Happy February! A month that is known for its valentines, candy hearts, and tons of love (as well as being known as the stalemate of winter). But along with all this, February is a month filled with dedication to many of those who have paved the way for the society we live in today, marking it as Black History Month. During the past few weeks, we have found it very important to bring light to those in our community who have sparked innovation and entrepreneurship; highlighting the positive impacts they are creating for the city of Flint. Here at 100K Ideas, we are very fortunate to have had many individuals come through and use our services to jump-start many different businesses that help to grow and expand our area, especially around the African American community. A lot of this is made possible with the help of the innovators from the past who changed the masses and revolutionized the way our society views diversity. With this, we would love to highlight a few very important business men and women who used innovation to change the world:
- George Washington Carver: An agricultural chemist famous for improving the lives of farmers and agriculture, as well as being the inventor of peanut butter.
- Marie Van Brittan Brown: The inventor of home security systems, starting the idea of peepholes, cameras, monitors, and two-way microphone systems in regards to security.
- Charles Drew: He was the first to invent blood transfusions.
- Marian Croak: Entrepreneurial powerhouse who holds 135 patents, has 100 patents currently under review, and sits on the board for the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Center.
- Lisa Gelobter: She invented the super popular short video so many of us use on the daily, known as a GIF.
- Lonnie Johnson: He made all our childhood dreams come true when he invented the first water gun, the Super Soaker.
- Jesse Ernest Wilkins, Jr.: The United States’ youngest doctor and mathematician to date, entering college at age of 13 years old, and graduated with a Doctorate degree at 19 years old.
Check out our latest posts on Instagram and Facebook to check out the innovators and entrepreneurs who are making an impact in our community!
