New York SBDC Research Network

A growing number of U.S. companies are expanding their operations into developing nations. But while the rewards can be significant, it can mean dealing with risks like including political instability that can hinder or harm normal business operations. That's where political risk insurance comes in. In the first installment of an ongoing series of interviews with various U.S. federal agencies about their most critical business programs, we talk with John Moran, vice president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) about political risk insurance. But while some risks in business can have downsides such as rapidly shifting geopolitics, taking beneficial risks in the form of opportunities is part of every successful entrepreneur's DNA. In this newsletter we cover both opportunities and risk reduction across topics such as global markets, healthcare coverage, partnerships and patents. Read more at: Businessusa

This week's New Yorker features an article by Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point , What the Dog Saw , and other really interesting reads) called "The Sure Thing". I've always liked Gladwell's writing - not just for its clarity, but the way his iconoclastic approach never sounds contrarian just for the sake of being different. This article is more of this style. Its premise is that entrepreneurs don't succeed because they fit the romantic image of the reckless daredevil who doubles as a business savant, but rather from their innovative insights into an opportunity, combined with an aversion to risk and a predatory approach to getting the big deal done. The article cites numerous examples to back up this belief, and spends quite a bit of time detailing the exploits of John Paulson (a hedge-fund manager who made a huge fortune on short-selling credit default swaps just ahead of the housing collapse), and Ted Turner (to whom the myth of the populist bu...