#42: How to Solve Societal Challenges with the CEO and Co-Founder of HeroX, Christian Cotichini

Veteran entrepreneur Christian Cotichini is the Co-founder and CEO of HeroX. This revolutionary organization empowers anyone to crowdsource the solutions to their most urgent challenges and incentivizes innovators from around the world to compete to solve them. Through this platform, NASA has already challenged coders to speed up its supercomputer, Land O’Lakes has called on investors to develop drone technology to assist in agriculture, and NBC has sought new designs for its iconic peacock logo, just to name a few examples.  HeroX was co-founded in 2013 by Christian, Peter Diamandis & Emily Fowler to democratize the innovation model of their existing company, XPRIZE, which was designed to offer huge financial incentives for groundbreaking innovations in science, technology, and engineering. In 2004, XPRIZE was responsible for incentivizing the first private suborbital spaceflight, by rewarding the triumphant developers of SpaceShip One with $10 million dollars. Using HeroX, anyone can post a challenge and offer a prize of any size for projects big and small. Prior to HeroX, Christian had 20 years of experience in the startup and technology worlds. He founded Absolute Software, a leader in computer security and asset management, and subsequently founded MAKE Technologies, which was sold to Dell Computers in early 2012.  In this compelling conversation, Christian spoke with IVY’s Co-founder, Beri Meric, about some of the biggest challenges facing our world today, and how anyone might be the person to find the solution.  Please enjoy our conversation with Christian Cotichini. And remember to visit IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions. -- This episode of the IVY Podcast is brought to you by Eight, maker of the Eight Smart Bed. The Eight Smart Bed is a four layer high-density foam mattress paired with a smart cover that goes on the mattress just like a fitted sheet. This nearly invisible technology layer has multiple sensors that measure the quality of your sleep and deliver a daily sleep report each morning through the Eight app. The Eight cover also has a bed warming feature that warms each side of the bed individually to accommodate different sleeping temperatures. And Eight connects to almost any wifi enabled device in your house. Coffee makers, blinds, smart lights, did we mention bed warming? IVY Podcast listeners get $100 off any mattress purchase by entering the promo code IVY at checkout — visit www.eightsleep.com/ivy to start sleeping smarter today!