The Innovation Garage Founding Story
Everyone loves an origin story.
Especially stories that provide the background and context as to why people do what they do.
This one represents a real world example of how a unique idea can evolve into something from a series of meaningful conversations with others.
In his Stanford University Commencement Speech, How to Live Before You Die, Steve Jobs talks about how you can only connect the dots of your history and your journey by looking backwards.
It’s a similar thought process that led to the evolution and idea of The Innovation Garage®.
The concept of The Innovation Garage was co-developed with the help of three very trusted business advisors.
Founder Jon Washington’s wife Kris and their three children.
Back in 2011 and 2012, during a seres of family dinners, the table discussions centered around making sure that whatever you do in life provides joy to you as an individual and helps others.
At some point, during the course of those dinners, the table was turned around in the discussion. The question was flipped back on Jon and asked by his kids.
“So, how are you providing joy and helping others?”
At the time, with his career in full swing as a large corporation executive, Jon didn’t have a very good response to the question.
As the family gatherings continued, it was at the next dinner at that local restaurant, the topics shifted and his family suggested starting a company might be the best way to make all that happen.
If a company was started and built on Jon’s skills and interests, and what he truly liked doing, this might be the best way to help others.
Given Jon’s past startup background, that seemed like a logical next step to explore.
In this way, creating a special adventure, truly walking the talk, and seeing might happen next.
So at that dinner, Jon asked his boys to start brainstorming on business names.
They flipped over their menus. Each writing and capturing their ideas in crayon.
Jon asked the boys to pick the best name they could think of and pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it across the table.
Jon’s 10-year-old son wrote Innovation Garage in crayon on the back of the card, and then passed the card back.
