Posts by bb4b_Pam

  While pursuing her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, Innovesca’s Founder Mary Beth Wilson came across an alarming fact that launched the idea behind Innovesca. Science has shown that when you eat a carrot up to half of the vitamin A goes waste. This is because the human body has a difficult time breaking down the rigid cell walls of plant-based foods. As a result, much of the nutrition remains physically trapped inside of the plant’s cellular structure, inaccessible for the body to absorb during digestion Inspired by this knowledge, Mary Beth founded Innovesca to apply scientific innovation towards developing whole food ingredients that deliver more nutrition per bite. As part of their unique approach, Innovesca focuses on underutilized, nutrient-dense plants that already exist throughout the world but go to waste as robust and sustainable sources of natural nutrition. Initial research and development behind Innovesca’s first ingredient based on amaranth leaves has been funded by the Gates Foundation and National Science Foundation. In addition to scientific innovation, Innovesca aims to maximize impact through their operations. By sourcing raw underutilized plants directly from smallholder farmers in developing regions, they are able to pay farmers for crops that have traditionally been considered as waste or of low value — creating new market opportunities for these farmers. Ultimately, Innovesca aim to impact global nutrition through the consumption of their ingredients. Mary Beth talks with Christopher Evans on Coffee With… about her business journey. Mentorship and support from local Pittsburgh organizations has played a key role in developing Innovesca’s commercialization strategy and overcoming challenges in starting a small business. Coffee With… is an informal interview with prominent business, community and government leaders covering a wide array of issues from business planning to entrepreneurship, and business challenges that affect the economic landscape of the region. Watch the latest installment to see more about Mary Beth Wilson and...

U can B Career Education Educating 7th – 12 Grade Students – Nationwide. Entrepreneurs and businesspeople, along with the non-profit organization Building Bridges for Business, are giving local students the chance to see what life is like after high school and college. U can B is now in numerous schools across the State of Pennsylvania and is expanding into several states in 2015. The Problem Americans have always taken pride in having the best-educated workforce in the world, but now that is no longer true. In Tough Choices, Tough Times, the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce reports that over the past 30 years one country after another has surpassed the United States in the percentage of its population entering the workforce with the equivalent of a high school diploma, and many more countries are on the verge of doing so. Thirty years ago, the U.S. could lay claim to having 30 percent of the world’s population of college students. Today that proportion has fallen substantially, to 14 percent, and continues to decline. American students place anywhere from the middle of the pack to the bottom in all three continuing comparative studies of achievement in mathematics, science, and general literacy among advanced industrial nations • Proven curriculum – Tailored to meet your school’s needs. Select the topics and Number of Weeks. • “Coffee With…” videos and in person interactive discussions are used to educate students on their purpose, passion and career options. • Educational programming – for students to connect with vital business resources. • On site visits – to local government locations, TV stations, and businesses to learn about career choices....

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There are so many social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr, just to name a few. They are always changing, growing, updating, expanding. And there are always new channels to learn. How can your company keep up with the ever changing landscape that is social media? Here are a few social media tips to get you started. • First of all, don’t try to post on every single one of them. Pick two or three that your company would benefit from the most and hit them hard. Post as often as you can so you get the most views from the largest amount of people. • Time is critical. If you have an in-house employee handling your accounts, make sure he/she has the time to do the job properly. If they have other responsibilities, they might not always get to their social media activities in a timely manner. • Social media marketing demands constant attention. If someone comments negatively on one of your posts, you need to react instantly. You want to take care of the problem as fast as possible to insure your customer relations reputation. • Your business has its own personality and you want to make sure your social media marketing reflects that. Make sure the person who is handling your accounts knows your firm and can post in a tone that conveys that personality. • Social media is always changing. Make sure you keep up with the times. Take training classes and refresher courses so you know what it new and relevant to the platforms you are working on. • Consider the benefits of outsourcing your social media. Make sure you hire someone who has marketing experience. Remember that social media is not really about being social. It is entirely about marketing your business. You do want to be social and build relationships, but you need to do that in a marketing atmosphere. • When looking for a marketing firm, make sure you check out other clients they have worked for. Do you think their marketing reflects their business? Are you happy with the amount of posts you are seeing? Social Media marketing is an ever changing technology. In order to get the most out of it you need to plan your actions. Take the time to do it right, get the best person for the job, know what is new and relevant, and make those connections that...