Google Speaks: Secrets of the World's Greatest Billionaire Entrepreneurs, Sergey Brin and Larry Page

3.3. LOOK AROUND YOU FOR INSPIRATION

Larry Page says that he finds tremendous inspiration in the science already out there. He demonstrated to a group of students the way a small, mouse-like robot was able to scurry over obstacles quickly and easily as it went about its work. "This is a pretty cool thing. I've never seen anything quite like this before. And it turns out that it's ten times cheaper than all other robots like it," said Page.

What makes the robot different and more effective than others is that it doesn't use intelligence to move forward and find its way; instead it has springs for legs. It just bounds along the way cockroaches do. If it hits an obstacle, it springs in a different direction. Someone has already invented the springing robot, but the idea behind it can be applied elsewhere.

"This has great implications if you're building robots, for example," Page noted. "If you find one of these [ideas] and use it as a foundation for a company or an invention or entrepreneurship you're in a much stronger business position and that's a great place to be if you're starting a company."^[]