About the author
Paul Akers is founder and president of FastCap LLC, based in Bellingham, WA. FastCap is an international product development company founded in 1997 with over 2000 distributors worldwide. A prolific inventor, Paul holds US and international patents. His company, FastCap, launches approximately 20 new innovative products per year and has won business of the year in 1999 and 2010. Paul and his wife, Leanne, have built FastCap from their garage into a multi-million dollar company in 13 years.
As an instrument rated pilot, Paul flies his own corporate aircraft conducting business in over 40 countries. He has over 2000 hours of flight time, which includes 3 North Atlantic crossings.
Paul is a master craftsman, gardener and designer. He built his own exquisite Greene and Greene craftsman style home in Bellingham, Washington, as well as the furniture and guitars in his home.
Paul’s grandparents emigrated from Greece in 1913 through Ellis Island. Nicholas and Amelia taught him to appreciate the gift of America and the boundless opportunities it provides to millions of people from around the world.
Paul was born and raised in Southern California, and was drawn towards excellence and high standards from an early age. He earned his Eagle Scout at age 14. Inspired by woodworking artisans he earned awards and recognition for furniture design before graduating high school. At the age of 15 he built his own guitar and earned the attention of guitar designer Bob Taylor, who mentored and eventually put Paul to work for Taylor Guitars. As a true American innovator, Bob made a lasting impression on Paul, where he was part of building over 2000 world class musical instruments.
He graduated from Biola University in 1983 with honors, obtaining a degree in education with an emphasis in Greek and German.
Paul and Leanne started from humble beginnings. They bought their first home, an abandoned gang house in La Puente, California. “Complete every project before starting a new one,” was Paul’s mantra, and this attitude afforded him many amazing opportunities.
Biography of Paul Akers
Paul worked in Pasadena restoring some of the most prestigious historical homes and became part of an exclusive group of craftsmen that built the home for the editor of Architectural Digest. Paul taught Industrial Arts at Mark Keppel High school where his innovative thinking led to the development of a program that focused on teaching kids to actually build furniture, rather than the standard high school projects like key racks and cutting boards.
Paul also served as a pastor at Glassell Park Baptist Church in the inner city of Los Angeles.
He catapulted into the business world when his knack for problem solving led to an invention, and eventually his own manufacturing business that started in his garage. Through a series of twists and turns he discovered Lean and the Toyota Production System (TPS) which helped to launch his business from the garage into the successful international product development company known as Fastcap.
Using Lean, Paul’s company has prospered and expanded even in the current economic downturn. He has never laid off one employee, nor cut one salary and currently offers the highest entry level pay for any business in the region.
Paul is an avid outdoorsman and has 3 times summited Mt. Whitney at 14,495 feet, the highest peak in the continental US.
Paul is an energetic speaker whose core passion is helping people discover their full potential in life and teaching others how to implement Lean thinking for their own business and personal success.
His weekly radio show “The American Innovator” is listened to by thousands every Saturday morning, where he teaches his listeners throughout North America the power of innovation and lean thinking.
In 2010 Paul ran for the US Senate in Washington State on a lean platform of transforming government by empowering people. After the election Paul launched Lean America, to donate his time teaching Lean thinking and creating a lean culture in government organizations throughout the country.
In June of 2011 Paul won the prestigious award of Business Executive of the year for Seattle Business Magazine.
Paul has been married for 28 years to his wife Leanne and has two children: Andréa and Kolbe.
In 2011 Paul wrote his first book about Lean Manufacturing, 2 Second Lean.