Introduction

The world’s biggest problems are the world’s biggest market opportunities. And that’s a huge thing. Solve hunger, literacy and energy problems, get the gratitude of the world, and become a billionaire in the process.

—Peter H.Diamandis

An entrepreneur is an innovator, job creator, game changer, leader, disruptor, adventurer.

—Sir Richard Branson

On September 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian American engineer and entrepreneur, became the first self-funded female space tourist to fly to the International Space Station. She was forty years old. Seeing planet Earth from far above was a pivotal moment in her life. “I had dreamed of going into outer space ever since I saw photographs of the planet,” she said, “and seeing it in real life was even more majestic and totally worth it, in the sense that it put things into perspective. I think of my personal decisions’ impacts on a global level. That is, in fact, one of the reasons I think more people should go into space; policy makers may be deeply moved by such a powerful experience!”1

Ansari’s space flight inspired her to join the XPRIZE Foundation as its CEO, where she saw a unique opportunity to contribute to developing solutions to some of the world’s toughest challenges. Ansari explained, “We gather problem solvers from all over the world to address the biggest challenges facing humanity and the planet. We look for what’s broken, especially if there are few efforts at repair, and set the sights of innovators, tinkerers, engineers, and builders everywhere on fixing it.”2 Over the years, the XPRIZE Foundation has become the world’s leader in designing and operating incentivized competitions to solve humanity’s great challenges. In turn, it has advanced technological developments in domains such as space, energy, the environment, health, and transportation.

Ansari’s story shows that awareness is the first step toward solutions in our world. When we view issues from a new perspective, we are inspired to go after the big problems. In this book, you are going to meet bold entrepreneurs, innovators, and builders who are “fixing” big problems. As you read, you will become more aware of the state of our world, which problems you want to address, and how to reach radical solutions to those problems. In turn, you will be prepared to build your future and the future ofour world.

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What Is the State of the World?

The media regularly reports bad news, so the public’s general perception is that the world is in chaos. However, things are actually getting better on many critical fronts. According to the World Bank, in the last decade alone, life expectancy has increased by three years—from seventy to seventy-three. A hundred years ago, it was barely forty. Nearly 60 percent of the world’s population now has access to the internet, and 90 percent has acce