Sometimes the Best Ideas Are the Most Basic

At 17, Kavita Shukla (pictured) got a patent for FreshPaper, a sheet of paper infused with a secret blend of organic spices that prohibits bacterial and fungal growth on fresh fruits and vegetables.  Then, she got a degree in economics from Harvard.  Next, she launched her company, Fenugreen (named for fenugreek, one of the plants in her patented concoction).

How did she get the idea for the FreshPaper?

Kavita was visiting her grandmother in India when she accidentally swallowed tap water while brushing her teeth. She panicked, but with a flurry of activity in the kitchen, her grandma produced a murky brown concoction of herbs and spices for Shukla to drink—and she never got sick. She was fascinated by her grandmother's wisdom and, when she returned home to the U.S., began experimenting with the effects of various spices by dipping strawberries into them to find out which prevented bacteria and fungus from growing. 

The rest is history - FreshPaper is now sold in stores across the U.S., as well as 35 other countries.

Read the entire article, including lessons from Kavita (one being our subject line for this post) - here.

Photo courtesy:  TEDx Manhattan