I never really consulted with anyone other than my grandchildren. They were the ones who directed me to creating an app. When I told them about the device I was creating, they told me “young people like to use apps.” And, while the automobile and home motion detector devices was my fist idea, the app is fully functional and ready for consumers.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Burt Firtel.
Burt Firtel was born in New York in 1939. In those days the post-partem mother and child stayed for 5–7 days in the hospital. Cloth diapers were laundered by diaper services that picked up and delivered to your home. Glass baby milk bottles and rubber nipples were sterilized by boiling. Coming out of the depression, my father took a job managing a lady’s shoe store, and we moved to New Haven, Connecticut. I had nothing to say in the matter.
Burt graduated from Boston University in 1961. Got married to his high-school sweetheart, fathered 2 boys, and stayed married for 47 years until his wife died in 2008. He was a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company for five years. And then formed his own medical supply company when he was 30. In 1974, Burt and his partner Jack Morici bought their first harness pacing horse for $5000. Burt now own an interest in 7 baby horses that are starting to train for their 2 year old campaign next June 2023.
Now, 83 years later, It’s difficult putting his life’s values in a few brief sentences. But, at age 82 became the second most important phase of his life which became the basis for this interview.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path and point in your life?
In 2014, Dr. Richard Cartledge of Boca Raton, Florida, saved my life performing heart surgery. Here I am eight years later at the age of 83, not allowed to golf in ninety degree temperature. So, I wrote and self published a book The Legend of the Cap. Then, after leaving my cell phone in my car several times each week, I asked myself ”why doesn’t someone invent something to remind me, hey you dummy don’t forget your cell phone.” Exploring what was out there, I found nothing out there to verbally remind me to take my cellphone. After meeting with my patent attorney John Rizvi, The Patent Professor, and my engineer Jason Eulette, they helped me develop Don’t Forget and apply for a patent.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
I became a technology inventor, and while leaving my cellphone isn’t really a serious matter, I discovered that approximately 40 children each year die when left in hot cars. While there aren’t any records kept on dogs, I suspect that many more dogs die in hot cars, perhaps more than 100 each year. In 2015, eleven police dogs died in hot cars. One would think the police should know better. But leaving car windows open 3–4 inches won’t save a baby or a dog after an hour or more.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when first starting out with your new venure?
When first creating the patent, I had to keep reminding myself not to share too much information. This made me a little paranoid, but ultimately, I learned to pay attention to the warnings of my patent attorney. Patent ideas are stolen all the time, and the bigger companies can withstand multi-million dollar lawsuits that could last for dozens of years.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
The Don’t Forget Idea, is dramatically helping parents, grandparents, dog-owners, to remember the things they have to do on a day-to-day basis. This is significant because forgetting important tasks and items is very common, in this busy world. The Don’t Forget Idea is here to make your life easier.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
Early on in the Don’t Forget idea, I met an owner of an NFL team. It was nighttime in Florida and he had a dog in his car. The dog reminded me to tell him about the patent I was applying for. He revealed to me that his favorite dog died a few years before in a hot car in a Northern State. He wanted me to keep him informed as to Don’t Forgets progress. Once again, young, old, rich, poor, a busy person’s distractions can lead to devastating results. Very sad.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
To alert as many people as possible to the shortcomings of their memory. This problem affects everyone young and old- It is media driven with public service corporations that are a leading factor in reducing accidents, injury, and death. The National Transportation Agency as well as many other baby and animal safety organizations, have many media and public service announcement avenues they can use.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think this might help people?
I’ve thought about two more applications of my idea. But my focus right now is creating demand and providing the life saving product to make Don’t Forget a success.
What you are doing is not easy. What inspires you to keep moving forward?
As they say in golf, I’m on the back nine. Hopefully if Don’t Forget is successful, my five grandkids will benefit. And as I say on the back cover of my book, long after I’m gone, my grandkids might posit “can you believe Gramps wrote a book?”
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
I never really consulted with anyone other than my grandchildren. They were the ones who directed me to creating an app. When I told them about the device I was creating, they told me “young people like to use apps.” And, while the automobile and home motion detector devices was my fist idea, the app is fully functional and ready for consumers.
Producing Don’t Forget devices is more complicated and would require more capital investment. Parts, a manufacturing facility, labor, packaging, advertising and marketing, are some of the hurdles that would be facing us. If we sign up thousands of users for our app, then maybe we’ll consider the manufacturing aspect of the devices. Right now I’m thinking about a royalty type situation and have a company do the heavy lifting if they’re already set up to do that.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I think about the evolution of Garmin, and how their directional map invention evolved into current in- car software. The same thing might apply to Don’t Forget if the car manufactures are able to put it in their computer software and there would be automatic alerts when you shut the car off.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Persistence above all wins the day “ is one of my favorite life lesson quotes because it encompasses stick-to-itiveness, never give up, and keep your nose to the grindstone. Paraphrasing something I once read about persistence: Talent will not: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: The world is full of educated derelicts..Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence and determination. They are omnipotent. Don’t Forget is a prime example. I had a problem with leaving my phone in the car and said “why doesn’t someone invent something as a reminder”, and it expanded into many important things besides cell phones, such as babies and dogs.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Obviously Winston Churchill isn’t available. But, he saved the world with our help from Nazism. Facing the enemy alone kept the spirits of the English people up with a stiff upper lip. I would love to meet Bibi Netanyahu. He single-handedly, with much opposition both inside Israel and the outside world, made Israel a dynamic free capitalist country. Something we used to be. Israel’s Gross Domestic Product is now larger than Great Britain’s, France’s, Japan’s and now Germany’s. I wouldn’t even talk, just listen, and maybe eat a little.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/dontforgetapp/
Twitter- https://twitter.com/DontForgetApp_
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/Dont-Forget-App-101555026112455
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Burt Firtel of Don’t Forget Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.