Prof. Ashok Wahi’s Love and Knowledge in Science Propels him Forward in the Business Industry as he Invents Simple yet Scientific Solutions to Everyday Problems 

Welcome to another episode of Action & Ambition with your host, Andrew Medal.  Ashok Wahi is the Chief Inventor and CEO of Trutek Corp. He is the inventor of NasalGuard® patented technology for the filtration of microscopic particles from entering nasal passages. He has acquired several patents in the US and internationally for this unique electrostatic topical gel that acts as a preventative method for the effects of breathing contaminated air. Since then, over twelve million units of NasalGuard products have been sold worldwide so far.  Before Trutek, he has been a senior consultant to Fortune 25 pharmaceutical companies, hospitals/medical facilities, and higher education institutions in the US for over 40 years. He has specialized in designing state-of-the-art R&D and high-tech laboratories. You’re going to love this episode. Let’s get to it! What are Ashok and his business about? (0:13) Ashok is an entrepreneur, even though he is an undergrad in Engineering and has a Master of Science degree. He is an entrepreneur at heart.  He likes recognizing problems everybody comes across and then solves it.  And since nobody has bothered to recognize the problem and solve it, Ashok can smoothly go after its intellectual property.  He began his life, breaking up toys and mixers, irons, and heaters, but he would not be able to put them back together again.  This stayed with him for many years. Through education and experience of many years, he has been able to put things back together again. He says he likes taking problems apart and putting them back together in a solved, simplistic and scientific way.  He’s a science graduate at heart as well as an entrepreneur, and that is why he is not giving people fluke solutions. He’s not trying to rip people off to make as much money as he can.  He does not lie to his customers about needing his products; he has science and technology, backing up his products’ statements.  The company he cofounded is called TruTek because it is true technology, true to its core, and it’s true to what it says it’s supposed to do.  How did Ashok acquire his Patents? (6:47) Getting his first patent in an uncharted area of science and technology was somewhat comfortable.  If you can identify the area you are going after, it is not too difficult to make a patent for that technology.  Ashok likens it to find a massive piece of land that you can build a house on top of, a flat piece of land that no one else has noticed.  For Ashok’s first patent, he has a patent attorney as a partner who said he would do all of Ashok’s patent paperwork, put it into files, and get the license in return for 22.5% of the profits.  This seemed like a great idea to Ashok initially; he figured 22.5% was an excellent low but great pay to pay for the work the attorney was doing. He was providing Ashok with a secure patent and making sure others could not get into it too, which initially would have cost him something like $5,000-$10,000. That would be the price from a small law firm that would represent your claim to USPTO and write a professional claim and then go through filing before going into prosecution. After all of that, you would have about a 70% chance of actually getting the patent.  Ashok also explains that it is more expensive and harder to get additional patents on the same technology that you created. Ashok has half a dozen patents of Nasal Guard itself. The first was on the fundamental idea of the product; after that, he developed the product and had to patent that then. Method Patenting is one of the strongest patents you can have on a physical product.  So once Ashok had his first two patents, he just kept building them from there as he developed his products.  What is Ashok’s vision for his business, and how has he stayed motivated for so long? (16:43) Ashok is driven by his want and need to create a global good that will help many people. Ashoke also finds ways to keep people away from him or medicate them, in a pop a pill fashion that many consumers like.  An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.  His idea for Nasal Guard was if dust particles in the air can increase the number of asthma attacks a person suffers, he created something that limits the particles entering the consumer’s nose and therefore preventing attacks.  With the fires on the west coast, Ashok and his company donated Nasal Guard products for the firefighters to protect them from inhaling all of the smoke and dust from the event while they fought at the front line.  His Nasal Guard is an invisible filter that will stop microscopic and submicroscopic particles that tend to go right through a mask.  So it all comes down to Ashok just wanting to help people live better, healthier, and more comfortable lives. TruTek Trutek Corp. is a company active in Intellectual Property Development, R&D and Manufacturing of Topical Allergy Prevention Products, Nasal Particle Blocker, Cold&Flu Block, Skincare Products (such as Eye, Hand, Face & Body Moisturizers), and Hair Conditioners based in Somerville, NJ USA. Resources Connect with Ashok: Instagram TruTek Corp: LinkedIn Connect with Andrew: LinkedIn