Risk and fear is key. You got to make sure these kids understand it's okay to take a risk.
— Corky Newcomb
Sports Inventor-Mentor Founder and Inventor Nitelite, Inc.
Self-described "Inventor Mentor" Corky Newcomb spoke at the STEM² Summit about the need for great ideas from young students and how teachers can allow those ideas to come to fruition.
Corky's early spark for innovation and entrepreneurship began as a teenager on Lake Winnipesaukee and was nurtured as a young sales manager at The Sonesta Hotel and The Whitehall Hotel for three years in Houston, Texas. Since 1975, Corky Newcomb has created, patented, packaged and marketed over 40 of his own inventions, plus eight products invented by other inventors.
Risk and fear is key. You got to make sure these kids understand it's okay to take a risk, and the only fear, the only thing that you have to fear is basically, failure, and that's not an option. You got to just tell them, “look, we need innovation. We need you."