Businesses are closed and covered with plywood along the main street in Sea Bright, N.J., Monday, Oct. 29, 2012.Seth Wenig/The Associated Press
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Small business and Sandy
Hurricane Sandy is not flustering New York's tech entrepreneurs, Christina Farr says in a post for VentureBeat. Unlike bricks-and-mortar operations, these business owners are able to use the cloud and social tools to co-ordinate their work forces, even when everyone is working from home.
The Street has rolled out a piece on Metar Weather, a company that offers weather-related protection insurance for companies resulting from "measurable meteorological phenomena," such as extreme rain or temperature swings. The publication also provided separate advice on how U.S.-based small businesses can apply for disaster loans, and prepare for the aftermath of the storm.
And Jeff Macke, writing for Yahoo! Finance, says small businesses will be the "real victims" of Hurricane Sandy. "The impact will be transitory, hopefully," he adds, "but the jobs at risk are on the lower-end, bleeding edge of the economy."
A well-connected businessman
British entrepreneur Daniel Foa, 36, "may now be the best-connected foreigner in China," according to a story in The Telegraph. His wife is Hiu Ng, the niece of Vice-President Xi Jinping, who is set to succeed Hu Jintao as Secretary-General of the Communist Party. Mr. Foa has lived for several years in Shanghai and Beijing, working for a number of big corporations that are attempting to penetrate the huge market there, and making a name for himself within expat social circles. For the past five years, the story points out, he and his wife have run businesses with an emphasis on charity and sustainability.
The genius behind Rap Genius
In 2009, three Yale graduates – Mahbod Moghadam, Ilan Zechory and Tom Lehman – founded Rap Genius, a crowdsourced website that analyzes the meaning of lyrics. U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz recently invested $15 million in the company, and planning is under way for for similar offerings under the indie rock, country music, poetry, law and Bible banners. Fader interviewed Mr. Moghadam, who "opened up about Rap Genius' plans for the investment money, mining rap songs for jokes and why he calls himself an orientalist
EVENTS AND KEY DATES
A day of information and inspiration
This year's Toronto edition of The Globe and Mail's Small Business Summit takes place Nov. 22. The day-long event features sessions relevant to entrepreneurs at all stages of growth, including hiring strategies, building an ecommerce platform, overcoming regulatory hurdles, and how to value your company. Keynotes by Jamie Salter of Authentic Brands Group and Rebecca MacDonald of Just Energy will bookend the day.
Empowering and connecting entrepreneurs
The latter half of SociaLIGHT stands for Leader Impacting Global Humanity Today. The SociaLIGHT Conference plans to bring together dynamic leaders, young professionals, and entrepreneurs for a day of inspiration, empowerment and connection in Toronto on Nov. 17.
EDITOR'S PICKS FROM REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS
Tough words for the country
Reza Satchu has made a name for himself as one of the crustiest – and best – business professors at the University of Toronto, a mentor for young entrepreneurs, and a savvy investor through his Alignvest Capital Management fund. He discusses the state of entrepreneurship in Canada in this Q&A with The Globe's Dawn Calleja.
FROM THE ROSB ARCHIVES
Prepare for disaster
Being prepared for a disaster is critical for any business. Creating a business continuity plan (BCP) can help your business survive during and after a crisis, as outlined by the BDC. You can prepare your BCP at the same time as your strategic plan, or it can be undertaken separately.
Got a tip on news, events or other timely information related to the small-business community? E-mail us at smallbusiness@globeandmail.com.Join The Globe's Small Business LinkedIn group to network with other entrepreneurs and to discuss topical issues: http://linkd.in/jWWdzT
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Sean Stanleigh