# From Radiologist to Banana Skewer Entrepreneur: A 71-Year-Old's Reinvention A retired professor's journey into solopreneurship with a frozen fruit snack business. - **Source:** [Fortune](https://fortune.com) - **Published:** 2026-09-20 - **Topic:** [Entrepreneurship](https://brifing.si/c/entrepreneurship) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/18822b77-4cbc-4c6a-8123-2629fd3104fd ## Unconventional career pivot Richard Brown, a 71-year-old former nuclear medicine physician and professor, launched Poka Snack after retiring from academia. His skewer-like product for frozen bananas has already raised over 90% of its $4,000 Kickstarter goal and gained 14,000 TikTok followers. This marks his third career shift following decades in medicine and university leadership. ## Rejecting traditional retirement Brown retired from the University of Michigan in 2020 but started a new university leadership role the following week. He later joined health-tech startup Covera Health as Chief Health Strategy Officer. His philosophy challenges conventional retirement: 'Why would you stop? You get wiser with age.' ## Serial entrepreneur mindset During the dot-com boom while practicing medicine, Brown launched multiple internet ventures including textbook and hotel booking sites. Though most failed, these experiences taught him to embrace risk: 'Don't worry about looking stupid. If you're right, do you want to miss that opportunity?' ## Solving a personal pain point Poka Snack was born from Brown's frustration with existing frozen banana products that broke or left splinters. After testing 40 prototypes, he developed a patent-pending semi-helical design. The product solves both functional problems and the psychological barrier of messy frozen fruit consumption. ## AI-powered solopreneurship Brown used AI throughout Poka Snack's development - from product design to branding and marketing. He credits AI with making solo entrepreneurship feasible: 'Without it, becoming a solopreneur wouldn't have been possible.' The technology handled tasks from business planning to creative work. ## The energy of new beginnings Brown compares launching new ventures to the excitement of college: 'You have that adrenaline flowing.' After decades in medicine, he finds renewal in unfamiliar challenges. His latest pivot reflects his belief that growth stops when work becomes routine rather than when reaching retirement age. ## Career advice from experience Brown rejects the common question 'What should I go into?' Instead, he advises focusing on what genuinely excites you. This philosophy guided his transitions from medicine to academia to startups and now consumer products. For Brown, career satisfaction comes from continuous learning, not predefined paths. ## Redefining later career stages Brown's story challenges age stereotypes in entrepreneurship. At 71, he's leveraging both his medical expertise and newfound AI skills. His journey demonstrates how accumulated wisdom can combine with emerging technologies to create unexpected second (and third) acts in one's career. ## Sources covering this story - https://fortune.com/2026/09/20/retired-professor-radiologist-richard-brown-turning-to-entreprenuership-career-success-starting-over-poka-snack/ — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._