We often speak of STEM, that is, science technology, engineering and math. A couple of years ago we took 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 our 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 for 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 a 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 the Covid 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 if 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.

Area Examples

A couple of examples come to mind, serial entrepreneurs in our area. One is the late Curtis Lavine who, at the retirement age of 59, founded Kansas Aviation in the early 1990’s to rebuild fuel controls in business-jet aircraft. This was followed by a leasing company, survey company, restaurant, family fitness center and a just-in-time inventory storage/delivery business. Curtis learned to recognize need and he figured out how to run the businesses as he started them.

More recently, Alicia Yates started selling Avon products in the early 2000’s while being a stay-at-home mom. In 2003, she had become so successful at multi-thousand-dollar school fundraisers that Avon commissioned her to write a book about how to do successful fundraising. From there, she went on to purchase and own a printing business, then opened a screen print/embroidery business, and then a clothing business. She sold all of those businesses and after taking a year off, purchased Twigs Floral in Independence. She didn’t know anything about any of those businesses, but, like Curtis Lavine, figured out how to run them as she started them.

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 entrepreneurs.”

For many of our youth, especially the ones not well suited for the model of going to college and getting a job; instead of coercing them to choose a single career starting in the 6^th or 7^th grade, they and our economy would be better served by helping them learn to be the stem cells of our economy.

Jim Correll can be reached at (620) 252-5349 or by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Fab Lab ICC or Independence Community College. Archive columns and podcasts at www.fablabicc.org.