Entrepreneurship

China’s richest man says ‘common prosperity’, not ‘wealth gap’ is priority

"Zong only went into business in his 40s, selling fizzy drinks to children and reportedly being so short of cash that he slept under a bridge in Beijing because he could not afford a hotel. But the company he launched, Wahaha, whose name means 'Laughing Child' in Chinese, went on to become China’s third largest soft drinks company, according to Euromonitor International. Zong’s fortune, as estimated by China-based luxury magazine publisher the Hurun Report, makes him the richest person in China and one of the wealthiest in Asia. Zong warned: 'If we had egalitarianism… we wouldn’t have enough to eat.' He called for lower taxes to stimulate investment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina’s richest man says ‘common prosperity’, not ‘wealth gap’ is priority

Still strong Indian demand for gold loans keeping banks interested

"Despite the recent imposition of new restrictions by the Reserve Bank of India on the provision of gold loans, banks and non-banking financial corporations, report continued growth in the sector. And, citizen demand for such loans has two institutions cozying up afresh, by filing applications to open up new centres. India's largest pure play gold mortgage player Muthoot Finance has applied for a banking licence and maintains it can easily launch a commercial lending business with over 2,000 branches. While Muthoot Finance aims to cater to the small towns and villages, IndusInd bank will instead focus on the metros and will cater to self employed individuals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStill strong Indian demand for gold loans keeping banks interested

Jeffrey Tucker: Is There A Viable Alternative To College?

"We are going to see the emergence of more credible one- and two-year alternatives to college. These programs will combine real work experience with rigorous learning and cost a small fraction of college. It can’t work for some professions like law and medicine, mainly because of government controls and guild-like admissions certifications. But in fields like technology, design, and business, this seems like a great idea. Sound good? I know of two such programs now. These programs smash the paradigm that’s been around since after the Second World War. They are the grass growing up in the sidewalk cracks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJeffrey Tucker: Is There A Viable Alternative To College?

Nine Things You Need to Know to Survive the New Economy

"There is a way out. You have to hustle. It's hard. But there's nothing else. You have to choose between being a temp staffer (and I can see this from the front lines) or being an entrepreneur/artist. It's going to sound corny, but you have to stay physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy. You have to work on coming up with ideas every day. You have to be around positive people who love you. You have to be grateful for the abundance you have and invite more into your life. This is not economics. This is the real world and how to survive in it. Not the fantasy land of cubicles and fluorescent lights." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNine Things You Need to Know to Survive the New Economy

Nine Things You Need to Know to Survive the New Economy

"There is a way out. You have to hustle. It's hard. But there's nothing else. You have to choose between being a temp staffer (and I can see this from the front lines) or being an entrepreneur/artist. It's going to sound corny, but you have to stay physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy. You have to work on coming up with ideas every day. You have to be around positive people who love you. You have to be grateful for the abundance you have and invite more into your life. This is not economics. This is the real world and how to survive in it. Not the fantasy land of cubicles and fluorescent lights." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNine Things You Need to Know to Survive the New Economy

Illegal gold mining costs Uganda millions in lost revenue

"As a result of Uganda's central bank deregulating gold sales, local production has increased. The precious metal accounts for 30% of Uganda's export revenue. Illegal mining is having such an impact that experts say it must be stopped in order to shore up revenue collection. A government official said the issue is so alarming that the country exported none of its own gold in April, while Kenya exported 40 kilograms of smuggled Ugandan gold. Some citizens have said police are not responding to calls for them to act on illegal activities. Other reports indicate government officials are profiting from illegal operations through illicit tax collection." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIllegal gold mining costs Uganda millions in lost revenue

Buying Booze With Bitcoins: Yes, I Took One For the Team

"So, it turns out buying electronic cyberbeer is practically indistinguishable from everyday pint purchasing. The only difference was that instead of handing over a tenner or your VISA card, you have to stop sexting or Instagramming the crisps or whatever, and scan a QR code using the Bitcoin wallet app on your smartphone. Yup, not only has Stephen Early found a good use for Bitcoin, he has also managed to do the same for QR codes — formerly a technology with literally no practical applications whatsoever. I can’t be bothered googling who is in charge of the UK’s digital infrastructure but whoever it is, they need to snap this guy up and give him the keys." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBuying Booze With Bitcoins: Yes, I Took One For the Team

‘Synthetic pot’ cases hard to prosecute, but family businesses lose everything anyway

"In March, police raided Dennis and Christie England's shop on the fringes of historic downtown Norman and effectively shut the business down, accusing the pair of selling dangerous synthetic marijuana to the public. Police seemed confident even though XLR-11 — the chemical compound present in the hundreds of grams of synthetic marijuana seized at the Englands' shop in March — wasn't even on Oklahoma's ban substance list. Yet after a June 24 preliminary hearing before a judge in Cleveland County District Court, the case against the couple — who has since lost everything — was dismissed." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Synthetic pot’ cases hard to prosecute, but family businesses lose everything anyway

Vietnamese boat people return as entrepreneurs [2003]

"Once the world knew them as boat people, some 2 million Vietnamese who fled the communist regime in their country, most of them in rickety vessels, paying for their perilous passages with hoarded family gold. Their traumatic odysseys at sea, where they were targeted by pirates and other bandits, made dramatic news for years. Most boat people found a home in the West; 1 million settled in the United States. Now, thousands of those who fled after the Vietnam War ended in 1975 have been drifting back to Vietnam as Viet-kieu (overseas Vietnamese), bringing entrepreneurial know-how, foreign passports and ambition." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVietnamese boat people return as entrepreneurs [2003]

Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik on altcoins, ASICs and bitcoin usability

"'It took the nations of the Eurozone ten years or so to deploy the Euro, and that was introducing an entirely new currency,' he says. 'We’re trying to do the same thing with bitcoin. We’re trying to roll out a currency from scratch. And as the experience with the Euro showed, it takes an incredible amount of time to change over POS systems and cash registers, to train end of line merchant workers with this new payment system.' Garzik believes that this is just the start. If his vision comes true, then maybe bitcoin could be as big as the Euro. Only, you know, without centralized banking and dysfunctional national economies gumming up the works." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin developer Jeff Garzik on altcoins, ASICs and bitcoin usability