Here’s how start-ups get funded before they’re ready for venture capital

Fledgling businesses rarely command seed or venture funding right out of the gate. But they still need cash to get started. While entrepreneurs have more capital sources than ever before, they’re also faced with a ton of misinformation. For example, a PwC report...

Flush with cash, a billionaire is turning a small Wisconsin town into a startup laboratory

BELOIT, Wis. — When Diane Hendricks sees something she doesn’t like here, she buys it. A bankrupt country club. A half-empty mall. Abandoned buildings. The rusting foundry down by the river. Beloit used to be a town that made papermaking machines and...

How Qualcomm is betting heavily on China’s emergence as a tech superpower

As the Chinese government develops drones, the American technology giant Qualcomm is helping. The same goes for artificial intelligence, mobile technology and supercomputers. Qualcomm is also working to help Chinese companies like Huawei break into overseas markets in...

There’s a house full of cryptocurrency gurus in San Francisco, and it’s like a modern-day commune

San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood is home to hilly streets, views of the Bay Bridge—and the Crypto Castle, a three-story home where a half dozen cryptocurrency entrepreneurs live and collaborate. Jeremy Gardner is a co-founder of the Crypto Castle,...

The online retailer that started when its founder was annoyed at paying $7 for a box of Cheerios

A $7 box of Cheerios was the impetus behind the launch of an online retailer. When Boxed CEO Chieh Huang was growing up in suburban New Jersey, going to Costco forerunner Price Club was a family ritual. “Every other weekend, I’d go with my parents and...