Andy Schlievert has a mind that doesn’t quit. Put that together with a problem-solving approach to life, and you’ve got an inventor. Add to that a business mind, just the right number of friends, and the ability to work with others, and you’ve intellectual property and a business. And that is what Andy Schlievert is up to.
Working downtown for ING insurance, he regularly saw blind people struggling to navigate the Des Moines Skywalk using a white cane – encountering ramps, corners, hard objects, and moving people. Thinking every minute he put together the concepts of white cane, global positioning, voice-activation, and ultrasonic range finding or SONAR technology and the genesis of an invention emerged. The patent is pending and therefore because the product is still being developed, all you will see is a rough sketch of his invention called the Inveo but click on the image to see words associated with the components. Andy’s business is called Invesions, a contraction of inventing and visions
Curtis Chong a field director for the Iowa Department for the Blind and the Technology Director for the National Federation of the Blind has been particularly helpful. Andrew is also working toward a prototype development with an engineering design coordinator at Iowa State.
Andy was born and raised in Algona, Iowa where he attended Algona High School. While in high school he entered the Iowa State Science and Technology Fair where he qualified for the Intel International Science Fair in 2002 and again in 2005. He did well in 2002 as a 15 year old and 2005 as an 18 year old, winning a 3rd Award in the engineering category.
In Des Moines during the times Andy is not working at ING or developing his invention, he has been attending AIB College of Business where he has already earned an Associate’s degree and is working on his Bachelor’s.
Recently a couple of books have his attention. He first mentioned Joel Osteen’s Your Best Life Now a book that is nicely reviewed on ABC‘s website. He also cited Campus CEO, A Student Entrepreneur’s Guide to Launching a Multimillion Dollar Business by Randel Pinkett.
You will have to watch closely for Andrew Schlievert. You will find him downtown at ING, going to school at AIB, working on his invention and Invesions, at the New Iowa Entrepreneurs Coalition meet-up group at the Pappajohn Center, or about town. He is a young man on the go, full of ideas and positive ambition.
photo courtesy of stock.xchng
photos by james lindberg
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