The case study: It’s a staple in medical schools throughout the U.S., where students learn how to diagnose and treat various conditions through mock scenarios. But can a doctor-in-training really grasp medical knowledge by sitting alone at a computer or by working out a problem on paper?

With more than 200 spices, salts and seasonings in stock at downtown’s new Allspicery, variety isn’t just the spice of life. It’s a life of spice for owner Heather Wong.

After working the male-dominated world of technology and venture investment for more than a decade, Saville decided to take matters into her own hands.

It’s a funny thing, to hear the word “employed” in tandem with comic books, says Eben Burgoon, creator of the local comic B-Squad. He and Sean Sutter, lead artist on the project, explain that many artists and writers — even at the highest levels of comic book creation — often have to work for free or in trade. And as Burgoon points out, free beer and exposure don’t pay the rent.

Think about it like a dating site, except members are looking for loans instead of love. The matchmaker is Magilla Loans, a free, anonymous search engine that helps small business owners to find loans directly from reputable banks across the country. 

New app wimZr’s main focus is people. The interface is straightforward. You view the profiles of people going to the same place. If you like them, click “Connect Me.” If you want to pass, click “Next Time.” If the person you like likes you back, you can start talking. For upcoming events, you can scan guest lists and either connect one-on-one or openly in a public forum.

While creating MySwirl, Tracy Saville envisioned a network and personal app that could help women unlock their potential, become more mindful, and better collaborate and connect professionally.“ I wanted people to have the freedom to unleash their potential, to collaborate without boundaries, to pursue their ideas and passion to make an impact in the world with as few boundaries as possible — and without having to use twenty different tools to do it,” Saville says.

Like a prophet from on high, global futurist and author Dan Burrus’ has a rare knack for technology predictions that provide us with a blueprint for change in the business world. His book Flash Foresight challenges leaders to examine hidden trends, using them to shape the innovations of tomorrow versus allowing for aimless solutions that lack relevance.

The most significant challenge for tech coworking spaces is usually having enough physical space, equipment and bandwidth for multiple creators to be able to work on a diverse number of projects at the same time. But women using hackerspaces often face another challenge as well – overcoming the tech world’s male-dominated “brogrammer” culture.

Sometimes, a real no-brainer, problem-solver of a product can crash and burn spectacularly upon entering the market. This isn’t limited to the Pepsi Clears of the world, where sheer ridiculousness doomed the idea from the start: According to Nielsen data, 85 percent of new consumer packaged goods will fail within two years. Marketing snafus, bad luck and timing aside, pitfalls in the process of product design are often to blame. Catching oneself before blundering into them takes a conscious effort, as several local designers and makers illustrate.