At his site, TrendHunter.com, innovation speaker Jeremey Gutsche knows how to sift through the hubbub and find the next big thing. As one of the speakers at the 2012 Australian Chambers Business Congress, Gutsche brought his voracious stage presence and keen eye for innovative business cultures. In an email to Lavin, one of the event’s meeting planners described Gutsche as “a fresh burst of life and energy, delightful to work with.” “His enthusiasm was bouncing off the walls,” she concluded.  

That being said, it takes something extra special to catch this trend hunter's eye. His mention of $5000 hamburgers and $15,000 diamond-encrusted false eyelashes gave conference participants some ambitious ideas about what it takes to stand out in a world constantly inundated with thousands of new products every day. As Gutsche points out, in an interview at the conference, the average consumer (himself included) probably won't be clearing out their bank accounts to get their hands on these opulent and superlative items. However, he notes that "it's not just about the product itself, it's about trying to get attention in this media cluttered world" —and these two products certainly gained mass notoriety for the companies that created them. (“$5,000 hamburger” has a much better ring than say, “The world’s most expensive hamburger.”)

Motivating businesses to innovate and stay on the cutting-edge are two things that Gutsche often speaks to in his presentations. In Australia, in Canada, in the States, his non-stop stand-out business examples, which show how to break ahead of the pack, leave conference participants with a lot to talk, and think, about. He’s a fresh burst of life and energy, you might say.