Chris Fitzgerald was always fascinated with flying. But, as a young man in Australian, he had an aversion to the idea of possibly crashing. He knew people, in fact, who had. However, once he learned of hovercrafts, Chris felt it was "flying" inches above the ground.
Several times, Chris used the term "neoteric spirit" to describe being an entrepreneur. He said the adventurous, first adopter mentality is what made him take a 2-year tour of the world to visit hovercraft businesses.
He landed in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he started Neoteric Hovercraft. Since then, he has been designing and building boats used by emergency response teams, research teams, civil engineering teams, the Dept. of Homeland Security, dive teams, and police. He has even made boats for the well-known and wealthy who want something extravagant and unusual.
One of the most interesting challenges Chris's business has faced is marketing. Asking "is there a market for his product?" is hard to determine because he wonders if people even know what a hovercraft is and can be used for. Advertisements and articles are helpful, but he says Hollywood does his business a lot of good. If a hovercraft appears on television or in a movie, that helps his business sell product.
Chris shared that there are opportunities for young people such as CEO students to do internships and be employed by Neoteric, which can teach skills in many areas. The staff of Neoteric Hovercraft is very diverse. Chris is from Melbourne, Australia, and he has employees from China, England, and Malaysia. Ages have ranged from teenagers to retirees in their 70's. People just like working here, he said.
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