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Entrepreneur Spotlight: Insomnia Cookies

When Seth Berkowitz was a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, he started baking cookies for friends out of his dorm. Soon, he noticed a trend: students got hungry late at night and there wasn’t any delivery alternative to greasy and heavy food. Berkowitz wondered, “Why not hot cookies and milk – delivered to your door after midnight?”


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Entrepreneur Spotlight: Bright Feet Slippers

When inventor Doug Vick got up in the middle of the night and bumped into the bedpost, he wondered, “How many other people do this every night?”

So he invented high-quality double-lined fleece slippers with a weight sensor in the sole, a light sensor on the side, and an LED light in the toe.


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Podcast Episode #5: “Rethink Your Industry”

In the latest episode of the Why Didn’t I Think of That? ® Podcast, Bob Smith and Greg Anastos sit down with thinkofthat.net blogger Benjamin Christopher and discuss the first of their Axioms For Entrepreneurs, “Re-think Your Industry.”

The Why Guys explore how companies like Netflix, Apple, Xerox, and General Motors were able to look at their industries, and their companies, in a new light.

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Entrepreneur Spotlight: Slinky

Richard James was working at a Philadelphia shipyard and was looking for a way to keep nautical instruments stable in rough seas. That’s when a torsion spring fell off the shelf. Richard watched the spring crawl down shelves, stacks of books and tabletops, and land upright on the floor. Suddenly, he had a great idea…


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Entrepreneur Spotlight: ManCan

Why do candles all have such “girly smells,” 14-year-old Hart Main asked his younger sister, who was selling the candles for a school fundraiser. Main thought why not have smells that guys would like, like fresh cut grass, bacon, sawdust and leather. So, with a $100 investment, and his heart set on buying a brand new bike, this young man invented a whole new kind of candle: the ManCan.


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What they do:
Car rentals.

Inspiration:
When Ford dealer Warren Avis saw businesses begin flying sales reps to distant cities, he opened a rental car business at Detroit's Willow Run airport.

About the business:
Warren Avis sold the company 8 years later for $8 million. For 60 years Avis has remained a leader in the rental industry.

Axioms:

Related Blog Stories:

Podcast Episode #5: “Rethink Your Industry” - January 13, 2012

In the latest episode of the Why Didn’t I Think of That? ® Podcast, Bob Smith and Greg Anastos sit down with thinkofthat.net blogger Benjamin Christopher and discuss the first of their Axioms For Entrepreneurs, “Re-think Your Industry.”

The Why Guys explore how companies like Netflix, Apple, Xerox, and General Motors were able to look at their industries, and their companies, in a new light.

The History Factory - May 21, 2011

It’s no secret that businesses and corporations are always looking forward. The next big product, the next big innovation, the next quarterly report. And yet, many businesses have histories as rich and fascinating as anything you’d find in a history book. Is there any money to be made in preserving your company’s legacy?

A Marketing Lesson From Apple, circa 1984 - April 20, 2011

Sure, it only takes one company or product to revolutionize an industry, but selling people something they’ve never seen before isn’t easy. The general public tends to shy away from cutting edge technologies and trends, waiting for them to become more commonplace before adapting them. Your job is to change their minds. But how? Luckily, many before us have made bold, world-changing moves that have dramatically shifted the courses of industries, and made the people behind the companies filthy rich. One such example is Apple Computers.

The Inventor of Super Glue Dies at 94 - March 28, 2011

Harry Coover, the man who invented Super Glue, has passed away at the age of 94. His discovery actually came about by accident…

Ernest Holmes and the First Tow Truck - March 12, 2011

This entrepreneur invented a way to help his distressed customers — and start a new industry — at the same time. Hear the story of auto mechanic Ernest Holmes and the invention of the Tow Truck.