Perfect Marriage Of Form And Function.

Cereal Entrepreneurs: breakfast is served!

Follow me at Smart $ Guides.

10 “Spinoffs of Tomorrow” You Can License for Your Business

The job of the our Technology Transfer Program is pretty straight-forward – bring NASA technology down to Earth. But, what does that actually mean? We’re glad you asked! We transfer the cool inventions NASA scientists develop for missions and license them to American businesses and entrepreneurs. And that is where the magic happens: those business-savvy licensees then create goods and products using our NASA tech. Once it hits the market, it becomes a “NASA Spinoff.”

If you’re imagining that sounds like a nightmare of paperwork and bureaucracy, think again. Our new automated “ATLAS” system helps you license your tech in no time — online and without any confusing forms or jargon.

So, sit back and browse this list of NASA tech ripe for the picking (well, licensing.) When you find something you like, follow the links below to apply for a license today! You can also browse the rest of our patent portfolio - full of hundreds of available technologies – by visiting technology.nasa.gov.

1. Soil Remediation with Plant-Fungal Combinations

Ahh, fungus. It’s fun to say and fun to eat—if you are a mushroom fan. But, did you know it can play a crucial role in helping trees grow in contaminated soil? Scientists at our Ames Research Center discovered that a special type of the fungus among us called “Ectomycorrhizal” (or EM for short) can help enhance the growth of trees in areas that have been damaged, such as those from oil spills.

2. Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Lower Drag

When it comes to aircraft, drag can be, well…a drag. Luckily, innovators at our Armstrong Flight Research Center are experimenting with a new wing design that removes adverse yaw (or unwanted twisting) and dramatically increases aircraft efficiency by reducing drag. Known as the “Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Lower Drag (PRANDTL-D)” wing, this design addresses integrated bending moments and lift to achieve drag reduction.

3. Advancements in Nanomaterials

What do aircraft, batteries, and furniture have in common? They can ALL be improved with our nanomaterials.  Nanomaterials are very tiny materials that often have unique optical, electrical and mechanical properties. Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed a suite of materials and methods to optimize the performance of nanomaterials by making them tougher and easier to process. This useful stuff can also help electronics, fuel cells and textiles.

4. Green Precision Cleaning

Industrial cleaning is hard work. It can also be expensive when you have to bring in chemicals to get things squeaky. Enter “Green Precision Cleaning,” which uses the nitrogen bubbles in water instead. The bubbles act as a scrubbing agent to clean equipment. Goddard Space Flight Center scientists developed this system for cleaning tubing and piping that significantly reduces cost and carbon consumption. Deionized water (or water that has been treated to remove most of its mineral ions) takes the place of costlier isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and also leaves no waste, which cuts out the pricey process of disposal. The cleaning system quickly and precisely removes all foreign matter from tubing and piping.

5. Self-Contained Device to Isolate Biological Samples

When it comes to working in space, smaller is always better. Innovators at our Johnson Space Center have developed a self-contained device for isolating microscopic materials like DNA, RNA, proteins, and cells without using pipettes or centrifuges. Think of this technology like a small briefcase full of what you need to isolate genetic material from organisms and microorganisms for analysis away from the lab. The device is also leak-proof, so users are protected from chemical hazards—which is good news for astronauts and Earth-bound scientists alike.

6. Portable, Rapid, Quiet Drill

When it comes to “bringing the boom,” NASA does it better than anyone. But sometimes, we know it’s better to keep the decibels low. That’s why innovators at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have developed a new handheld drilling device, suitable for a variety of operations, that is portable, rapid and quiet. Noise from drilling operations often becomes problematic because of the location or time of operations. Nighttime drilling can be particularly bothersome and the use of hearing protection in the high-noise areas may be difficult in some instances due to space restrictions or local hazards. This drill also weighs less than five pounds – talk about portable power.  

7. Damage Detection System for Flat Surfaces

The ability to detect damage to surfaces can be crucial, especially on a sealed environment that sustains human life or critical equipment. Enter Kennedy Space Center’s damage detection system for flat composite surfaces. The system is made up of layered composite material, with some of those layers containing the detection system imbedded right in. Besides one day potentially keeping humans safe on Mars, this tech can also be used on aircrafts, military shelters, inflatable structures and more.

8. Sucrose-Treated Carbon Nanotube and Graphene Yarns and Sheets

We all know what a spoonful of sugar is capable of. But, who knew it could help make some materials stronger? Innovators at NASA’s Langley Research Center did! They use dehydrated sucrose to create yarns and woven sheets of carbon nanotubes and graphene.

The resulting materials are lightweight and strong. Sucrose is inexpensive and readily available, making the process cost-effective. Makes you look at the sweet substance a little differently, doesn’t it?

9. Ultrasonic Stir Welding

NASA scientists needed to find a way to friction weld that would be gentler on their welding equipment. Meet our next tech, ultrasonic stir welding.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center engineers developed ultrasonic stir welding to join large pieces of very high-strength, high-melting-temperature metals such as titanium and Inconel. The addition of ultrasonic energy reduces damaging forces to the stir rod (or the piece of the unit that vibrates so fast, it joins the welding material together), extending its life. The technology also leaves behind a smoother, higher-quality weld.

10. A Field Deployable PiezoElectric Gravimeter (PEG)

It’s important to know that the fuel pumping into rockets has remained fully liquid or if a harmful chemical is leaking out of its container. But each of those things, and the many other places sensors are routinely used, tends to require a specially designed, one-use device.

That can result in time-consuming and costly cycles of design, test and build, since there is no real standardized sensor that can be adapted and used more widely.

To meet this need, the PiezoElectric Gravimeter (PEG) was developed to provide a sensing system and method that can serve as the foundation for a wide variety of sensing applications.

See anything your business could use? Did anything inspire you to start your own company? If so, head to our website at technology.nasa.gov to check them out.

When you’ve found what you need, click, “Apply Now!” Our licensing system, ATLAS, will guide you through the rest.

If the items on this round-up didn’t grab you, that’s ok, too. We have hundreds of other technologies available and ready to license on our website.

And if you want to learn more about the technologies already being used all around you, visit spinoff.nasa.gov.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Follow me @ Smart $ Guides.

Follow me @ Smart $ Guides.

5 Top Entrepreneurs’ Best Advice For Staying Ahead In 2017 Words of wisdom from people who’ve made it big.

Follow Me @ Smart $ Guides

Does this shirt indicate that the wearer is not concerned about money ??

Follow me at Smart $ Guides.

Simple. Innovation.

Follow me at Smart $ Guides.

Follow me @ Smart $ Guides.

Follow me at Smart & Guides.

HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

I believe motivation is highly subjective and that each person has a unique motivational catalyst. So this post isn’t actually written to motivate you (LOL). What this post will do, however, is give you 3 distinct suggestions on how you can generally stay motivated by yourself. These are based on observations made in my brief time working with entrepreneurs. Of course, like with anything, this is not a closed list.

1. Have Passion For What You Do:

You’ve heard this plenty of times, I know, it’s annoying to me too. But we wouldn’t hear it so often if it wasn’t so important.

Steve Jobs, when addressing a crowd at his alma mater, famously said “You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.”

Do what you love, and not in an airy fairy, kumbaya kind of way. If you derive actual pleasure from what you do, you are likely to be more motivated than the average person. It follows that people who do what they love will approach their work with a guaranteed level of enthusiasm. I don’t think this needs a great deal of explanation.

2. Find A Suitable Co-Founder:

Some of the best companies in the world were started by co-founders (e.g. Apple, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, etc.). Often, a start-up is launched and maintained through a combination of expertise, which, for complex projects, is hardly ever held by a single person. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 people to start a project. So the importance of compatible co-founders cannot be stressed enough.

Like with every endeavour, there will be challenges that dampen the passion. The honeymoon period WILL end, and co-founders need to understand their effect on each other because this can serve as the necessary spark to push each other forward. During a slump in motivation, if you don’t feel more motivated after speaking with your co-founder, he or she may not be the right person for you to work with.

Some questions you should ask about your co-founder - When you are not feeling your best will they be able to take control? Do they create a mood which is conducive to productivity? How do you feel after talking to them about a hurdle you are facing? Do they actually have the capacity to perform the tasks that are needed to drive the project forward?

To achieve the best results, be brutally honest with yourself when answering these questions. Based on your answers, you may need to make some changes.

I left the first business I started at University because I could no longer work with my co-founder. The person whom I had originally chosen as my co-founder because of his technical knowledge of the (media) industry became the reason for my loss of enthusiasm. I am not sure what the root cause was, but my co-founder started developing a habit of killing the business relationships I had worked hard to build (and other bad habits, which are best left unmentioned). In turn, our reputation as a serious business began to take a knock. But this wasn’t yet the issue. The real issue was his inability to realise his problem, and then act in accordance with such realisation. 

Needless to say, I was brutally honest with myself - I just did not believe that he had the capacity to perform necessary tasks anymore, so I cut all professional ties with him.

3. Figure Out Your Motivational Currency

I define motivational currency as: a positive response which fuels the desire to be productive.

For example, I run a consulting business. Now, as much as I love what I do, there are mornings which feel completely hopeless (because - life) and my reason for continuing has escaped me. However, my mood suddenly changes when I get up from my bed, check my mail, and find an email from an entrepreneur requesting my services. After viewing this email, I feel a new energy, a sense of purpose, which prompts me to keep going. I am motivated, and the email is my motivational currency. 

If you are an outdoor event organiser whose event receives good reviews on social media and in the local papers, such reviews are your motivational currency because they prompt you to repeat the amount of effort put into your work, in pursuit of the same or an even better response from your market. 

This type of “currency” is different for different businesses, and is usually controlled by external factors. We cannot determine when motivational currency will be forthcoming, but the more work we put in, the more motivational currency we are likely to receive. (i.e. the more good work I do for my existing clients, the more likely I am to wake up to an email requesting my services.)

Conclusion:

Staying motivated is, in my opinion, the most important thing for any entrepreneur. You can do anything you set your mind to with the right amount of motivation. Conversely, you can do very little without it. This is why it is crucial for entrepreneurs to find what motivates them, and have ready access to it whenever it’s needed.

So print this. Put it on your wall, and highlight the points which speak to you the most. Every time you feel demotivated, give it a quick read, and remind yourself of the ways in which you can regain your motivation.

As always, thanks for reading. I promise to make it a shorter read next time.

Follow me @ Smart $ Guides.

Find Your Hacks & Workarounds

No matter what type of business we are running or what goals we chase - we all face apparently insurmountable difficulties - as for example 

building a user base for your app although there is no interaction yet,

having to postpone some to dos although they are all crucial and diligent, 

finding investors without having finished that prototype yet 

or hiring the great but still affordable talents that help you to get done all that work

… 

The Dutch bicycle manufacturer VanMoof had such a problem as well:

They sell almost 90 percent of its bikes online. 

But as they shipped the custom made bikes to customers, it found that they were often arriving severely damaged.

The damage reports were a major problem for the company because the street bikes that it manufactures are at the high-end of the market… But even with the best brand and great marketing you CANNOT WIN, if the products is delivered to the customer in bad shape or even in pieces…

But then the company came up with a genius solution - dropping shipping damage by over 70 percent!

What was the trick?

Printing a graphic of a flatscreen television on the side of the packaging box - making shippers think that they were transporting flatscreen televisions.

(Source: http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/25/13048668/vanmoof-shipping-damages-dutch-bicycle-design)

A highly effective but yet cheap way of fixing the problem and giving the business the push it needed…

Innovate like VanMoof!

Always look out for solutions like this - practical, easy to apply, affordable but effective. Dare to try new paths, unconventional solutions, be creative. Find your hacks and workarounds.

your m

Follow me at Smart $ Guides.

Millionaire Tai Lopez Explains How to Get the Life You Always Wanted

The social media star talks formal education vs. self-education, the value of mentors and how to multiply your income.

http://72hourcashmachine.com/7stm