The Spark Blog

Innovation Beyond Technology: Discovering Broader Impacts

During that era, only printers attached to file servers—often located in distant server rooms—could be shared. This setup was inconvenient for users who wanted to print directly from a computer nearby, such as from a secretary’s PC, which had replaced the traditional typewriter and now featured a connected printer.

The solution involved transferring the print file onto a floppy disk and physically handing it to the secretary for printing. Our product, Print+, was revolutionary: a mere 12KB program written in ASM-86 that loaded alongside MS-DOS (which supported up to 640KB of memory) and stayed resident. This innovation effectively transformed every end-user computer into a print server.

The night before my flight, amidst preparations post the significant 1989 San Francisco earthquake, Orit and another colleague, Ilan, were diligently applying Print+ stickers on the diskettes, pricing the software at $899 for three licenses.

Upon arriving in San Jose, California, I battled jet lag in a swaying bed—remnants of the earthquake still palpable. The next morning, I set up at the exhibition with Print+ brochures and diskettes on my simple table display—contrasting sharply with the elaborate booths of other companies.

As the exhibition commenced, the innovative nature of Print+ drew a crowd. The product's capability seemed almost unbelievable, and many attendees were eager to place orders. Among the intrigued was a U.S. Navy Admiral, dressed in a striking white uniform. He approached me after fiddling with a brochure and questioned the authenticity of our claims.

“Kid, does this actually do what you claim?” he asked. I confirmed, nervously explaining the technical specifics. His interest peaked, and he led me into a deeper conversation about the potential implications for the Navy.

At the Navy Command Campus in Norfolk, Virginia, network restrictions prevented direct printing to printers connected to PCs in about twenty buildings. The proposed solution involved a $20 million project to rewire the buildings and install extensive cabling—an endeavor requiring significant construction and voltage boosting.

“If what you say is true, you're offering a cost-effective alternative to a complex construction project,” the Admiral explained, suggesting the broader applicability of our solution across various military branches.

This interaction was a revelation. I had always focused on the technological aspects of innovation, overlooking the substantial impact on construction and operations that Print+ could offer. The Admiral’s subsequent order marked a significant milestone for our startup, expanding our product line to include file sharing, remote backups, and more. It was a profound lesson in recognizing innovation's potential in every facet of life, far beyond mere technology.

That experience taught me that innovation is omnipresent—not only in technology but also in its application, distribution, marketing, sales, and every aspect of operational strategies. It was a million-dollar lesson for a software engineer leading his first startup, and a testament to the broad-reaching impacts of innovative thinking.

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