Based on the material covered in this chapter, what questions would you ask the firm’s founders before making your funding decision? What answers would satisfy you?

Business Idea: Design, manufacture, and sell LED lights that kill bacteria and other organisms in high-risk environments, such as health-care settings, airplanes, gyms, restaurants, office buildings, and public restrooms.

Pitch: On a daily basis, people spend time in environments that are high-risk for contracting infections.

According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, one in 25 patients in a hospital or health-care setting like a nursing home will contract a health care–associated infection.

This is a serious concern. MRSA (methicillin-resistant

Staphylococcus aureus), which is a common infection contracted in hospitals, is resistant to antibiotics. In the United States alone, 99,000 deaths per year are associated with hospital-acquired infections.

There are other high-risk environments that most of us enter frequently such as airplanes, classroom buildings, restaurants, gyms, and public restrooms. For example, MRSA survives in the seat pocket material on airplanes for as long as 168 hours and E. coli lives for up to 96 hours on a rubber armrest. Similarly, studies have shown that the grips on machines in fitness centers and gyms often have high counts of bacteria. Airplane cleaning crews and others are aware of the risks, and do what they can to periodically disinfect the most vulnerable surfaces. Still, people contract infections in these settings, which can lead to serious health complications.