Ascend Venture Innovations

In today's political landscape, parties often prioritize maintaining the support of their core base over finding common ground and passing legislation. As a result, they may choose not to compromise on partisan issues, leading to a lack of progress in the legislative process. Furthermore, the parties have significant influence over the primary platforms for connecting with voters, which have become increasingly aligned with specific ideologies. MSNBC and the New York Times tend to have a liberal leaning, while Fox News and the Wall Street Journal are more conservative in nature. It is challenging for independent media or other countervailing forces to facilitate the success of new parties and independents.Research Setting and ModelResearch Setting and Model.  In today's political landscape, parties often prioritize maintaining the support of their core base over finding common ground and passing legislation. As a result, they may choose not to compromise on partisan issues, lea...

Regulators are increasingly making decisions based on party line votes, rather than independent assessments.  Influencing Our Independent Judicial System: Judges at all levels, including the Supreme Court, are now frequently appointed through partisan-driven processes (see Figure 8). This has resulted in the confirmation of judges who may not have met the necessary qualifications, as determined by  Nonpartisan organizations like the American Bar Association (ABA). Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 2020 with a vote of 52-48, made history as the first justice to be confirmed without any opposition votes from the nominating president's party since 1869. In contrast, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose seat Barrett filled, received a bipartisan vote of 96-3 during her confirmation in 1993.The separation of powers within our government institutions has been gradually weakened. Partisan infiltration and regulatory capture enable parties to exert greater inf...

The measure was implemented due to the significant price disparity between prescription drugs in the U.S. and other similarly developed countries. It's worth noting that a significant amount of corporate funds flow through business and trade associations, allowing them to exert considerable influence over elections without revealing their financial contributions. Such spending, often referred to as "dark money", distorts the electoral process, exacerbates partisanship, and angers the general public, resulting in a lack of trust in government and business. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce holds the distinction of being the largest spender of undisclosed funds in the country.  Investing significantly to succeed in direct democracy, or ballot initiatives driven by citizens. Enrolling employees in corporate political engagement. Nowadays, businesses are allocating significant resources to sway the results of grassroots ballot initiatives, typically aiming to thwart legislation th...

Please be aware that the areas of competitiveness shown in Figure 1 are calculated as a percentage of respondents to the HBS 2019 U.S. survey. Survey on Competitiveness with predominantly positive views, excluding the portion with negative views. Exclusions are made for respondents who answered "Don't know" in the calculations. The American economy has fallen behind in recent decades, with fiscal deficits reaching concerning levels. Additionally, our infrastructure is in dire need of repair, and outdated immigration policies are discouraging talented individuals from coming to the U.S., which is negatively impacting our workforce. Research conducted by Harvard Business School's U.S. Competitiveness Project, a comprehensive study based on surveys of their alumni, has uncovered a concerning trend of declining economic competitiveness. Almost half of the HBS alumni surveyed anticipate a further decline in U.S. competitiveness. Business leaders have expressed concerns abo...

This particular set of circumstances has sparked what we consider to be a significant shift in business thinking and practice, which we believe is the most significant in many decades. The role that business is currently playing in the economy, as well as its involvement in our democracy and government, is undergoing a significant shift. Business is now taking steps to tackle important societal issues and prioritize a wider range of stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and shareholders. The focus of business is shifting from solely maximizing profit to actively contributing to the betterment of society. One aspect of this emerging trend is to increase the level of transparency surrounding political expenditures. In 2020, a total of 332 companies, including 260 members of the S&P 500 (a significant increase from 190 companies in 2015), implemented policies to disclose their election-related spending, as reported by the Center for Political Accountabi...

These shifts will upset business models in almost every industry. Organizations that embrace change with an innovation mentality will be well positioned to utilize actionable information from their networks and technologies, resulting in increased agility and, ultimately, better customer service. The Coming Transformation To comprehend where we're headed, we need to first grasp where we are. In today's industry, businesses employ and deploy a variety of applications, storing data in business-specific silos. Specific business units often maintain apps, tooling, and data pipelines for their own (although limited) objectives. When data is given to executives, it is generated based on the specific demands of business unit leaders and their key performance indicators. Some relatively sophisticated organizations are already on the path to transformation. Rather than employing isolated data operations, they use huge, enterprise-wide data lakes to gather insights from across the firm....

Technology has evolved into a necessary instrument for maximizing and simplifying company operations in the fast-paced and very competitive corporate climate of today. From small businesses to large companies, technology has helped them to automate many of their processes, raise output, and improve profitability. Examining the value of technology in modern business operations and how it has transformed corporate operations helps one to better understand both. improved effectiveness by automation. Among the most important effects of technology on present company operations is automation. With many digital tools and applications, many once laborious jobs can now be automated. Companies may currently, for instance, automate their accounting, inventory control, and CRM systems. Companies who automate these processes save time and remove mistakes, therefore improving efficiency and output. Moreover, automation helps businesses to focus on more important tasks include creating new goods an...

Fair Trade Enterprises prioritize environmental protection in their communities. Some pioneered anti-plastic campaigns before they became popular through social media and brand marketing. In the 1980s, EZA of Austria (see annex for case study) was a pioneer in the European Fair Trade movement's Jute not Plastic campaign, advocating for sustainable alternative packaging.  A mission-driven business model allows firms to prioritize a social or environmental objective, even if returns on investment or profits are not great.  This can lead to innovative solutions that benefit both the environment and producers, which are often overlooked by traditional enterprises. Fair Trade Enterprises prioritize environmental sustainability due to their Strong community connections. Fair Trade Enterprises prioritize their commitment to producers, workers, and communities, as demonstrated by the case study of Maroma in the appendix. WFTO's Guarantee System requires long-term cooperation between s...

Mahaguthi is a social enterprise that was established as a profit-making, non-distributing firm.  They reinvest 100% of their profits in supporting producers and communities, creating capacity, developing new products, and improving supply chains to increase social impact. They produce in-house and through a large network of producer groups. Their product line encompasses felt, textiles, and paper. Mahaguthi, founded in 1984 by a non-profit foundation, now generates approximately $1 million in sales annually. Although they have two shops in Nepal, 70% of their revenues come from exports to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the United States, and Canada. They invest in new product concepts, such as employing Dhaka fabric and pioneering nettle fiber products (Allo). Mahaguthi employs  people mostly women,and collaborates withproducer Groups in 15 regions to support 1,100 producers, 85% of whom are women. Without shareholders demanding dividends, the board and management can ...

The current startup ecosystem solves greater corporate and societal problems by generating specialized solutions. New-age firms, led by visionary founders and CEOs, seek to update and alter people's lives. Startups are sculpting solutions that cater to individual requirements by giving generative AI (GenAI) healthcare, and sustainable and eco-friendly solutions, rather than simply solving problems. As I've previously mentioned, these technologies have enormous promise for developing customer-centric solutions. However, startups are also confronting economic challenges. According to a Pitchbook estimate, venture capital firms will fund businesses for $345 billion in 2023, down from $531 billion in 2022. In addition, VC firms raised $161 billion in 2023, down from $307 billion the previous year. While financiers may continue to support startups, they are likely to do so with greater discernment and strategy. The following trends highlight sectors that could help new-age firms s...

Narratives invoking the "unstoppable" pace of a global transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy have been increasingly frequent among politicians, corporate executives, media commentators, and environmental protesters. However, in reality, the global shifts in energy production, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions that we urgently require are not occurring In 2019, fossil fuels accounted for more than 80% of worldwide primary energy demand, while global greenhouse gas emissions reached new highs. In 2020, wind and solar accounted for only 10% of worldwide electricity generation. Despite reports of its demise, coal-fired power generation continues to grow worldwide. In 2020, global efforts to decommission coal power stations were offset by the construction of new coal plants in China alone, resulting in a 12.5 GW increase in the global coal fleet. Some have recently proposed that the Covid-19 outbreak and resulting economic downturn mark a watershed moment...