Entrepreneurship : Featured Stories

In a bit of serendipity, both a group of successful CEOs and best selling author Walter Isaacson were in Philadelphia last week. Across two events, they delivered a cohesive message: Innovation, execution and success depend on teamwork.

Small businesses and startups in the City of Brotherly Love now have a powerful new tool: Kiva Zip provides crowdfunded, zero-interest loans to entrepreneurs that engage with their communities. Become a lender on October 15 and double your impact.

Baldwin's Book Barn, housed in a revamped historic dairy, is the country's largest used book store. Run by a true Pennsylvania character, it's one of the region's hidden gems.

Urban revitalization is not built on stadiums and skyscrapers alone. Vibrant cities begin with passionate people working on the ground, doing the creative heavy lifting to make their communities better. Leading up to Urban Innovation Exchange, September 24-26 in Detroit, we take a look at 13 small projects with big potential.

The recently released schedule only confirms what we already know: This festival is one of Philadelphia's most exciting institutions.

Last week, the latest class of startups entered DreamIt Ventures' tech accelerator. These fledgling entrepreneurs could be building the next billion-dollar company or learning to fail fast -- the next 90 days will say a lot.

A new crop of Pennsylvania farmers are blending fresh ideas, entrepreneurial vision and strong agricultural traditions to reap success back on the homestead. Can they lead one of the state's most essential industries into the future?

Cities are reinventing themselves in exciting new ways. Can small-scale projects have big impact? Join the Urban Innovation Exchange this September 24-26 in Detroit to explore creative projects driving neighborhood transformation.

Despite the move towards all things local, many ingredients in beloved beers are sourced from thousands of miles away. Fortunately, savvy brewers are now engaging with their local food sheds, partnering with nearby farms and incorporating smartly-sourced flavors.

The co-founder of this Conshohocken-based eCommerce marketing company believes that targeting and personalization are the keys to success in the Internet age.

Plasma could have groundbreaking applications in energy, health care and technology -- and some of the most promising research and commercialization efforts are coming out of the Philadelphia region.

Whether they're disrupting summer reading, crafting a heat-producing window or inventing novel ways to save ink, these five ascendent entrepreneurs are growing their businesses, while also keeping an eye on their social impact.

For today's top talent, the job market is only one thing to consider when choosing where to live. They also want a vibrant city to plug into, a creative place where they can network with other smart people, and a dynamic economy featuring an array of engaging jobs.

Whether they're solving an energy-efficiency problem, democratizing wind power or developing mobile solar solutions, these PA entrepreneurs are turning sustainability into success.

The current labor market requires innovation, creativity and commitment -- not only to finding the best workers, but to cultivating them. Meet two local companies committed to rethinking how they train and hire. PTR Baler, a manufacturer in Port Richmond, and Wash Cycle Laundry, a green bike-powered laundry service, both looked at the challenges of maintaining an engaged, talented workforce and declined to take the easy way out. PTR has taken it upon themselves to train the next generation of high-skill workers, while Wash Cycle emphasizes upward mobility and taps vulnerable populations. Both solutions have bred success.