(Business 2.0) – It is easier to reinvent the wheel than to invent something entirely new, because the faults of the existing system are fairly obvious. There are two approaches to finding new ways to do things: One is where we decide we want to do something but are not sure what technology to use. The other is where we have the technology and apply it to the problem. The washing machine is a good example of the first. By far the most effective way to wash is to manipulate the clothes by hand. So we spent nearly three years trying to re-create the manual method. In the end we discovered that if you have two drums instead of one, facing each other and rotating in opposite directions, you get a dancing action.

The vacuum cleaner came about in the other way. I remember as a child the smell of stale dog coming from the vacuum cleaner. Even then, I knew the thing was blocked. Twenty-five years later, I bought an expensive vacuum cleaner and it had the same problem. So that's why I went looking for new technology. Sawmills have huge air filters that work like cyclones. When I saw one, I wondered if that was the answer. Our vacuum is like a salad dryer going at 300,000 revolutions per minute, and the dirt is spun out.