Skype swallowed up by Microsoft, Apprentice language explained & learning from failure

Microsoft confirms takeover of Skype: Microsoft has confirmed that it has agreed to buy internet phone service Skype. The deal being to buy to buy the operator,  used by many small businesses, will see Microsoft pay $8.5bn (£5.2bn) for Skype, the BBC are reporting, making it Microsoft’s largest acquisition. Internet auction house eBay bought Skype for $2.6bn in 2006, before selling 70% of it in 2009 for $2bn. 

The Apprentice is returning to British screens, bringing with it a slew of business buzz-phrase nonsense and baffling bravado from the candidates. No one likes a show-off, least of all the British, which is why watching the overblown confidence of each new crop of Apprentice contestants is such a guilty pleasure. The BBC Magazine provides a humorous side-swipe at some of the phrases used and wht they really mean..

10 Things I Learned From Failure: Following on from last night’s BBC2 Programme “Business Nightmares”, INC magazine in America have an interview with Scott Gerber, the CEO and founder of Sizzle IT, who talks about the fact that every entrepreneur has made a series of mistakes or been subject to failures along his or her entrepreneurial journey. These setbacks, though painful, will teach you more about business than any textbook, lecture, or mentor ever could. Plus, they are great fodder for conversations at cocktail receptions and on panel discussions. 

How to find the holy grail of funding: The Next Woman magazine is highlighting their up-and-coming event  with 
Founder & CEO Virginia Raemy of Talentpuzzle who will explain to budding entrepreneurs how to dig for gold in her keynote: How I got funding?” How to dig for Gold – Seed Capital, Angel Investors & The Aspire Fund.