow, to forge their future based on their own creations.