(pic courtesy – CleanLatvia)

The Inventor’s Problem

The world, in my opinion, has two categories of people – those who know to do things, and those who know how to do people.

As far as I have seen, the intersection of these two categories has few people in it. That is, there are very few folks who can both invent cool stuff and network with the powers-that-be to get their innovations to light.

Which is why many brilliant innovations perhaps never saw the light of day – because the inventors simply did not know how to connect with and present to the real world.

The typical inventor’s problem can be stated as follows –

How do I take my innovations to the market, as all my skills have been more towards inventing things and not networking with powerful business people?

EAI feels it can assist the Indian cleantech inventor overcome this Inventor’s Problem, especially for the inventors who lack financial and marketing resources to take their inventions to market. By inventions, we do not just mean scientific/engineering inventions – these could be business model innovations, packaging/marketing innovations too.

This was the rationale that motivated us to launch EAI Futuron Awards.

(for those who are curious, the logo presented above represent exciting ideas – i! – and the credit for this cool logo goes to our designer Uma Maheswari)

The EAI Futuron Awards have been instituted to salute the inventors and innovators in sustainability and cleantech making a difference to India’s sustainability where it matters the most – on the ground, in our homes, offices, fields, and factories.

The Awards have a special focus and emphasis on assisting obscure inventors, especially those who have invested significant time and efforts in taking their ideas from the concept stage to prototypes and early pilots but struggling to take it to the market at large.

If you do things in cleantech, you should surely read on.

Benefits for Futoron Awardees

Many months back, we at EAI decided that we should use the popularity of our site, newsletter and community to assist brilliant folks. The Futuron Awards present a perfect opportunity for us to do this.

The award winners will be extensively promoted on EAI’s unmatched sustainability focused media assets.

As India’s leading Cleantech Research and Consulting firm with deep relationships across VCs, PEs, policy makers, developers, manufacturers, and NGOs, EAI can ensure international exposure to you and your solution through

• EAI Daily – India’s largest and most popular cleantech focused newsletter going out thrice a week with 40,000 subscribers
• EAI Club – India’s only online community dedicated to renewable energy and cleantech with 15,000 members
• EAI Site – India’s most popular hub for renewable energy and cleantech professionals and enthusiasts with 5,000 visitors every day

Which Innovations (and Innovators) Will be Recognised by Futuron?

Any innovation that contributes to sustainable living in India can be submitted, including but not limited to

• Renewable/Sustainable Energy
• Energy Efficiency
• Environmental Remediation
• Recycling & Resources management
• Organic & Eco-friendly products
• Green buildings
• Sustainable transportation
• Education/Training
• Finance & investment
• Green IT

Think you or your company could benefit from EAI Futuron Awards? Get to know more from here – http://www.eai.in/innovation-awards

You can see me and my colleague Raja Muthayya talking about Futuron Awards for YourStory.in