Louis Foreman
Louis Foreman is founder and Chief Executive of Enventys, an integrated product design and engineering firm with offices in Charlotte, NC and Taiwan. Louis graduated from The University of Illinois with a Bachelors of Science degree in Economics. His interest in starting businesses and developing innovative products began while a sophomore with his first company founded in his fraternity room. Over the past 20 years Louis has created 9 successful start-ups and has been directly responsible for the creation of over 20 others. A prolific inventor, he has 10 registered US Patents, and his firm is responsible for the development and filing of well over 400 more. The recipient of numerous awards for entrepreneurial achievement, his passion for small business extends beyond his own companies. Louis volunteers his time teaching small business classes at various colleges and universities. He received the 2007 Instructor Achievement Award for his teaching at Central Piedmont Community College, and in 2009 was named Entrepreneur in Residence at The McColl School of Business at Queens University. He is a frequent lecturer and radio / TV guest on the topics of small business creation and innovation, and is frequently invited by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and national trade associations to be a featured speaker on the topic of innovation.
In addition to being an inventor, Louis is also committed to educating others on the topic of intellectual property. Louis is the creator of the Emmy¨ Award winning PBS TV show, Everyday Edisons and serves as the Executive Producer and lead judge. The show is in its third season and appears nationally on PBS. In 2007, Louis became the publisher of Inventors Digest, a 20 year old publication devoted to the topic of American innovation. In July of this year, his first book, The Independent InventorÕs Handbook, was published by Workman Publishing. Louis was a founding member of The Inventors Network of the Carolinas, a non-profit organization that empowers inventors through education, support, and networking opportunities. Louis currently serves as a board member for the Entrepreneurial Leadership Council at Queens University, and the Central Piedmont Community College Small Business Advisory Board. In 2008 he was appointed by United States Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez to serve for a three year term on the nine-person Patent Public Advisory Committee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Committee was created by Congress in 1999 to advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office on matters relating to the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the patent operation.