Entrepreneurship

Three Telling Stories, One Disruptive Company

"FreedomPop is different. It’s aimed at providing wireless Internet access for free. More specifically, its so-called Freemium service gives consumers the first 500 MB free. Once you have the physical product, there are no contracts and no bills. It’s just free. You can use it to turn your iPod into an iPhone or facetime by setting up an internet hot spot… for free. All you need to sign up is get a 4G USB stick, or a variety of other hardware pieces, and you can set up your own hotspot wherever you go. No more Comcast… or hammers. Within the next few months, FreedomPop will begin selling refurbished phones." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Still Grappling With Slowdown

"Mt. Gox has seen U.S.-dollar denominated trading volume fall, and has struggled to keep up with customer requests for their money. In June, it temporarily halted U.S. dollar-denominated withdrawals. In July, it announced that it had resumed withdrawals, but acknowledged it hasn’t been able to process them as fast as it would like. Several customers have contacted MoneyBeat describing the trouble they’ve experienced since in getting funds out of Mt. Gox. The company essentially said the problem lies not with itself, but with the financial system outside of virtual currencies. All of this has resulted in a less liquid market for bitcoin trading." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Still Grappling With Slowdown

Ride-sharing companies like Uber may lose ‘bandit cab’ stigma in California

"The draft rules to govern companies that already operate under such names as Lyft, SideCar and Uber, allowing passengers to electronically hail rides through smartphone applications, were unveiled by the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Among the proposed regulations are requirements for ride-share operators to obtain a license with the PUC to do business in California, to submit their drivers to criminal background checks and to carry liability insurance of at least $1 million per incident. Taxi drivers registered their disapproval by staging a noisy demonstration against the ride-sharing services on Tuesday, circling San Francisco City Hall in their cabs." Continue reading →

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Washington, D.C.’s First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens Blocks From Capitol

"Warren's purchase came 15 years after nearly 70 percent of residents of the nation's capital passed a ballot measure allowing the drug for prescription medical use. Congress repeatedly blocked implementation until 2009, and the city council moved forward with a unanimous vote to allow doctors to prescribe pot for certain chronically ill patients. Now, the city has licensed three dispensaries to sell pot and six cultivation centers to grow the plants. Capital City Care executives said they hoped D.C.'s strict regulations, allowing only patients with HIV, AIDS, glaucoma, severe muscle spasms and cancer to receive medical marijuana, will spare them from federal prosecution." Continue reading →

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Heart Surgery in India for $1,583 Costs $106,385 in U.S.

"Devi Shetty is obsessed with making heart surgery affordable for millions of Indians. On his office desk are photographs of two of his heroes: Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi. Shetty is not a public health official motivated by charity. He’s a heart surgeon turned businessman who has started a chain of 21 medical centers around India. By trimming costs with such measures as buying cheaper scrubs and spurning air-conditioning, he has cut the price of artery-clearing coronary bypass surgery to 95,000 rupees ($1,583), half of what it was 20 years ago, and wants to get the price down to $800 within a decade." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHeart Surgery in India for $1,583 Costs $106,385 in U.S.

Cuba looks to medical tourism to entice international visitors

"Drug rehab, post-accident motor skills rehabilitation, treatment for eye diseases and plastic surgery — foreign patients can get all of these services and more in Cuba, and at competitive prices. As the communist government of President Raul Castro seeks to revive the island’s moribund economy, it is turning to medical tourism as a revenue generator. Cuba’s main source of foreign income is the sale of medical services to other countries — legions of doctors and nurses, who are public employees, travel abroad to work following an agreement with the host country. Cuba has the highest number of doctors per resident in the world." Continue reading →

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NYC welfare food is shipped in barrels to the Dominican Republic – then sold on the black market

"New Yorkers on welfare are buying food with their benefit cards and shipping it in blue barrels to poor relatives in the Caribbean. But not everyone is giving the taxpayer-funded fare to starving children abroad. The Post last week found two people hawking barrels of American products for a profit on the streets of Santiago. 'It’s a really easy way to make money, and it doesn’t cost me anything,' a seller named Maria-Teresa said Friday. She said her sister has Bronx grocers ring up bogus $250 transactions with her EBT card. In exchange, the stores hand her $200 cash and pocket the rest. No goods are exchanged." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYC welfare food is shipped in barrels to the Dominican Republic – then sold on the black market

Does the Internet Have a Libertarian Future? Interview With Paul Rosenberg

"The entire Internet is kind of being — it’s kind of a re-conquest that’s going on. It got out of control. They weren’t expecting it. The roots actually go back to Sputnik when they essentially scared the people in power in the United States. And they kind of let the smart guys loose — and that’s not exactly an absolutely correct explanation but it’s kind of true — and the Internet grew out of it. And nobody saw it coming outside of a couple sci-fi authors. Just a couple. And it got out of control and they’re essentially taking it back. So we have a lot of problems with that. In terms of avoiding the problems, it can definitely be done. Our company does it." Continue reading →

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New York offers latest luxury: Five-star ‘outdoor bedroom’ atop skyscraper

"In the concrete jungle of New York City, where open sky can be hard to find, the latest luxury offering is a night under the stars — or, under twinkling city lights, at least. For the not-so-insignificant price of $1,995 (1,500 euros) a night, the AKA Central Park promises a five star 'outdoor bedroom,' 17 floors up, complete with a queen-size bed, candle-lit dinner, fireplace, romantic snacks, and a giant telescope to admire the stars in the city that never sleeps. To the strains of live jazz guitar, Brazilians, Australians, Emiratis, and even New Yorkers spend the night doing what travel agents call urban 'glamping' — short for 'glamorous camping.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew York offers latest luxury: Five-star ‘outdoor bedroom’ atop skyscraper