Hoby Wedler aims to change the world, one palace at a time.

Hoby Wedler is a man with a mission: to solve business problems in creative ways no one had before imagined.

As an organic chemist and consultant blind from birth, Wedler is known not only for his talent for finding innovative ways to improve food and beverage products for his clients, but also for opening doors for others. People with Disabilities. President Barack Obama recognized Wedler in 2012 as a champion of change for his work in creating opportunity for people with disabilities, and Wedler made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2016. Wedler serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Earle Baum Center of the Blind, a Northern California nonprofit that helps people living with site loss regain their confidence, learn new skills, and become interested in new technologies and other people, with the goal of helping them lead happy and productive lives.

Wedler will speak about his experiences as an entrepreneur in a free Community Zoom event at the New York Public Library that I will be moderating on Entrepreneurs and Disability this Thursday, June 28 at noon EST.)

“Being disabled or having a disability in an able-bodied world makes me a much better problem solver,” says Wedler. “I have to do this for my survival. Whether they like to think about it or admit it or not, everyone with a disability is a unique problem solver. They have to do it to be successful. How am I going to make his document inaccessible to me accessible? I'm not going to shout. I will solve this problem. It's something I really enjoy: putting my problem-solving skills into the business world. [People with disabilities] think differently. We have a different way of approaching business, and a different way of approaching situations that other people massively approach."

Wedler grew up in Petaluma, California, where he currently lives and runs his businesses. From an early age, he says, his parents instilled in him two values ​​that still guide him today: (1) "There is no substitute for hard work." And (2) "It's your life. You must take responsibility for the actions you take."

Wedler fell in love with chemistry in high school thanks to a gifted teacher whose enthusiasm for chemistry was contagious. "She was telling us, 'You live it, breathe it, it's what we eat and drink,'" he says.

But despite her passion for the subject, she initially discouraged him from pursuing a career in the field. “Hoby, chemistry is a visual subject – you have to see,” he remembers telling her. “I don't know how it's going to work out for you. I don't know what the level of risk would be, I don't know if it would be something you would want to study long term."

Wedler wouldn't take "No" for an answer and searched his mind for an argument that would change his mindset. Finally, he said to her, “No one can see atoms. Chemistry is truly a brain science. She reshaped her opposition and, he says, "became a true ally and supporter".

Wedler went on to study chemistry at the University of California, Davis. "The chemistry department at UC Davis totally embraced me and what I could do," he says. His goal was to teach students at the university level. "I wanted to be that speaker that made them really excited about chemistry on a Monday morning," he says. "I've always had the heart of a teacher." He obtained a doctorate. in chemistry in 2016.

At one point, while in graduate school, principal Francis Ford Coppola, who had heard of his work, invited him to design a wine tasting experience, where guests had blindfolded so they can experience wine through senses other than sight. From an early age, Wedler always had a well-developed palate - he was given a pot of soup for his...