When Jensen Huang founded Nvidia in 1993, he was a decade removed from washing dishes and waiting tables at a Denny’s restaurant. Of the 50 companies doing computer graphics back then, he said his was the only one doing it the wrong way.

“And we are now the only surviving 3D graphic company in the world,” Huang said. “And that tells you something. I’m not sure what that tells you, but that tells you something.”

Wearing a black leather jacket over a black shirt, white slacks and black loafers, Huang sat on a sofa onstage next to his Nvidia colleague, engineer Chris Malachowsky. They spoke for about 45 minutes during the Meet the Innovators Forum at the Edison Awards on April 4 at Caloosa Sound Convention Center in downtown Fort Myers.

Huang and Arizona State University President Michael Crow received Achievement Awards during the evening, black-tie banquet as the Edison Awards took place for the fifth year in a row in Fort Myers with an audience of about 600 people.

More than 120 companies were honored for innovations in almost 50 award categories that will play a role in charting the world’s future.

A model of a hydrogen-powered car, a 3D printing company based in south Fort Myers called Addman, and a flying car called Pivotal were on display next to a forum that included talks by Crow, a session on hurricane resiliency featuring Babcock Ranch founder Syd Kitson and the 2025 Latimer Fellows, which spotlight Black innovators.

Huang, who has a net worth north of $115 billion and runs one of the world’s most valuable companies, is one of the world’s wealthiest men. He talked about Nvidia’s uncertain beginnings and his philosophies in running the company.

“The early seed of the company was the development of a new computer system,” Huang said. “We had a perspective that we would like to build computers that could do things that normal computers can’t. We started to evolve from accelerator, which is 3D graphics accelerator, to accelerated computing.”

Huang compared the process to launching a car company with a car that had six wheels instead of four.

“It took us two or three years to conclude that all of this was wrong,” Huang said. “This is the part that’s mind boggling. We only knew how to do it wrong.

“Nothing scares us. Nothing is not hard.”

Huang then delivered a couple of lines he later said could have come straight out of a how to start a business book. He meant what he said: “If not for us, it won’t get done. But because of us, it can get done.”

He called that finding your core confidence.

“It’s human,” Huang said. “It’s worthy of inspiring other people. And it inspires us. It has to be sufficiently entertaining. It has to be sufficiently fun to do. If it’s not fun, then when you’re struggling and suffering and all the pain and suffering that goes with all good journeys, you’re going to give up.

“Most of the things we’re doing, it takes a decade to get there. So, you’re not being propelled by some financial reason. In our company, we have never once done a spreadsheet with risk/reward. Not one time.”

Huang said he did not believe in doing one-on-one, heart-to-heart meetings with employees. If someone makes a mistake, Huang said it’s best to discuss in a group setting to avoid others making it.

“I only want two heart-to-heart talks,” he said. “On the day they join and the day they leave. When a mistake is made, just deliver it right there. That’s as much emotional of a response as you need. It’s not a heart-to-heart talk. It’s not going to be reflected in your review. It’s not going to be reflected in your compensation. It’s just to get it out there.

“I love the fact we don’t have one on ones. Often times those one on ones turn into gossip sessions. And I hate gossip. I love gossip. Just not about the company. I love gossip, but other peoples’ gossip.

“I want to create a culture, where whatever needs to be said, I can say it in front of everybody. It doesn’t make us weak. Everybody’s got challenges. Keeping it to ourselves isn’t going to help anything.”

Crow spoke for about 45 minutes, as well. He helped transform Arizona State from the No. 1 party school in the country, to a place renowned for its research. Afterward, he praised the Edison Awards for establishing itself in Fort Myers because the two could feed off each other.

“This is symbolically important because Edison himself was here,” Crow said. “Also, you have an opportunity here in Fort Myers to build an economy that’s driven by innovation in particular. Because it’s unbuilt. And it’s an attractive place.”

New developments incorporate the latest and greatest new technologies, he said.

“It should be built in a way where it captures the totality of the present wave of innovation,” Crow said, “which is all significantly related to individual empowerment, digitization, digital connectivity, all kinds of things like that. That’s what should be going on here.”

At midday, Pivotal, a Palo Alto, California-based company, demonstrated a $190,000 aircraft billed as a flying car, one capable of vertical takeoff and landings, no runway needed.

Pivotal CEO Ken Karklin said it took about 13 years of research and development to devise the current aircraft, legally classified as an ultraglider.

“It’s an electronic biplane,” Karklin said. “It can take off and land vertically. It flies 62 miles an hour, and it can fly 20 miles on a charge.”

Pilot Tim Lum, who bought a Pivotal, flew one from the grass in front of the Luminary Hotel. It took off vertically and flew over the Caloosahatchee River and back while hundreds of onlookers took photographs and video of it.

“You can take off from your driveway, and you’re flying,” Lum said. “You don’t need airports. You don’t need roads. I fly it for fun.”