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Entrepreneur: Innovation that Excites

by Miki Saxon

PortraitQuick. What comes to mind when you hear “entrepreneur?” Do you think first of someone young?

Does innovation bring to mind a new social or mobile app?

Does it excite you that it was US ingenuity that gave the world a social way to get discounts (Groupon), tell the world they what they had for lunch (Twitter) and brag that they are mayor of the local Starbucks (Foursquare)?

These questions come from a recent conversation I had and my response to all three was ‘no’, which, obviously, puts me way out in left field. (My answers were that entrepreneur is age-neutral and innovation links directly to the stuff that excites me, such as the polio vaccine, semiconductors and DARPA, which counts the internet among the things it fostered.

The kinds of innovation and invention that blow me away are rarely focused on supplying ephemeral consumer experiences, but rather they directly make or cause material changes in our world—hopefully for the better; they often take years of effort and don’t result in rock star status or millions of followers and friends.

A recent example is a guy you’ve probably never heard of named Gary Cola, founder of Bainite Steel.

A self-taught inventor named Gary Cola has developed a process for manufacturing steel that results in the creation of a product that’s 7% stronger than the strongest steel – and 30% lighter. The steel is also incredibly ductile – meaning that it can crumple a great deal before reaching a breaking point. Even better? His heat-treating process only takes 10 seconds. Compare that to conventional steel manufacturing, where heat-treating can take hours or even days.

Many that will reshape the world are born through academic research, such as Glassimetal Technology (a metal alloy that can be molded like plastic).

Then there are Hugh Crenshaw and Charles Pell, who, using their background in biomechanics, keep inventing and innovating in multiple fields.

And over the past 20 years they’ve profitably translated their understanding of biomechanics into inventions, from robotic submarines to pill sorters.

They aren’t stopping, either, now they’ve focused on reinventing the surgical tray, starting with the rib spreader.

Now you know what excites me, what innovation/inventions excite you?

Flickr image credit The U.S. National Archives

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