A nuclear medicine physician turned professor, Brown formally retired in 2020\u2014only to take another job in university leadership the following week and join a venture-backed health care startup. Now, he\u2019s reinventing himself once again, this time as a product entrepreneur\u2014and it has him more excited than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hobbies tend to be learning something new,\u201d Brown told Fortune<\/em> in a recent interview.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I never want to retire,\u201d he added. \u201cWhy would you do that? You spent all this time learning something\u2014and things get easier for you when you get older in some ways because you\u2019re a little bit wiser.\u201d<\/p>\n His latest experiment is Poka Snack, a skewer-like product designed to make it easier to freeze and eat fruit, particularly bananas. Earlier this year, Brown launched it on Kickstarter, where it has raised more than 90% of its initial $4,000 goal, and he\u2019s already amassed more than 14,000 TikTok followers.<\/p>\n But for Brown, the venture is more than a frozen skewer business. It\u2019s another opportunity to step outside his comfort zone, learn something unfamiliar, and find the energy that comes with starting over.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost like being in college again,\u201d Brown said. \u201cYou have that adrenaline flowing. You want to accomplish something.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown graduated from the University of Michigan\u2019s medical school in 1980 and spent the next two decades in private practice. In 2004, he returned to his alma mater as a professor, while also serving as director of clinical nuclear medicine and molecular imaging in the university\u2019s division of nuclear medicine. He retired from Michigan in 2020.<\/p>\n By then, Brown had spent decades building a career; he could have stepped away and looked back on the patients he treated, the students he taught, and the hefty salary that came with it. Instead, the following Monday he started a new job.<\/p>\n Brown became the first vice chair of clinical operations at the University of Utah School of Medicine\u2019s department of radiology, a role he held for three years before joining Covera Health, a venture-backed health-tech startup. Today, he serves as the company\u2019s chief health strategy officer.<\/p>\n Still working years after the typical retirement age, constant change and sense of growth is what keeps Brown engaged. Early in a career, he said, much of the work is about learning; eventually, as the job becomes familiar, it can become easier to stop pushing yourself into unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen something becomes routine, you probably have stopped growing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n That philosophy has shaped Brown\u2019s relationship with entrepreneurship. During the dot-com boom\u2014while still practicing medicine\u2014he launched several internet ventures, including websites that sold college textbooks and hotel rooms around the world. He also created an educational website for cancer patients and their families. While the era\u2019s bust eventually brought most of those ventures to an end, Brown said the experience taught him not to let the fear of failure\u2014or looking foolish\u2014get in the way.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the problem with most people is they\u2019re afraid to look stupid,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIf you think that something should be done, just do it. Don\u2019t worry about what other people think, because you may be wrong, but you also may be right. And if you\u2019re right, do you really want to miss that opportunity?\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s continued to embrace that mindset with Poka Snack, which was inspired by the fact that while he liked eating frozen bananas, existing products were difficult to insert, sometimes broke and could leave splinters in the fruit.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted something better,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWhen I couldn\u2019t find what I was looking for, I decided to see if I could create it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n After testing roughly 40 prototypes, Brown settled on the final design, featuring patent-pending semi-helical geometry. He\u2019s now working with a U.S. manufacturer on production while finalizing the packaging.<\/p>\n Brown\u2019s latest venture has also given him a crash course in something else: using AI to build a business largely on his own.<\/p>\n He\u2019s used the technology throughout the entire Poka Snack development process, from product concept and design to branding, creative work, marketing, his business plan, and the launch. Without it, he said, becoming a \u201csolopreneur\u201d would not have been possible.<\/p>\n An AI-generated Poka Snack concept rendering shared with Fortune.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n But the experience has also reinforced a lesson Brown has learned throughout his career: Instead of worrying about finding the perfect career path, pay attention to what genuinely interests you.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are always asking: \u2018What should I go into?\u2019 and that\u2019s the wrong question,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThe question is: \u2018What are you excited about?’\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a simple philosophy, but one Brown has spent his career putting into practice: Never stop learning or experimenting\u2014and don\u2019t be afraid to start over.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nDon\u2019t be afraid to \u2018look stupid\u2019 and take risks, Brown says<\/h2>\n
How a baby boomer used AI to become a \u2018solopreneur\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Concept-rendering-showing-how-Poka-Snack-could-be-merchandised-alongside-fresh-bananas-in-a-grocery-produce-department.png?format=webp&w=1440&quality=75\"\/)
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