Passport Health : Why Didn't I Think of That? ®

Passport Health

Passport Health

Hear the Radio Feature:
Play




Our New Daily Player!

For sometime now, we’ve had a special project in the works. We wanted to give our listeners and readers a chance to hear a new Why Didn’t I Think of That?® feature every day, even if they’re away from the radio. And that’s exactly what we’ve done. Today marks the beginning phases of a plan [...]


Get the Why Didnt I Think of That?® Podcast:
Add to iTunesAdd to Zune Podcast RSS Feed Add to Google Reader/Homepage Add to My Yahoo
Hall of Fame Spotlight: Spray Paint

Nobody thought about putting paint in an aerosol can until Ed Seymour. In 1949, Seymour was looking for a novel way to demonstrate a new aluminum paint. His wife suggested putting it in an aerosol can, like ones recently introduced for insecticides. To his surprise, the sprayer — not the paint — became the star of his demonstration.


Get the Why Didnt I Think of That?® Podcast:
Add to iTunesAdd to Zune Podcast RSS Feed Add to Google Reader/Homepage Add to My Yahoo
Hall of Fame Spotlight: Dole Pineapple

While in Hawaii in the 1800′s, James Dole discovered a fruit most people had never seen or heard of before: The pineapple. He began importing the fruit to the mainland and introduced the country to this exotic, sweet treat. The pineapple became a national favorite, and the Dole Food Company became the largest supplier of fruits and vegetables in the world.


Get the Why Didnt I Think of That?® Podcast:
Add to iTunesAdd to Zune Podcast RSS Feed Add to Google Reader/Homepage Add to My Yahoo
TOMS Shoes

He started his first business in college. He sold his second business to Clear Channel. He came within four minutes of winning CBS’s the Amazing Race. He’s led an interesting life, but what Blake Mycoskie is best known for is starting TOMS Shoes, the company that has donated well over a million shoes to needy men, women, and children.


Get the Why Didnt I Think of That?® Podcast:
Add to iTunesAdd to Zune Podcast RSS Feed Add to Google Reader/Homepage Add to My Yahoo
Hall of Fame Spotlight: Gatorade

Today it’s as synonymous with sports as cheerleaders or sweatbands. But not too long ago, Gatorade was just a nameless concoction, cooked up to revitalize the University of Florida’s football team: the Gators. The Gators were losing. A lot. One reason for that was the hot Florida weather dehydrating the players. The “Gator-Aid” not only saved the team, but it has been hydrating and refreshing some of the world’s greatest athletes ever since.

Today’s Hall of Fame Spotlight: The Story of Gatorade.

Play

Get the Why Didnt I Think of That?® Podcast:
Add to iTunesAdd to Zune Podcast RSS Feed Add to Google Reader/Homepage Add to My Yahoo

What they do:
User-friendly clinics that provide information, vaccines and travel medications for world travelers, universities, corporations, and even the military.

Inspiration:
A Baltimore college nurse noticed that students were woefully uneducated about health issues and traveling abroad.

About the business:
Nurse Fran Lessans saw an urgent need on her college campus. She began advising students about health needs when traveling abroad. The great response inspired her to partner with a doctor and open a clinic offering inoculations and travel advice. Passport Health was born. Within a few years, Lessans sold her first franchise to Maryland General Hospital. Today, Lessans’ has 160 franchises across the country and is the largest provider of travel medical services in the U.S.

Axioms:

Related Blog Stories:

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?

Ebay For Lawyers - March 25, 2011

It sounds an awful lot like an obscure Yiddish swearword. But Shpoonkle is a new service for finding legal advice that’s been called “Ebay for lawyers.”

World Premiere: Lasermonks - January 6, 2011

Like so many of our stories, this tale begins with a phrase commonly uttered by a budding entrepreneur: “There must be a better way.”

Return to Everest - April 20, 2010

Last week I received an email from our friend Alison Levine at Daredevil Strategies. Alison emailed me to tell me that she had decided to return to Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth, and climb it again.

The Christmas Light Company - December 9, 2009

How one man turned a college job decorating houses for the holidays into his life’s work.