The Future is Just Yesterday’s Crazy Idea That Didn’t Get Laughed Out of the Room
There’s a line I’ve always loved — part poetry, part prophecy:
“Many a rose blooms unseen.”
It’s beautiful. It’s brutal. And if you’ve ever tried to bring a new idea into the world, you’ve felt the sting of it.
Because sometimes you do the work.You have the vision.You chase the patent, build the prototype, pitch the dream, and prepare your victory speech…
…and still end up watching someone else win the prize you planted.
Let me tell you about a rose of mine you’ve probably never seen.
The Dog Trainer That Nearly Changed Everything
Years ago, I built a device called P.E.T. — The Pavlovian Electronic Trainer.
This wasn’t just another dog gadget. It was a behavior-shaping system for our four-legged companions:
- Proprietary pressure-sensitive pads that tracked when and where your dog sat or stayed.
- A smart treat dispenser that responded to those behaviors with automated reinforcement.
- A tech-forward twist on classic Pavlov, minus the drool (okay, maybe some drool).
I had Greenberg Traurig, LLP in Century City drafting the patent.I had early prototypes being tested.I had dreams of shelf space at PetSmart, TED Talks about cross-species behavioral psychology, and maybe, just maybe, a cameo on Shark Tank.
And then...One day I open a Hammacher Schlemmer catalog — yes, that one, with $40,000 hoverboards and walnut-sized espresso machines — and there it is.
My idea.Down to the sensor pads.Down to the treat dispenser.
Marketed. Shipped. Real.
What Do You Do When Your Rose Blooms in Someone Else’s Garden?
You could rage.You could wallow.You could sit in your garage yelling at your golden retriever like a jilted inventor from a Pixar movie.
Or you could realize something deeper:
Innovation doesn’t die when it doesn’t make it.It dies when you stop believing it could’ve.
Because the truth is, P.E.T. wasn’t just a quirky idea.It was a proof point that the universe rewards those who try—even if it doesn’t always reward them first.
The Cosmic Laundry Theory of Startups
Let’s talk chaos theory.
In the infinite timeline of the universe, there exists a moment—just one—where a spinning load of laundry, mid-cycle, somehow folds every item perfectly. Socks paired. Towels creased. Underwear origami’d into drawer-ready submission.
Statistically absurd.But theoretically inevitable.
That’s what it feels like trying to get a product to market.
Your team is the dryer.Your product is the laundry.And the universe?It’s just waiting for you to spin it one more time.
Douglas Adams and the Art of the Improbable
The late, great Douglas Adams once said:
“The chances of finding out what's really going on in the universe are so remote, the only thing to do is hang the sense of it and keep yourself occupied.”
That’s basically a startup mission statement.
We don’t launch because we know it’ll work.We launch because something in us can’t not try.
Because the future isn’t built by the ones with perfect plans and market validation spreadsheets.It’s built by the mad ones with mismatched socks, frayed timelines, and a glimmer of a crazy idea that just might fold perfectly — if the spin cycle hits right.
A New Era: When the Dreamer Gets a Power Tool
Here’s the exciting part:
We’ve entered an age where your craziest idea doesn’t have to stay in the garage.
The tools to build, test, iterate, and refine are no longer locked behind gatekeepers or VC checks.They’re here — and they’re powerful.
You can prototype with AI in hours, not months.You can stress-test ideas with large language models that ask better questions than most brainstorming sessions.You can simulate user flows, generate pitch decks, write code, and even visualize your product... before the coffee gets cold.
AI isn’t here to replace your genius — it’s here to amplify your chaos into clarity.
So if you’ve got an idea that keeps tugging at you — the one you push aside because it feels too weird, too niche, too big — now’s the time to let it out.
Spin the dryer.Feed the prompt.Build the thing.
Final Thought:
Next time you’ve got a “too weird” idea—the kind you hesitate to say out loud—don’t dismiss it.
Build it.Say it.Sketch it on a napkin and shove it into the world.
Because while many roses bloom unseen…the only real failure is never planting it in the first place.
And in this age of infinite possibility and digital co-pilots, the distance between idea and impact has never been shorter.
So yeah—Maybe this is your moment.Maybe the universe is folding laundry in your favor.
But you won’t know…unless you press "Start."