Poking through 13+ years of posts I find information that’s as useful now as when it was written.
Golden Oldies is a collection of the most relevant and timeless posts during that time.
It’s interesting that so many of the entrepreneurs whose ideas could actually change the world are either still in school (not college) or at the other end of the spectrum. It also seems that most of the 20s/30s/40s crowd are primarily interested in changing their financial status and burnishing their brand. Oops! Seems like I’m getting cynical in my golden years.
I frequently see comments on blogs and social sites along the lines of “I know I could be an entrepreneur if I just had a good idea” or “I want to be an entrepreneur and change the world.”
Sadly, it seems that most are looking for ideas to make them the next Groupon or Foursquare and while that might make them rich, it will hardly change the world.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it won’t change much or get you into the history books.
You change the world by tackling real-world problems, often with hard science.
But you don’t need to be a scientist; self-taught Gary Cola invented the world’s lightest, strongest steel that takes less than ten seconds to make.
In fact, you don’t have to be an adult. Take a look at the winners of the first Google Science Fair and you will be blown away; none are 18 yet and none of their ideas involved the Internet.
Here’s an idea; if you want to change the world look for problems with global impact. Blake Mycoskie is changing the world with shoes and glasses, while Anthony Capone, CEO of Nimbus Water Systems, is changing it with inexpensive, solar-powered, portable water purification systems.
Then there are toilets.
Yes, toilets.
That handy gadget that we take for granted (unless it isn’t working) and that many parts of the world only dream about.
“No innovation in the past 200 years has done more to save lives and improve health than the sanitation revolution triggered by invention of the toilet.” –Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s global development program
And the Gates Foundation is putting its money where its mouth is.
Look around; think about changing the world by reinventing or innovating something that addresses a basic need.
You may not end up as rich as Mark Cuban, but I guarantee that it’s the sexiest, most exciting, rewarding, feel-good thing you’ll ever do.
Ask any entrepreneur about their idea and at some point most will claim it will “change the world” in some way — such as making it easier to hook up.
But some truly want to change the world֫ — or at least help save it.
And not all are young, nor are they techies.
One of the most impressive I’ve heard about recently is Faris Rajak Kotahatuhaha, an Indonesian designer, and his two colleagues, Denny Lesmana Budi and Fiera Alifa.
Kotahatuhaha’s team set out to create a prototype for the “re-iceberg-isation” of parts of the Arctic by freezing seawater into hexagonal blocks of ice that nest together to form new ice floes.
Mostly they are about finding and rating personal and businesses services, locating partners, whether for hook-ups or long-term, and other such weighty matters.
Additionally, other than the bio-X stuff, innovation is dominated by software.
But software, including the giants like Facebook and Google haven’t fundamentally changed things as much as is stated—and both could be easily replaced relative to something as basic to our modern civilization as silicon.
Is there anything happening that does have the potential to fundamentally change our world?
The American Chemical Society said in 2012 that graphene was discovered to be 200 times stronger than steel and so thin that a single ounce of it could cover 28 football fields. Chinese scientists have created a graphene aerogel, an ultralight material derived from a gel, that is one-seventh the weight of air. A cubic inch of the material could balance on one blade of grass.
Graphene is transparent, conductive, flexible and inexpensive.
The heavy lifting to develop graphene and uses for it is being done by old people in stogy, non-entrepreneurial companies, such as IBM, Nokia and SanDisk and especially Samsung along with a number of universities, with nary a twenty-something in sight.
Because the electronics industry so invested in silicon (software, including the cloud and apps run on hardware) it’s doubtful they will move quickly to embrace Graphene, in spite of its ability to truly revolutionize the entire industry.
Not so the Gates Foundation, which already paid to develop a graphene-based condom that is thin, light and impenetrable.
If your dream is to truly change the world, whether now or later, consider graphene.
Who knows, your idea could lead not just to a new company, but to an entirely new industry; not to employing a few thousand, but to jobs for millions.
I remember when the Segway was introduced. It was supposed to revolutionize commuting by getting people out of their cars.
Segways are used in a variety of settings, but not in what you would call general use, which isn’t surprising considering new ones cost anywhere from $6,000 to as high as $13,000.
But Dean Kamen, Segway’s inventor, is about a lot more than pricey personal transport.
His latest idea, that just got FDA approval, is another gold star on his “good for humanity” list.
The DEKA limb can provide “near natural upper-arm extremity control” to amputees and the device is modular so that it can be fitted to people who’ve suffered any degree of limb loss, from an entire arm to a hand, Sanchez said. Six “grip patterns” allow wearers to drink a cup of water, hold a cordless drill or pick up a credit card or a grape, among other functions.
The prosthetic looks amazing and could be an enormous boon to soldiers who lost limbs in the wars with Iraq and Afghanistan and thousands of other amputees.
“Most people, once they get good at something, they make iterations and make a career out of that. (Think Bezos, Ellison, Gates, Jobs) We’re good at trying to try some crazy idea that probably won’t work.”
But look at the ones that do.
the first portable drug delivery device for providing drugs that previously required round-the-clock hospital care.
a portable dialysis machine
an insulin pump for diabetics
a vascular stent
the iBOT — a motorized wheelchair that climbs stairs
a prosthetic arm for maimed soldiers
and a portable energy and water purification device, called Slingshot (amazing story) for the developing world.
It’s unlikely that Kamen will ever join the billionaires club, but he will die richer than any of them.
And guess who will be remembered the longest?
He is proof that one (stubborn) person can truly make a difference and change millions of lives.
20 years ago they saw a giant, although relatively mundane, need that you probably remember complaining about (assuming you’re old enough).
It was almost impossible to have a decorative fabric that would stand up to the abuse of people coming to a restaurant and spilling on it. What was used was a vinylized fabric that would crack and peel.
Craig knew textiles and had an inventive streak, so he set out to solve the problem.
They patented their space-age material, called it Crypton (more on the name in a moment) — and their first customer was McDonald’s.
Randy Rubin summed up successful entrepreneurship this way,
“If you want to become an entrepreneur, make sure you have something that fills a need or solves a problem. Someone will always pay for something if it brings value.”
Perhaps the reason so many Internet businesses are dependent on ads for all or most of their revenue is because it requires real value to charge for your product.
I frequently see comments on blogs and social sites along the lines of “I know I could be an entrepreneur if I just had a good idea” or “I want to be an entrepreneur and change the world.”
Sadly, it seems that most are looking for ideas to make them the next Groupon or Foursquare and while that might make them rich, it will hardly change the world.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it won’t change much or get you into the history books.
You change the world by tackling real-world problems, often with hard science
But you don’t need to be a scientist; self-taught Gary Cola invented the world’s lightest, strongest steel that takes less than ten seconds to make.
In fact, you don’t have to be an adult. Take a look at the winners of the first Google Science Fair and you will be blown away; none are 18 yet and none of their ideas involved the Internet.
Here’s an idea; if you want to change the world look for problems with global impact. Blake Mycoskie is changing the world with shoes and glasses, while Anthony Capone, CEO of Nimbus Water Systems, is changing it with inexpensive, solar-powered, portable water purification systems.
Then there are toilets.
Yes, toilets.
That handy gadget that we take for granted (unless it isn’t working) and that many parts of the world only dream about.
“No innovation in the past 200 years has done more to save lives and improve health than the sanitation revolution triggered by invention of the toilet.” –Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s global development program
And the Gates Foundation is putting its money where its mouth is.
Look around; think about changing the world by reinventing or innovating something that addresses a basic need.
You may not end up as rich as Mark Cuban, but I guarantee that it’s the sexiest, most exciting, rewarding, feel-good thing you’ll ever do.
I love revolutionary ideas, although the ones that fascinate me are only occasionally net-based. I tend more to stuff that exists in the real world. The following caught my attention; since there are more than you might want to read about I thought I’d include enough info for you to pick and choose the ones that would interest you most.
Ingenuity is not limited to startups; Nimbus Water Systems has been purifying water since 1968, but their latest innovation has the power to radically change our world for the better.
The company has designed a portable water-filtration system that can be easily toted to remote parts of the world to take up to 2,500 gallons per day of dirty water from a stream, a well or a tank and turn it into water that is safe to drink. … The system runs on solar power and comes in a rolling suitcase that can be checked as luggage onto commercial airplanes, carried off on a moment’s notice in response to a natural disaster or other emergency.
You’ve heard the old saying ‘fight fire with fire’? That is what Eboo Patel is dong in an effort to create a force that fosters tolerance by fighting religious bigotry.
He figured that if Muslim radicals and extremists of other religions were recruiting young people, then those who believe in religious tolerance should also enlist the youth.
Dogs are trained to sniff out a lot more than explosives and drugs; they can be trained to recognize the changes from cancer, seizures and other illnesses and, in doing so, change a life forever. Researchers are working to duplicate and apply the results to a variety of diagnostics, but they admit there is little possibility of actually duplicating a dog’s sensitivity.
Scientists are building sophisticated electronic and chemical sniffers that examine the puffs of exhaled air for telltale signs of cancer, tuberculosis, asthma and other maladies, as well as for radiation exposure.
Now, in a lighter vein…
Meet Hayden Hamilton, an entrepreneur who used his own money to develop a product that he knows may never sell—a razor that carries a price tag of $100,000.
…the Portland entrepreneur has spent four years on and off — and close to $1 million of his own money — developing a luxury alternative to the ubiquitous throwaway blade.
Do you ride a bike? Do you suffer the discomfort of essentially sitting on your groin until it’s numb? Would you change that if you could? Now you can.
“The subject matter always draws juvenile chuckles. They don’t even listen long to understand what part of a man’s anatomy is being protected here.”
Chris Miles recognized a major need for those who, intentionally or by accident, find themselves requiring the services of a lawyer.
“If I want a pizza, I can get a pizza in 15 minutes,” he says. “I can get a plumber in the middle of the night. Why can’t I get a lawyer?”
Finally, for all those women who would love to round out their pants the way the stars do there is Booty Pop, a much simpler, less arduous and all around cheaper solution than has been available previously.
Thanks to the founders of Booty Pop, you no longer have to be in the gym for hours or spend a lot on expensive plastic surgery to get a round rear.
People who invent things are endlessly fascinating. To see around corners; to conceive of something where there was nothing is an amazing act.
Inventors are also been known to stick both feet in their mouth for real, not as an urban legend.
DEC (it built minicomputers) founder Ken Olson said, There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. Obviously, he was a little shortsighted.
Another technologist, Robert Metcalfe (co-inventor of Ethernet), missed the mark by eons when he said, The internet will catastrophically collapse in 1996. Well, nobody’s right all the time.
Beyond inventing stuff, inventors often have excellent insights on people and the act of living.
Erno (the cube) Rubik said, Our whole life is solving puzzles. Which, most people will agree, makes him a master of understatement.
Edwin Armstrong (invented FM) shows both his insight and sense of humor in this observation, It ain’t ignorance that causes all the trouble in this world. It’s the things people know that ain’t so.
However, if you believe Dean Kamen (think Segway) it doesn’t matter anyway, If history is any indication, all truths will eventually turn out to be false.
Here’s a great sound bite from David Sarnoff (RCA and NBC) that should be embedded in every manager’s brain, Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in people.
Right alongside this one from Edwin (Polaroid) Land, The most important thing about power is to make sure you don’t have to use it.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
I frequently see comments on blogs and social sites along the lines of “I know I could be an entrepreneur if I just had a good idea” or “I want to be an entrepreneur and change the world.”
I love revolutionary ideas, although the ones that fascinate me are only occasionally net-based. I tend more to stuff that exists in the real world. The following caught my attention; since there are more than you might want to read about I thought I’d include enough info for you to pick and choose the ones that would interest you most.
