Midweek Reading: Ownership, Risk, and Merit

An employee stock-ownership plan is a valuable way to get employees invested (literally) in the success of the company. Corporate Press in Lanham, MD, has a long-running system that has proven to be a winner for both the company and its employees.

How important is the alma mater when you look at a job candidate’s resume? In an effort to use more merit-based hiring, Deloitte UK is trying a new strategy to reduce bias: hiding candidate’s graduating institutions during interviews.

Government is naturally wary of risk, which makes it difficult for new or young companies to procure government contracts. The Kauffman Foundation suggests that this hesitation leads to stale solutions and insider-ism.

Rebranding is commonly associated with struggling businesses looking for revitalization. But even successful brands have to take action to retain their position, like the successful cable channel ABC Family is attempting to do by rebranding itself for a new generation of viewers.

Many times someone develops a new technology, but doesn’t use it to its full potential. That opens the door for other entrepreneurs to test the limits and find new applications for existing technology. That’s how Michael Martin developed RapidSOS.

Even the biggest, most seemingly invincible industries are subject to change. One of the biggest shifts going on right now is the decline of the soda industry, due to public health awareness campaigns. It has created openings for new entrepreneurs and creative thinkers to fill the gap.

The marketplace lender industry is exploding with new funding options for small businesses—but be careful, because some businesses have found themselves swamped with offers to take out more and more loans when they only wanted (and needed) one.

Big data is everywhere these days, including the NFL. Professional football teams use big data to track playcalling tendencies, coaching decisions, player acceleration, and even the footballs themselves. It’s an example for how any business can find ways to measure and track performance in all areas.

We’re all entrepreneurs now. That’s the message from Steve Strauss of USA Today, who says that the Great Recession made a lasting transformation in how we work.

Many startups and small businesses aren’t able to compete with bigger businesses on salaries for potential employees. But there are other ways you can attract talented workers, and Matt Straz outlines some of the most important.