Show notes
When the rest of the world was just waking up to
the possibility of cell phones and the Internet, Tony Fadell was
already creating the technology behind the smartphone. Author of
more than 300 patents, he sold a microprocessor startup to Apple
just as he was leaving college. He spent the next decade
pioneering mobile technology for the leading electronics
companies, but none would fully commit to marketing the devices
he created. When investors passed on Fadell's idea for a
pocket-sized digital music player, Steve Jobs recruited him to
design just such a product for Apple. Fadell led the team that
created the first 18 generations of the iPod and the first three
generations of the iPhone, rising to Senior Vice President of the
iPod division. Not satisfied with revolutionizing the way we
communicate, navigate and listen to music, Fadell founded Nest
Labs to bring smart technology to the most common household
devices. The Nest Thermostat conserves energy by learning the
habits of its users and can be managed remotely by smartphone.
Nest Protect is an intelligent smoke and carbon monoxide detector
that distinguishes between levels of threat and provides relaxed
voice alerts instead of piercing alarms. Future products may
address areas such as water conservation and home security. Last
January, Nest was acquired by Google for $3.2 billion. In this
podcast, recorded at the 2014 International Achievement Summit in
San Francisco, he is joined onstage by journalist and Academy of
Achievement delegate Samantha Barry. In their conversation, Tony
Fadell, still recovering from a sporting injury, describes his
career as an inventor, an Apple computer executive, and as the
Founder and CEO of Nest.



