Introductions
Welcome to the Lon Safko Introductions page. Download Lon Safko Introduction as a pdf.
LON SAFKO: INTRODUCTION
It is my honor today to introduce a man who needs an introduction.
Lon Safko is not a household name . . . yet. But he has accomplished more, in more fields, than most of those “household names” you do know.
Lon grew up in the shadow of the infamous Sing Sing Prison in upstate New York, which perhaps inspired him to honest work. This work has included developing the very first CAD software for civil engineers. He also helped design the archetypes for the groundbreaking Apple Newton computer, and created those handy little Tool Tip help balloon pop-ups.
While with Apple, Lon singlehandedly - literally in his own garage - created the first computer designed for a severely disabled person. This computer is recognized as “The first computer to save a human life.” One machine is now on display at Stanford University‘s William Gates Computer Science Center. The other one, along with 18 of Lon’s other inventions, are on permanent loan to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Another 14 of Lon‘s inventions are on display at the nation’s Computer History Museum in Mountainview, California. That would be enough for a dozen inventors, much less one man. But not for Lon.
He is the founder of eight companies in the high-tech, entertainment, and education fields. One of them, Paper Models, lets customers download and print three dimensional models used in advertising and education. The company is now in acquisition talks with a large search engine corporation. For this concept, he received the historic first patent for Virtual Electronic Retailing models.
In his spare time, Lon has written five books. His business books show corporations how to train managers in innovation and creative thinking, and help entrepreneurs start a successful on-line Yahoo business.
His latest book unlocks the mysteries of the latest Internet Wave, Social Media - such as Facebook and You Tube. It helps companies and non-profits to effectively use these new media to reach their desired audiences — cheaply, easily, and effectively.
For all these accomplishments, Lon has naturally received a few awards and recognitions in addition to those from the Smithsonian and Stanford University.
Lon received the prestigious Westinghouse Entrepreneur of the Year award. He‘s been nominated as a Fellow of the Computer History Museum. He was selected to represent the American Inventor at the Smithsonian Institution’s 2007 Society of American Archivists conference. He has been featured in numerous magazines from Entrepreneur to Popular Science, as well as dozens of television appearances. It should come as no surprise that he is near the top of the Mensa Society‘s list of smartest people.
He speaks in over 100 North American cities each year and consults with private companies on Innovative Thinking, showing them how ’creativity creates profits.‘ He always tells clients, “When you start to see your world in a new way, you see new ways to do everything!”
We are fortunate to have Lon with us today to share his insights. He’s come a long way since Sing Sing. Let‘s make him feel welcome . . . LON SAFKO!
