Coming up with an idea for a company can be difficult-unless coming up with ideas is the company.
Two UW-Madison students have pioneered a business that markets ideas-the least tangible but perhaps most valuable asset of a successful company. In April 2004 Anand Chhatpar and Nate Altfeather co-founded BrainReactions, a company that outsources ideas to high-tech and consumer product firms.
\BrainReactions provides inspiration for innovation,"" said Chhatpar, the CEO and a senior studying computer engineering. ""We don't provide our clients the solution-we give them different ways to think, to fuel their own imaginations.""
The ideas are generated by employees whose titles are, appropriately enough, idea generators. All idea generators are UW-Madison students who have already demonstrated creative thinking, perhaps by having entered campus-sponsored invention contests or business plan contests.
When a client contracts for BrainReactions' services, Chhatpar and Chief Creative Officer Altfeather select six to 12 idea generators and initiate a brainstorming session that follows standard brainstorming rules, including the cardinal rule: No passing judgment on other ideas. Altfeather moderates the session, prompting the students with ideas, while Chhatpar captures the stream of ideas on his laptop. A typical two-hour brainstorming session yields between 120 and 140 ideas per hour.
In a recent brainstorming session, BrainReactions considered ways for a local job placement center to find sponsors. The Youth Job Center places high school youth who have barriers to employment. How, wondered YJC, can we get more businesses involved?
The idea generators went to work, producing almost 100 ideas in an hour. They suggested having the kids caddy a golf tournament in which local businesspeople played, or starting a for-profit company run entirely by the kids. Michael Mitchell, program coordinator for YJC, said his staff had already thought of some of the ideas themselves, but that about three dozen new ideas had merit.
""I like the one about having kids work in the Capitol, so they learn about politics and also make politicians aware of their needs,"" Mitchell said.
Altfeather and Chhatpar met at a 2002 inventors competition sponsored by UW-Madison's School of Engineering.
""I won, which proves I'm smarter than Anand,"" Altfeather said with a wry smile, drawing a laugh from Chhatpar. ""Anand came by to congratulate me, and we started talking.""
The conversation led to a strong friendship between Chhatpar, the outgoing people-person, and Altfeather, the thoughtful, introspective partner. The two later hatched the idea of BrainReactions, and began handpicking idea generators, favoring evidence of creativity over mere academic ability.
BrainReactions' idea generators earn anywhere from $20 to $100 for a one-hour brainstorming session, depending on experience.
One idea generator is Joanna Storm, a UW-Madison senior. She said the brainstorming sessions draw out the best from creative people.
""The average person might have ideas but not be willing to share them for fear of getting shot down,"" she said. ""Here, we know how to feed off of each other's approaches. It's really fun.""
