Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas 

We often speak of STEM, that is, science technology, engineering and math. Today, we want to take a look at a different kind of stem; stem cell therapy (SCT) and how entrepreneurs are the stem cells for the economy and have been since the beginnings of the United States in the late 1700’s. This will be a very high level, layman’s non-scientific discussion. 

Stem Cell Therapy 

A simple definition is “A stem cell is a cell with the unique ability to develop into specialized cell types in the body.” Stem cell therapy involves injecting stem cells into a part of the body needing help, to mend or rebuild tissue, for example. The stem cells have the ability to transform themselves into the same kind of cells that are damaged and repair the damage. In the early days, stem cells came from embryos, very controversial. Today, they can be derived by extracting cells from the body needing repair work, externally converting them to stem cells and then injecting them back into the body where the work is needed. 

Introduction to Animal Therapy 

I first learned about this therapy in 2010 when veterinarian Dr. Larry Snyder from Topeka donated a sonogram machine to our fledgling Vet Tech program at ICC. Dr. Snyder was and still is a pioneer in adipose stem cell therapy in animals. What he showed us during a visit in 2011 was that fat cells from a dog could be extracted, put through an external 10 or 11 step process to turn them into stem cells, which were injected into the dog’s bad knee or hip. The stem cells transform themselves into the affected joint cells and go to work reproducing more healthy joint cells, thus healing the problem. Stem cells can be thought of as problem solvers. Inject them where there is a problem and you get a solution. 

I considered stem cell therapy in 2015 instead of hip replacement surgery. Not finding any medical professional in region familiar with the process, I ended up having—the very successful—surgery instead. However, a friend of mine opted for stem cell therapy instead of knee surgery and it was very successful or her. 

Entrepreneurs Have Always Provided Therapy 

From “Entrepreneurs: Leading the Way Out” an op-ed by Greg Pesci in 2011, Entrepreneurs have always been leaders in America. They led the rebellion against excessive taxation and regulation that spawned these United States in the late 1700’s. In the 1970’s, conventional wisdom said that America’s time as vibrant, innovative economy had passed. We experienced Vietnam, Watergate, high interest rates, high unemployment, and double-digit inflation. We were told ours was a future of scarcity and sacrifice, and that what we really needed was increased government control and higher taxes (sound familiar?).” 

Yet, after all of that in the 1970’s, came Apple, FedEx, Microsoft and Southwest airlines along with thousands and thousands of small businesses. Entrepreneurs and small businesses, by far, create more new American jobs than the large corporations. Every time there have been problems in the American economy, entrepreneurs have injected themselves into the middle of those problems, creating solutions through new businesses that serve their communities. 

Entrepreneurs Will Always Provide Therapy 

Even with the uncertainty and disruption caused by this dreadful pandemic, it will be the stem cell entrepreneurs that provide restoration, looking for and solving the problems we’re experiencing today. It will always be this way as long as we provide the freedom for people to choose the way they wish to become the problem solvers of our economy. We need to better expose our youth to the principles of problem-solving and entrepreneurial mindset, inspiring them to view the world around them looking for ways to make it better. Once exposed to this freedom to choose how to best serve the economy, in essence, our community, we’ll have our stem cells for this and future generations. 

Bring on the Entrepreneurs 

A friend recently shared this quote with me from Chris Guillebeau, author of “The $100 Startup.” “There’s no rehab program for being addicted to freedom.  Once you’ve seen what it’s like on the other side, good luck trying to follow someone else’s rules ever again.” 

From Pesci’s piece, “Entrepreneurs will lead the way out. Bring on the entrepeneurs.” 

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. Archive columns and podcast at jimcorrell.com.