ENTREPRENEUR OF 2018: A GRIPPING TALE.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: EDITOR'S NOTE

Inventors have always held a special place in American culture, from Thomas Edison to infomercial pitchman Ron Popeil to Harold von Braunhut, whose X Ray Specs and Amazing Sea Monkeys were nothing like they were advertised in the back pages of Boys' Life magazine but were worth a kid's investment of 75 cents or so for the mere possibilities they suggested.

The simplest inventions yield some of the best stories, probably because the products and the creators are relatable. The more technology-driven we become, the harder it becomes to grasp what an innovation involved, even if we appreciate that someone's creation has made our lives better or easier.

That brings us to our Entrepreneur of 2018. David Barnett is a former philosophy professor and lifelong tinkerer who created a collapsible knob that affixes to the back of a smartphone. The gadget serves as a grip, or a "kickstand" to facilitate snapping selfies. As ColoradoBiz Digital Editor Gigi Sukin writes, Barnett launched PopSockets out of his Boulder garage four years ago while still at CU; last year sales of the gadget topped 35 million units.

PopSockets may seem simple to the user, but as you will read, perfecting the design and getting the product to market was an odyssey of trial and error for Barnett and a testament to the inventor's resolve and resourcefulness.

Turning from people to places, Jamie Siebrase brings us up to date on...