It Starts With You
When the world feels chaotic, filled with fear, upheaval, or uncertainty, the most important question isn’t What is happening? it’s What can I do to help?
From Crisis to Change
Some of the world’s most powerful innovations started as rapid responses to crisis and became global game-changers.
Innovation is often imagined as a spark, a moment of genius or sudden technological leap. But many of the ideas that shape the world don’t explode onto the scene. They emerge in moments of need, driven not by ambition or money but by empathy and resourcefulness.
A Straw That Helped Eliminate a Disease
In the mid-1990s, a crisis was unfolding: in parts of Africa, millions of people were at risk of Guinea worm disease, a parasitic infection caused by drinking water contaminated with microscopic larvae. The disease was painful, debilitating, and widespread.
The Carter Center, a nonprofit founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, approached a Swiss company called Vestergaard with an unusual request: could they create a filter to stop the spread of the disease?
Vestergaard responded with a cloth filter that could trap the larvae. It worked and saved lives.
But they didn’t stop there. In 1999, they reimagined the tool as something even more intuitive and scalable: a personal, pipe-shaped filter that someone could use to drink directly from contaminated water sources. It was simple and it worked.
Then they gave it away.
Millions of LifeStraw Guinea Worm filters were distributed through NGO partnerships and aid organizations. Today, thanks in part to this low-tech, high-impact innovation, Guinea worm disease is on the brink of eradication, from over 3 million cases per year to just 13 in 2023.
The team at Vestergaard saw the potential of this tool beyond the immediate crisis. In 2005, they launched LifeStraw technology to filter out nearly all microbiological contaminants, aiming to serve both people in water-insecure regions and those affected by natural disasters.
Their mindset was clear: design with empathy. Solve for the real user. Share it freely.
A Basement in Syracuse
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit decades later, in early 2020, the world faced a frightening shortage of personal protective equipment. Hospitals were running out of masks. Face shields were nearly impossible to find. The global supply chain was grinding to a halt.
In Syracuse, New York, a small design studio called Budmen Industries saw the crisis unfolding. They decided to act. Using their in-house 3D printers, they prototyped a simple, effective face shield. And then, they released the file to the public for free.
The problem was bigger than them and the solution should be shared.
Among those who stepped up were two engineers, Scott Antonacci and Harold Watkins, who took the Budmen face shield design and brought it into mass production through injection molding, scaling it by the millions and helping it reach those in dire need.
What happened next was one of the largest grassroots manufacturing efforts of the 21st century. The design was downloaded around the globe. Teachers, librarians, retired military people, registered nurses, actors, children, volunteers, everyday people, began 3D printing face shields. In just two months, more than 3.5 million Budmen face shields were produced from that original file.
Those four people: Isaac Budmen, Stephanie (Keefe) Budmen, Scott Antonacci, and Harold Watkins, strangers until that point, quickly realized they shared something deeper: a belief in practical, purpose-driven problem solving.
A company is born, not from ambition, but alignment. That company became Think Variant.
“We didn’t start with a company in mind. We started with a problem to solve and a belief that the best ideas should be shared. Think Variant was born from that moment. Not just to build products, but to accelerate the rate of human innovation.” - Stephanie Budmen
A Shared Philosophy
Two continents, two crises. But the same philosophy: solve fast, share freely, design for good. These weren't just products, they were responses. And both started with empathy.
It Starts With You
There are crises happening today. Different headlines and different problems with the same need: scalable solutions.
The next LifeStraw or Budmen Face Shield may be sitting in your sketchbook, your garage, or in your mind right now.
If you see a need, step into it.
If you think differently, don’t wait for permission.
If you solve something, share it.
Drop your idea in the comments. Start a prototype. Tell someone about it. Pass this story along.
We’ll help you figure out what’s next. Chances are, you’re not the only one who needs it.
This is where human innovation begins.
