Curiosity drives every entrepreneur. As I learned about GeekWire’s recent recognition of six “Uncommon Thinkers,” I couldn’t resist exploring how these individuals are transforming business by pushing boundaries in diverse fields. Each honoree exemplifies courage in addressing complex challenges and developing ideas with measurable impact. With backgrounds ranging from biotech to space technology, their efforts demonstrate the importance of diverse skillsets and bold moves for the startup ecosystem. Let me walk you through their stories.
The Thinkers Leading the Charge
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Anindya Roy, Lila Biologics
Anindya Roy’s work doesn’t just focus on medical therapies, it redefines them. He applies computational tools to create drug candidates tackling diseases that mainstream drugs often fail to address. Beyond providing solutions, his approach paves the way for efficient methods of drug discovery, giving smaller biotech companies opportunities to compete on a global stage. Biotech entrepreneurs should pay close attention here. If you’re wondering how to align big ambitions with limited resources, aim to refine your model with highly specialized applications like Roy has done with computational drug design. -
Chet Kittleson, Tin Can
In today’s world saturated with digital screens, Tin Can revives simple connections for children through technology designed to be safe and straightforward. Kittleson’s WiFi-enabled retro landline phones are brilliant in their simplicity. Think voice calls without distractions or harmful social apps. If you're ideating in hardware startups, asking critical questions about convenience and safety could unlock creative answers. Kittleson mastered this by narrowing his focus to families dealing with screen exhaustion, something most parents battle daily. -
Brian Pinkard, Aquagga
Environmental cleanup doesn't grab headlines, but Brian Pinkard has taken on the challenge of addressing “forever chemicals” (PFAS). His modular systems, capable of destroying PFAS, cater to one of the most urgent ecological crises of our time. By targeting persistent problems head-on, Pinkard’s team not only impacts environmental health but also appeals to industries with manageable costs and scalable remediation systems. His story is an example for startups tackling niche crises, you don’t have to save everything at once. Solve one well-defined problem exceptionally. -
Jeff Thornburg, Portal Space Systems
Portal Space Systems is pushing satellite innovation to new levels with solar-thermal propulsion for satellites. This idea is anything but ordinary, but Thornburg’s engineering vision ensures satellites last longer and operate faster, benefiting telecom and defense industries alike. Startup founders should learn from his methodical approach: instead of competing broadly, Thornburg zeroed in on specialized technology underserved in the market. Greater specificity often equals greater success. -
Kiana Ehsani, Vercept
Productivity doesn’t just mean speed, it means usability. Kiana Ehsani understands this through her AI platform “Vy.” Users describe their workflows in plain language, and the platform automates tasks across different applications seamlessly. While generative AI is popular nowadays, Vercept's focus on simplicity makes it universal for users across industries. As AI continues gaining traction, entrepreneurs should learn from Ehsani’s decision to prioritize ease of use over technical complexity. It’s a strategy with huge appeal. -
Jay Graber, Bluesky
Graber aims for something ambitious: building decentralized social networks where users own their data. Her work not only counters the walled-garden structure of platforms like Facebook but also represents a future trend in giving users full control of their identities online. For anyone entering tech startups, Bluesky serves as a warning against creating monopolized ecosystems. Build infrastructure that’s transparent, collaborative, and fair, aligning economic and societal values.
How to Build Legacy Like These Thinkers
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to be impactful. Instead, focus on these practices for entrepreneurial success:
- Hyper-niche your problem focus: All six honorees solve clearly defined challenges, whether it’s decentralized social networks or safe phone calls for kids.
- Useful over flashy design: Ehsani and Kittleson stand out because they trimmed unnecessary complexity and let usability take center stage.
- Seek intersections: Some of the most valuable work combines fields outside traditional overlap, giving way to Roy's biotech breakthroughs.
- Think long-term: Not every problem has an immediate market payoff. If your idea solves public needs (as Pinkard’s platforms do), growth will follow.
Mistakes to Avoid When Innovating
Even the most daring thinkers encounter pitfalls. Here are key mistakes worth avoiding:
- Ignoring expertise gaps: If you're entering a new sector, build relationships with experts. They’ll guide you, as Roy did early in his scientific training.
- Overestimating user needs: Kittleson’s concise product design prevents unnecessary layers while keeping children engaged safely.
- Skipping sustainability: Financial and market sustainability should coexist, a principle Pinkard adheres to with accessible environmental solutions.
Actionable Insights for Aspiring Founders
It’s often unclear whether good ideas translate into great businesses. Here’s what entrepreneurs should take from these stories:
- Collaborative ecosystems matter: Thornburg’s network, Spacex and Amazon peers, enabled successful scaling. Find and cultivate communities where collaboration thrives.
- Anticipate scalability upfront: Pinkard knew PFAS challenges were universal and made technology adaptable for small or large-scale deployments.
- Users dictate value: Both Ehsani and Graber let individual utility direct their tech solutions; investors noticed, understanding how useful platforms create loyal audiences.
Closing Lessons
Reflecting on these stories, what stands out most is persistence over perfection. None of these innovators rushed toward industry trends, they paved their own paths by solving needs overlooked by competitors. As entrepreneurs or startup founders ourselves, the reminder to double down on clarity provides much-needed focus in a noisy world. Perhaps the lesson here isn’t to be uncommon, but deeply committed.
FAQ
1. Who are the six honorees of GeekWire’s 2025 Uncommon Thinkers award?
The six honorees are Anindya Roy (Lila Biologics), Chet Kittleson (Tin Can), Brian Pinkard (Aquagga), Jeff Thornburg (Portal Space Systems), Kiana Ehsani (Vercept), and Jay Graber (Bluesky). Together, they represent transformative innovation across biotech, hardware, environmental engineering, space systems, AI, and decentralized networks. Read the full GeekWire story
2. What innovation is Anindya Roy recognized for?
Anindya Roy uses computational tools in drug discovery, helping create efficient therapies for illnesses resistant to mainstream pharmaceuticals. His work opens opportunities for smaller biotech firms to innovate globally. Explore Anindya Roy’s story
3. How does Chet Kittleson’s Tin Can benefit children and families?
Tin Can produces retro WiFi-enabled phones designed to facilitate distraction-free communication for kids, responding to parents’ concerns about screen time and harmful apps. Learn more about Tin Can’s approach
4. What makes Brian Pinkard’s work at Aquagga significant?
Brian Pinkard developed modular systems that destroy harmful “forever chemicals” (PFAS), addressing a pressing environmental crisis with scalable solutions for industries and municipalities. Dive into Brian Pinkard’s impact
5. What is Jeff Thornburg’s key contribution at Portal Space Systems?
Jeff Thornburg is revolutionizing satellite technology with solar-thermal propulsion systems, enabling faster maneuverability and longer operational lifespans for satellites in telecom and defense. Discover Jeff Thornburg’s satellite innovation
6. How does Kiana Ehsani’s AI platform Vy enhance productivity?
Vy simplifies automation by allowing users to describe workflows in plain language, automating tasks seamlessly across different applications without requiring technical expertise. Learn about Kiana Ehsani’s AI solution
7. What is Jay Graber’s mission with Bluesky?
Jay Graber is leading Bluesky, a decentralized social network that gives users ownership of their online data, challenging centralized platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Explore Jay Graber’s decentralized vision
8. What common trends can be observed among the 2025 Uncommon Thinkers?
The honorees focus on hyper-niche problems with widespread impact, prioritize usability over complexity, and adopt sustainable, scalable approaches to innovation. Understand the common trends
9. Where can I attend the annual GeekWire Gala celebrating innovators?
The GeekWire Gala honors tech leaders and entrepreneurs, including the Uncommon Thinkers. For event details and tickets, visit 2025 GeekWire Gala.
10. How does Seattle foster innovation through the Uncommon Thinkers initiative?
Seattle’s vibrant startup ecosystem and GeekWire’s Uncommon Thinkers program amplify global talent and disruptive ideas, cementing the region’s role as a hub for transformative innovation. Learn more about Seattle’s role
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.