3 09/27/2008 http://userfirstweb.com/ 05/27/2008 46 Faced with an shrinking food market and competitors copying its innovative Ramen product, Nissin Foods faced a financial crisis. In the face of this crisis, Momofuku Andou saw opportunity in a product that didn't exist in a country (America) that didn't know it needed it. His vision: Japanese noodles that could be ready to eat in three minutes anywhere. Finding a way to accomplish this vision involved inventing entirely new food processing techniques and caused one developer to lose 12 kilos of weight during the process. The end result is was a revolutionary product, a staple of grocery stores everywhere, a essential part of disaster relief efforts worldwide, and the greatest Japanese business story ever told. This presentation will feature artwork from the Eisner-award nominated Project X Challenger: Cup Noodle manga book. My background includes a degree in Public Relations with a minor in Political Science. Despite my educational background, I have been a computer geek since childhood. My parents bought my first computer, a Commodore 64, in the fourth grade and my first modem in the fifth grade. Online culture was such a large part of my life that at one point I could whistle at the exact pitch of a 1200 baud modem so that it would stop squelching when the phone rang. It was either develop this skill or my mother would ungraciously unplug the computer. Jason Grigsby 36 Cloud Four 05/27/2008