It took an entrepreneur to reimagine the mundane home thermostat as an object of beauty — and then to make a fortune based on that vision.
The entrepreneur was Tony Fadell, who had that thermostat epiphany after decades in the tech industry, including at companies like Apple. Mr. Fadell embodied his idea in a new company, Nest, which he started with the help of a colleague from Apple in 2010, at age 41.
Image: Tony Fadell started Nest in 2010, after leading the engineering team that created the iPod and playing a crucial role in the development of the iPhone. Like many entrepreneurs, he was then over 40.CreditCreditWei Leng Tay/Bloomberg
