Diabetes in America: The Untapped Business Venture

The writing is on the wall. Diabetes in America (No, excuse me) around the world is a large problem. According to a 2014 report from the CDC, about 29.1 million people in America have diabetes (both diagnosed and diagnosed). That is 9.3% of the population. Think about it for a minute, do you know someone with diabetes? For most of you, the answer is probably yes.

Let's take that a step further. According to the same report, about 25% of people over the age of 65 are diabetic. These same people are at higher risk of non-traumatic lower-body amputation. Here is a snapshot of some more statistics:

• In 2010, about 73,000 non-traumatic lower-limb amputations were performed in adults aged 20 years or older with diagnosed diabetes. 
• About 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations among people aged 20 years or older occur in people with diagnosed diabetes.

And that idea is interesting to me...

Nickles and Dimes in Design

Taking an Entrepreneurial Marketing class sounds exciting. Like many people, I have had ideas for products or sudden epiphanies of "why haven't they made this?". I do not yet know what product or service I would like to work on, but I have been viewing through some videos to get some ideas.

One video I stumbled across got me thinking about product design for mass production. Though this class seems more aimed at small business, this video is worth a watch. Bill Hammack does a great job at explaining how small design changes can have major effects of cost per product and product durability.