Zachary Green had three major goals in his life: to serve as a U.S. Marine, to be a firefighter and to be an entrepreneur. In 2010, he decided to pursue the third part of that dream.
In 2010, Green said he invested every cent he had, refinanced his home and quit his job at Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company, to dedicate his time to his then-newly founded company, MN8 Foxfire.
Foxfire carved its niche in the firefighting community by using photoluminescent technology, a brighter version of glow-in-the-dark coating, to light up firefighters and their tools in smoky, dark areas.
When Green first brought a photoluminescent headband — now his best-selling product — to a fire, “I literally had guys trying to take it off my head,” he said.
“When we got into the parking lot I had people throwing $20s at me.”
Firefighters have had many technologies in the past to help illuminate them in smoky area such as reflector strips, said Athens Fire Chief Bob Troxel.
“We’ve had products over the years that have done that,” Troxel said, adding that he’d have to see how Green’s product worked before using them in Athens.
Troxel said he has some reservations about reflector strips because they have a few weaknesses, including a lack of durability. Also, there needs to be light for them to show, but Green’s product glows in the dark.
Green’s simple solution earned him the 2013 Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award.
“Ohio is home to some of America’s greatest innovators,” Ohio Gov. John Kasich said in a video speech during the awards. “It’s these type of companies that are the backbone for job creation in our state.”
The annual award goes to someone who is nominated by his or her local chamber of commerce for demonstrating the “entrepreneurial spirit,” said Julie Feasel, vice president of communications for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
Green crafted the idea when he combined a technology being used in buildings to illuminate staircases in the World Trade Center, which was installed after the 1993 attack.
“I was lying on the couch one day and I was watching this special about photoluminescence, and it started talking about Europe, (which) has been using the technology for decades,” he said. “We talk about everybody who died (on 9/11), but over 30,000 people got out of that building.”
Green then had the idea to combine the photoluminescent technology used to guide people out of the World Trade Center with bands firefighters sometimes wear around their helmets, he added.
Once he had the product, Green employed his previous experience in marketing at Eli Lilly to help sell the product among the tight-knit community of firefighters.
“I’m a firm believer that your product doesn’t make that much of a difference; it’s how you market it,” Green said.
Green said about 50,000 firefighters around the world are using his technology.
“I’m a firm believer in the why of what we’re doing,” he said. “It started off as ‘by firefighters for firefighters,’ now it’s ‘by firefighters, for firefighters and those we protect.’ ”
ld311710@ohiou.edu
@LucasDaprile
