Entrepreneurs: Innovation Summit 2013
by Jerry Nemorin
I attended my first AlwaysOn Innovation Summit this past week and I was really impressed with the companies, ideas, and technologies highlighted during the summit. We often read about new companies launching products that are merely a twist on the social network, e-commerce, or the latest industry deemed “ripe for disruption.” The companies highlighted in the Summit certainly had more to offer.
As a capitalist and a social entrepreneur, I believe in the power of technology to improve lives across the socio-economic spectrum. There are significant economic opportunities in providing solutions to real problems faced by families in the US and the emerging world, that are often overlooked for some reason or another. The AO Innovation Summit highlighted many companies with technologies and ideas with the potential to change economies, alleviate poverty and, most importantly, save lives.
We heard from Mike Cheiky of V-Grid Energy Systems, whose company focuses on providing cheap energy to help connect the rest of the world to the internet. More impressive still, the by-product of their process is a fertilizer that can be used in those same regions to improve agriculture and alleviate food-security issues. Children go hungry every day, and governments have been overthrown as a result of food prices.
The panel on the changing landscape of education stood out for the immense potential impact that technology is having in this area. We heard from Daphne Koller of Coursera, a company with a mission to provide free and open access to elite education. In a world where the cost of education is raised beyond the reach of most families, this will undoubtedly improve lives both domestically and abroad. Imagine a kid in Haiti learning to code on Coursera and creating the next great technology firm. Speaking of which, Tim Draper, founder of Draper University, is doing what most people say can’t be done – teaching entrepreneurship. Draper University’s 8-week program fosters skills and provides the kind of experience that can help set-off the light bulb for the next generation’s Steve Jobs or Elon Musk.
The future of fashion will not simply be about the designer on the label, it will benefit from beautifully designed technology solutions that improve our daily lives. At the AO Innovation Summit, we were treated to a new wave of wearable technologies that will help us be more efficient, assess our health, and provide critical insights. Dave Icke of MC10 demonstrated their ground-breaking technology that allows parents to monitor their sick baby’s temperature with a simple patch. Now imagine the infinite possibilities of such a technology and its ability to lower the infant mortality rates in the emerging world.
From discussions with a variety of companies at the Summit, it’s clear there is a cultural shift within our industry. Businesses should have a lasting positive impact on our community, as well as prove to be sound investment for our partners. For too long those propositions have been polarized. At the AO Innovations Summit I was pleased to see more businesses sharing our vision of the future. I am not saying these solutions will solve all of the world’s problems, but it gives me hope that our best and brightest are tackling real world problems and not merely catering to the latest fad.
Jerry Nemorin is Founder and CEO of LendStreet Financial Inc., a social lending platform whose mission is to help people get out of debt, rebuild their credit, and get a fresh start.
