One day, Andre was inspired by an idea when his cell phone battery ran out of juice and his charger broke – wouldn’t it be nice to auto-charge my cell phone using ambient radio waves?

Andre spent the next two years working on a solution seemingly with no success. Then one stormy July evening after several pads of paper, designs, gallons of coffee and quite a few blown circuit boards something happened. His ambient energy harvester suddenly began to come to life and along with it his old cell phone he had connected to it. Eureka! he had the breakthrough he had worked 2 years for. He finally had arrived at a working prototype!

Then he thought to himself, "this could really help people out and be a real starting point for all kinds of new applications. What if I could make this cheaply and use it to provide power for people's homes in poor nations?" His excitement peaked as his vision took shape.

Then reality slapped him in the face. "How am I going to get this funded and manufactured?" Andre turned on his computer, found the Dolphin Republic website and submitted his idea. Imagine his surprise when he was contacted and invited to show his idea to the world!

So what did Andre ask for? He told the Dolphin Republic audition team he not only wants to get his original RF ambient energy mobile device charger invention funded but also seeks to expand out from his prototype and use the same technology to provide a means for the poor to harness that energy to power their homes. Andre later found out that desire to make such a difference in the lives of others who are less fortunate than his circumstances is what assured his spot in an episode of that season's Dolphin Republic show.

Show Day Arrives

Andre spent the next 3 months preparing with the Show staff his presentation and his prototypes.

The day arrived when Andre was scheduled to appear on the show. As he stood backstage, he calmed his nerves by silently rehearsing his presentation one last time in his mind. As the host introduced him, he was ushered onto the stage in front of the lights, cameras and live audience. After years of dreaming about doing more with his talents and skills, he was now given the opportunity of a lifetime.

Dolphin Republic Citizens Respond

Andre’s presentation was stellar, just as he had planned and practiced. The audience leapt to their feet and gave him a standing ovation. His idea was met with the kind of excitement that a rock band would receive after blowing the doors off a concert venue.

The host, obviously pleased with the presentation, shook his hand and led him to an adjacent location on the set and seated him in a cozy chair next to several other seats occupied by the Dolphin’s panel of invention experts.

He was greeted and set at ease by their warm smiles and welcoming handshakes. These experts were introduced to the audience and came from a variety of backgrounds in business, design, academia and entrepreneurship. They were eager to learn more about the invention and asked a variety of questions ranging from where his inspiration for the idea originated, how he envisioned the product work and how the benefits would make a positive change to the world. Then, the experts went through questioning about the technical feasibility of the invention, its production and delivery. Their objective was to clarify the audience about all details about the invention. Andre was prepared and calmly answered all the questions with all the poise of a person who might have grown up on stage in front of the lights, cameras and excited audience.

The audience response was electrifying still responding in mass in live audience and online. Quietly, Andre was shocked by how many people understood the potential implications of reusing the very power that filled the atmosphere to provide free power or the poor while reducing power consumption and carbon emissions by recycling available energy from the airwaves. He was overwhelmed with joy and fueled up for the next steps in changing the world with his invention.

After the presentation and Q and A sessions ended, Andre watched as the lights dimmed and a huge screen that curved around the entire front of the theater began to present the audience an edutainment video—a micro-documentary on the life and accomplishments of Leonardo Da Vinci and ended with the question, "who will be the Next Da Vinci.

Upon conclusion of the video, the lights brightened and additional questions were taken from both the live audience, viewers at home and those watching online. The host fielded the questions and spoke directly with Andre was delighted to answer them all. The lights dimmed again and Andre was led off the stage to the green room where his family, friends and Dolphin Republic Show staff gushed over his presentation and pointed him to look a large video monitor on the wall that showed the number of Yes votes and money invested in his dream rocketing past his target to launch. Andre thought to himself WE are going to change the world and it all started tonight with the citizens of the Dolphin Republic. The real journey had just begun. Viva the Republic and viva it's dolphin citizens!

At that moment, Andre had no idea that his dream and his presentation had so inspired a young single mom in London who had invested in his dream and begun her own. Shall we meet her?

She excitedly begged him that he had to see the last show. He promised he would do it as soon as they got off the phone. Jonathan watched the episode immediately afterwards. He too was inspired by Andre, the invention and his vision for how it could transform societies by giving free access to electrical power in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. It was easy to see what had excited Catarina so much. Jonathan invested 150 euros and called Catarina back.

Catarina and Jonathan were both so inspired they teamed up to work on both their ideas. Their friendship and passion to innovate for the good fueled their creativity. And it would be that creativity that would bring about inventions that eventually would transform millions of lives.

Two years later both she and Jonathan would meet Andre while attending a live broadcast of the Dolphin Republic except this time they were the ones presenting their world changing ideas.

Inventor and Dolphin Republic Alum Andre

To this day the three of them remain in touch regularly and collaborate on new innovations that are indeed changing the world one invention at a time. Who would have known that a TV show and one inventor could have changed the course of life for so many. But as Catrina and Jonathan would tell you... It did.

Meet Carlos. He has a great idea for a mobile app that would help people visiting his country of Peru learn about the history of the indigenous people, their way of life and connect them with expert guides for cultural tours to experience life with rainforest tribes.

Meet Julia. She is an sociologist, photographer, videographer and inventor who has come up with an idea for for a new kind of modular camera that allows the user to choose a theme. Whenever video or pictures are taken it automatically creates a storyline based upon pulling gps location and historical timeline data to generate a storyline with a soundtrack.

LoveWaterLovePeople Project

Meet Jake. He was raised in a family of missionaries in Africa. He saw a need for villages to have access to clean water and designed an inexpensive kit that allows water to be harvested from the air and fill rain barrels. All he needs is people to believe in it and back it.

Meet Anastasia. She grew up in a small town in Russia and went to college to become an Structural engineer. While working in an area prone to earthquakes she come up with a new type of sustainable building material that is both strong and flexible. After a couple of year of developing the idea she created a system modular sections that can be erected in an hour into a house with only two people. It comes complete with led lighting and flexible solar panels. She is looking to expand her operation and provide jobs in her hometown.

Meet Desmond.

Desmond lives in New York City and is a well known music producer, and owns a non for profit media studio that provides at risk youth facilities to do audio and music projects. He and his team teach kids about media production. Seeing how many of these kids lives have been transformed he began to brainstorm on how he could expand his passion for kids globally. Desmond's idea was to create a virtual version of his facility in a website based app that Provides all the tools and training necessary to train and support kids just like those in NYC around the world. His many entertainment industry friends have pledged to provide training and mentors hip through the the app. He looking to dolphin republic to fund this idea and provide the support to launch this global community.

Meet Yumi.

Yumi is the daughter of Japanese immigrants and has always had a love for her native Asian culture. This is particularly so when it comes to industrial design. After graduating from design school in Seattle Yumi set out to create a line of Shinto ethos inspired furniture that uses only bamboo and recycled fabrics.

She has base designs that people can then customize online. The product is assembled by out of work veterans and a local artisans collaborative who also will own the company with her and share in its profits. People can then trade their used furniture in to be reused and redesigned. She needs funds to get the small factory line set up and jump start the business.