Inventor Steve Katsaros perfected his design in June 2010, and four days later he had a patent in hand.
He knew it was a good product, but he didn't know what to do with it.
"It wasn't until after we created it that we asked ourselves, 'How do we market this,'" Katsaros says. "And we learned that the largest market was the developing world."
As Katsaros began researching markets in developing countries, he began to realize that his solar light bulb could potentially make a huge impact on the 1.4 billion people around the world who don't have access to an electrical grid.
Many use fuel lamps that burn kerosene, which is costly, dirty and can also be unhealthy.
He dubbed his company Nokero -- short for "No Kerosene" -- and set out to get his bulbs into as many hands a possible in the developing world.
First, Katsaros had to answer a key question that would determine how he would have the strongest impact: should his company be nonprofit, or for-profit?
Katsaros found inspiration from the 2008 book by Paul Polak, "Out of Poverty."
Communities that do not have access to electricity could benefit from Katsaros' solar light bulbs.
Polak, who has worked in developing nations for 30 years, believes that the charity model of aid used by nonprofit organizations doesn't work -- despite its good intentions
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