Real World Examples of Re-inventing the Wheel

Source: Pinterest

There is a meme that circulates every once in a while that I love showing to students. I've seen the quote with a variety of backgrounds, but basically it says "If anyone ever tells you your dreams are silly. Remember there's some millionaire walking around who invented the pool noodle." Some quick research however will show you that the pool noodle wasn't the actual invention, but a guy who found a new use for an old product. Steve Hartman saw tons of foam rods for insulation lying around his company and decided to add some color. He marketed it as a pool toy and after some hard work, we all know what a pool noodle is.

Source: Pinterest

Another great story of marketing belongs to a grocery store staple. That's right, carrots. Remember the old days when we had to peel and cut our root vegetables before eating them? In 1989, Mike Yurosek had an idea to reduce waste. It seems that the less-than perfect carrots were being trashed. Yurosek started peeling and cutting those less than perfect carrots and marketing the ready to eat pieces as "baby carrots". He not only cornered the aisle at the grocery store, he also helped reduce waste.

These are just two of the quick antidotes I tell students during entrepreneur lessons. Each story shows how it's not necessarily a brand new idea that will take off, but a combination of having the idea and learning how to market it.

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Sources:

• Marketplace - Meet the Man Who Invented the Pool Noodle
• Carrot Museum - The Origin and Evolution of Baby Carrots