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Mick Ebeling            

Award-Winning Innovator; Founder & CEO of Not Impossible, LLC

Mick Ebeling is the founder and CEO of Not Impossible, LLC, an organization that develops creative solutions to real-world problems and then produces media to ensure those solutions take flight. He is also the founder of The Ebeling Group, an acclaimed international production company and creative think tank, responsible for key creative graphic sequences in Quantum of Solace and the oft-referenced Stranger Than Fiction.

Not Impossible’s endeavor, Project Daniel, is one of the organization's most notable contributions. For Project Daniel, Ebeling flew to Sudan to 3D-print and fit prosthetic limbs for children of the war-torn region, then left the equipment behind with locals he’d trained who continued after he left, thereby establishing the world’s first 3D printing prosthetic lab and training facility. This initiative was born through the Not Impossible Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Ebeling, dedicated to tackling real-world problems with innovative solutions.

The project and campaign have won numerous awards, taking home five Cannes Lions, including the Titanium Lion and a Gold Lion for Product Design. Additionally, they received two Golden Pencils from The One Show, the Curator’s Recognition and Next Cause Marketing nods from the AICP Next Awards and a Silver and Bronze Telly.

Activated by his motto, "If not now, when? If not me, who?", Mick’s Not Impossible endeavors first gained prominence with the Eyewriter: a DIY, open-source, low-cost device that enables individuals with paralysis to communicate and create art using only the movement of their eyes. Notably, Ebeling developed the EyeWriter, an inexpensive eye-tracking device that allows artists with ALS to draw using only their eyes. Among its many accolades, TIME Magazine named the Eyewriter one of the “Top 50 Inventions of 2010,” and the device is part of MoMA’s permanent collection.

Driven to help many by telling the story of extraordinary individuals, Not Impossible continues to drive forward on projects that utilize technology for the sake of humanity. Consequently, Ebeling is an international speaker on the subject of open-source medical devices, speaking at venues such as CES, TED, Seoul Digital Forum, GE, Microsoft, and more. He has also authored a book called "Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn't Be Done," further showcasing his commitment to the cause.

With a reputation as a USA Network Top10 Cultural Trailblazer, Ebeling is a recipient of many of the advertising industry’s most prestigious awards, with a mission to inspire change through technology and storytelling.

Speech Topics


Radical Collaboration

Take a Hollywood producer, a NY professor, a fine artist and a hacker with a criminal record…Put them together and what do you get? A device that helped a paralyzed man create drawings using only the movement of his eyes. Collaboration comes in many form, some of them unexpected. In this talk, Mick discusses the tools necessary to become a stellar collaborator, and to recognize the traits of collaboration-worthy individuals for your next big idea.

Making The Next Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution 2.0—it’s the next turning point in human history and we’re right in the middle of it. Industrial Revolution 2.0 has been about the birth, adolescence, and young adulthood of the Internet. It’s been about communicating, relating, evaluating, and buying. From social media to the Maker Movement, this “revolution” has shifted the way we live, work, and interact with one another. It revolves around the newfound global accessibility to making our own solutions. Having created one of Time Magazine’s “Top 50 Inventions” with little more than $70 of over-the-counter supplies, Mick outlines the contributing factors that make this the most exciting time in modern history and how to capitalize on it for social and business good.

Teaching Innovation

Everyone’s an innovator—but whether they know it or not is another story. Creative thinking takes place daily in business, family life and in relationships. Believe it or not, it can be taught. If we can teach our business leaders this process of innovation, our businesses can drive sustainable growth for years to come. Mick shatters the myths about what it takes to make a great innovator and provides useful techniques and solutions for teaching the art of innovation to improve your career and your life.

Open Source for the Classroom

“Creativity is as important as literacy,” says Sir Ken Robinson. If we can teach our children to innovate and the skills and process of innovation, we can give them the tools they need to achieve great things. Since every new invention is built on the framework of existing ideas, when information is shared freely between thinkers, radical new ideas can emerge at light-speed. Some of the most thought-provoking new inventions are coming from today’s high school and college students—due in large part to the unprecedented access they have to the research of their predecessors. How can we build curricula that stimulate today’s bright young minds? Answer: supplement the learning experience with open source ideas and technology.

What it Means to be a Maker

Contrary to popular belief, the Maker Movement is not just tech junkies in basements. On the contrary, it’s filled with artists, designers, writers, and thinkers. Makers are simply people who see a need for a solution and take the time to fill the void. Hacks, adaptations, and DIY innovation are the byproducts of regular people with creative solutions for everyday problems. In this presentation, Mick discusses the five core traits that make a Maker and how to develop those traits in yourself.

Social Innovation thru Open Source

Great minds think alike. And today’s technology connects great minds at the speed of electricity. In the pre-internet era, learning was largely predicated on, or a result of, geographical access to teachers and institutions. Today, due to our near-immediate access to news and information, it is nearly impossible to not be inspired and affected by what’s happening in other cultures, time zones and schools of thought. This access, and the natural human tendency to want to share information, is at the heart of the open source movement. The goal of this talk is to inspire participants to create change and solutions within their own classrooms and communities by learning how to be part of the open source community. Thru discussion and collective brainstorming, each participant will walk away with the foundation for their own open source project.

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The Fallacy of “Impossible”

Since the launch of the Eyewriter and Not Impossible Foundation, Mick has passionately studied the concept of “Impossible.” All the modern conveniences we see around us were once considered “impossible” by people who didn’t know any better. Synthetic fabrics, cell phones and digital watches (not to mention cars and computers) were all figments of the imagination until inspiration met execution and the impossible became a reality. In this talk, Mick dives deeper into “Impossible,” the underlying psychological affects it has on an organization, and how to overcome “Impossible” so true innovation can take place.

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News


Award-Winning Philanthropist Mick Ebeling to Keynote iMedia ...
This September, Mick Ebeling, CEO and founder of Not Impossible Labs, will address an audience of over 250 attendees, including over 115 senior brand marketers, during a dinner presentation at the iMedia Brand Summit in Coronado, California.

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