Summary: Continuing our Best of Killer Innovations series, we look at one manufacturer's innovative use of resources. This company's story is a testament to how innovation can unexpectedly occur anywhere, with any resource, and at any moment. Innovations' ubiquitous nature is evident in every corner of our rapidly evolving world.<br> <br> We firmly believe in the limitless potential of innovation, as anyone can ignite it, and it can ignite in any realm imaginable. <a href="https://killerinnovations.com/the-secret-to-silicon-valleys-success/">Silicon Valley</a> and other recognized innovation hubs do not have a lock on innovation or a secret sauce that cannot be modeled or improved upon. It takes a willingness to put aside time, use your resources, explore the unknown, and expand your <a href="https://www.philmckinney.com/improve-creative-thinking/">creativity</a> (we all have it) beyond where you are today to see the <a href="https://killerinnovations.com/what-does-innovation-culture-going-beyond-the-obvious-testing-ideas-and-storytelling-have-in-common/">non-obvious</a>. When you do, you will be like our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fingourmetfoods/">Kentucky guests</a>, revolutionizing in a non-traditional innovation hub and creating a <a href="https://www.philmckinney.com/killer-idea-simple-invention-solves-annoying-problem-in-the-game-of-golf/">non-high-tech innovation</a>.<br> As part of our Innovation Across America tours, we ventured across the country in our new mobile studio to Paducah, Kentucky. During the tour, we actively sought individuals pushing the boundaries and innovating “Beyond the Obvious.” In our show this week, we had the opportunity to interview the founders of <a href="https://fingourmetmarketplace.com/">Fin Gourmet Foods</a>. Started in 2010, Fin Gourmet is a Kentucky Proud Producer™ of wild-caught Asian Carp products. So why Asian Carp? It has the highest source of healthy, clean protein and Omega-3 fatty acids, on par with wild-caught salmon. Nowhere else in the world but the USA are Asian Carp wild-caught, and those from western KY are of the best quality. But more importantly, this <a href="https://killerinnovations.com/the-importance-of-stories-and-storytelling-to-innovation/">innovation story</a> is unique. Fin's mission and vision are that the Asian Carp provide economic opportunities for<a href="https://www.philmckinney.com/innovation-communities/"> communities</a>, fostering job creation and revitalizing the inland fishing industry.<br> Defining and Tackling a Problem Statement<br> The team at Fin Gourmet <a href="https://killerinnovations.com/four-steps-to-better-brainstorm-problem-statements/">defined the problems and challenges </a>they encountered and engaged in <a href="https://killerinnovations.com/how-to-create-a-disruptive-ideation-workshop/">disruptive ideation</a>. As an integral part of their innovation process, they considered some basic assumptions of innovation to create value, including:<br> <br> * <a href="http://beyondtheobvious.com/finding-ways-offer-underused-resources/">Turn other people's trash into a product</a>:Fin took the Asian Carp, an invasive species taking over the Mississippi and Ohio river systems, and he innovated a way to turn it into an excellent food source.<br> * Give opportunities to people overlooked:In addition to locating in a rural part of the country, Fin works with local halfway houses to offer jobs to former prison inmates and others down on their luck. Training, teaching, and building a <a href="https://www.philmckinney.com/innovation-culture-mean-matter/">culture</a> that values and leverages the abilities of all.<br> * Breathe life back into an industry overlooked by others: Fin pays a premium price for what many consider “trash” to help local independent fishing families to transition to this new species of fish and the <a href="https://www.philmckinney."></a>
