Some think that innovation can only be initiated by those who have the privilege to do so. If you’re white, or young, or rich, then you have the advantage to be a disrupter.

Think about it…

Who founded Facebook? A young white man. Who founded Apple or Microsoft? Young white men. Think of any great innovation and chances are, the person behind the idea is white, or young, or (perceived to be) wealthy.

You can’t blame people for thinking this way…

We don’t see many example of boomers, or women, or minorities, or those perceived to be poor transforming ideas into innovation.

But they do exist!

• Sara Blakely was 27 when she founded Spanx. She funded her first prototype with $5,000 on a credit card and wrote the patent herself because she couldn’t afford the attorney fees.
• Wayne Purboo recently sold his video streaming service called QuickPlay to At&T for an undisclosed sum.
• Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green received a $1.1-million grant to further develop her patent-pending technology for using laser-activated nanoparticles to treat cancer.

These are just some of the non-white young male innovators. If you have any others, please post below.