Where do ideas come from? How do we get ideas out of ourselves and our team? And how do we build a culture where ideas have a fighting chance? In a recent episode of AmSpa's Medical Spa Insider podcast, AmSpa founder and CEO, Alex R. Thiersch, JD, and AmSpa president and CSO, Cathy Christensen, spoke with Kyle Scheele, author and upcoming keynote speaker at Medical Spa Show 2025.

Known as “the patron saint of crazy ideas,” Scheele shares his entrepreneurial journey and the power of outsider perspectives in driving innovation. They dive into:
•    Embracing crazy ideas & accidental entrepreneurship
•    How outsiders fuel creativity
•    Building community to face challenges
•    Staying out of your own way
•    Creativity as a team sport ...and so much more!

Introducing Kyle Scheele

“I've been called the patron saint of crazy ideas, and so I kind of see it as my job to encourage innovation, not at some high level, theoretical way, but boots on the ground, day in, day out,” said Scheele. “How do we get the ideas that are going to move us forward in our businesses and our industries and our personal lives?”

Embracing crazy ideas

As a senior in high school, Scheele sought a way to earn money for cool clothes and “extras” in what little free time he had while serving as student body president with a full class schedule. He describes the first idea: to design and sell t-shirts to his friends. Those first 12 shirts were just the start, and his business selling t-shirts became internationally distributed in the U.S. and Canada when he was only 18.

“And that kind of showed me that, one, I'm not really always the judge of what is or isn't a possible idea or a crazy idea, and that, two, oftentimes the biggest moments of change in my life are going to be on the other side of something that feels scary at the time, that feels like I shouldn't be doing this, that feels a little crazy," says Scheele. "And so, ever since then, I've just been chasing crazy idea after crazy idea. And I've realized that that's where the magic is.”

Encouraging accidental entrepreneurs

In the med spa world, which is primarily made up of single-location aesthetic practices, owners may not have planned to become entrepreneurs. Many start out in the health care profession before they are inspired to enter the field of aesthetics to help people have more confidence, get better skin and overcome their insecurities. As someone who didn’t set out to be a businessperson, Scheele speaks about his perception of imposter syndrome and the innovation that can come from bringing an outside perspective.

“What happens is oftentimes it's that position as an outsider that gives you the perspective to see things that other people can't even see,” says Scheele.

Thiersch and Christensen discuss the ways that medical spa changemakers have capitalized on their varied perspectives. Often, the outside thinkers are the pioneers of a movement.

“In many ways, our industry is a personification of that theory. Aesthetics originally started with plastic surgeons and dermatologists," says Thiersch. "This industry, the med spa industry, really was built up by non-plastic surgeons, non-dermatologists, nurses, NPs, people who weren't in the traditional aesthetics world. But so, we've always kind of when we started weren't necessarily looked at with the same sort of seriousness, at least at first. Now that's not the case, but they were the ones, our group was the ones who really built out the model and made it what it is, and they were the ones who really took it to the next level. And in some ways, I don't know that that could have happened. It probably wouldn't have been where it is had we not had, you know, ‘outsiders’ doing it.”

Balancing creative thinking with real-world responsibilities

What do you do if your business responsibilities limit your bandwidth to think outside the box? Try thinking inside the box—that’s where you have to get creative. Instead of letting the challenges to your time, money or team become excuses, use them to drive innovation and inspire new ideas. Not every innovation has to come from you, and part of your role is to help your team members in their own creative journey.

“One of the things that I talk about is that creativity is a team sport, and that there are people around you that also have good ideas," says Scheele. "And sometimes your job is to be the person having all the ideas and sometimes your job, especially as a business matures, your job is to be the person supporting the ideas, spotting the ideas, resourcing the ideas.” 

Early entrepreneurship

When he started selling t-shirts in high school, Scheele had no background in business, no credit and no resources. Nobody comes out of the womb knowing how to run a business. He was able to face new business challenges by building relationships in his community. They helped him read contracts, choose profitable order sizes and more, with Scheele learning the back end of business along the way. 

“You explained this growth that's happened in your industry, and I would imagine that some of the people who started, especially in the earlier days, feel like ‘I have no idea what I'm doing, and now it's this big thing,’" says Scheele. "That's okay, that's how a lot of us feel. And that stretches you. It shows you what your potential is. And you end up realizing ‘You know what, I have to grow to become the kind of person who can handle this stuff.’” 

The importance of taking action on ideas

What’s the secret to staying out of your own way when it comes to acting on ideas? It’s by doing things, taking the next step. While most people talk about their ideas or the things they are planning to do, what sets Scheele apart is that when he has ideas, he believes in them and gives them a try.

“I didn't get to Urban Outfitters the first day," says Scheele. "It felt like it was really fast, but what it started with was, I just borrowed a laptop from a friend, taught myself how to use Adobe Illustrator and designed one T-shirt.”

He suggests taking consistent, small steps toward your goals, even when feeling uncertain. Execution is the key to turning ideas into successful ventures.

Protecting ideas as a parent

How does he distill this down for his children? He doesn’t shoot ideas down or praise every idea his children have. Instead, he encourages them to try their ideas and see what happens.

“I'd go ‘If I can't even judge my own ideas, I probably can't judge yours,’" says Scheele. "So, the best I can do is just say, ‘Hey, give it a shot. I think that, like, I don't really care as a kid if your ideas succeed or fail, what I care is that I want you to be the kind of person who tries stuff and who believes in themselves and who gives it a shot. I think that's going to pay dividends long term. It doesn't really matter if the thing right now that you're working on works or not.’”

Get unstuck one step at a time

What can you do if you’re stuck and can’t take that first step? Scheele suggests figuring out what is keeping you from doing it, then asking yourself how you can make the first step a little bit easier.

“You mentioned that this industry started out with a couple of nurses trying this thing on the side," says Scheele. "And now you've got private equity, and you've got national chains popping up, and nobody started day one with where it is now. But you see where it is now, and you go ‘I could never do that.’”

Sometimes you need to start with a smaller version of your idea, and sometimes you need to gain knowledge first. Once you do that, take it one step at a time; when you look back, you will see that you have come pretty far.

Collaboration to overcome challenges

Successful people have community behind them, even “self-made” businesspeople. Community can be family, business partners, significant others, work teams, friends, roommates, anyone who supports you.

Being part of an association brings you together with like-minded industry professionals from across the country who do some version of the same thing but in different places, at different scales and at different times. It also makes it easier to share best practices and advice without the threat of competition. A single person may not have all the answers but can spur you forward.

“That's what we, when we built the Medical Spa Show, that's really what we had envisioned," says Thiersch. "It's a place where people can come and do exactly that. And I think that what you said was really interesting, because you might not get exactly the answer that you're looking for, all the information that you want. But you're going to get something, and it's going to mean something, whether it's in the specific way that you're looking for or something different. And that's like the power of these conferences. Not just our conference, but really, any conference that brings the people together is that you've got a chance to talk to folks, and if you're open to it, and you're not, you know, restricted, and you don't hold yourself off, I think it's a great place to really grow and learn, so I can't wait for that.” 

What to expect from his keynote 

Walk out with practical, tactical tangible ideas on getting good ideas out of yourself and your team; learn how creativity and innovation work day-to-day; understand how to build a culture that gets the best ideas out of people; find and correct common roadblocks that kill innovation.

“Ideas are a naturally occurring resource," says Scheele. "All of us have them. Every single human being is creative. And so I'm going to walk in, walk you through ‘How do you maximize that?’ And ‘How do you minimize the things that are going to take that away from you?’ And then ‘How do you get back to take those ideas and then put them back to work in your individual practices and in your businesses, in a way that makes a difference?

Don’t miss Kyle’s keynote, “How to Turn Yourself (and Your Organization) Into an Innovation Machine,” on April 11, 2025, at the Wynn Las Vegas. Register for Medical Spa Show 2025 today to save your seat and start fostering a culture where innovation thrives.

Learn more about his keynote presentation and view the conference agenda at medicalspashow.com/agenda.

Friday, April 11, 2025

Medical Spa Show 2025 | General Session

10 – 10:45 a.m.:  Keynote: How to Turn Yourself (and Your Organization) Into an Innovation Machine

If there’s one belief that is holding you back from getting the most out of your team, it’s this one: Some people are creative, and some people aren’t. That belief is based on outdated ideas about what creativity means, where it comes from, and who gets to harness it. The truth is, creativity is a skill like any other: It can be learned. You can teach employees how to be more creative, how to have better ideas and how to build a culture where innovation is a natural byproduct. In this talk, you will: Be inspired to harness your own capacity for creativity and innovation; Learn practical tips for how to get more (and better) ideas out of yourself and your team; Discover the five things that every idea needs; and Learn how to avoid common idea-killers in your organization.

About Kyle Scheele
Kyle Scheele has been called "the patron saint of crazy ideas." Whether he's having a Viking funeral for the regrets of 21,000 people, hosting the world's first fake marathon or gaining a million TikTok followers in just 25 hours, Scheele is always on the lookout for crazy ideas that produce wildly outsized outcomes. Over the last decade, his projects have been featured by outlets such as Fast Company, WIRED, The Washington Post, Yahoo!, BuzzFeed, UpWorthy, Goalcast and more. His videos have been viewed more than 250 million times, and he has spoken to hundreds of thousands of audience members across the United States. More than anything, Scheele hopes his story can inspire others to chase their own crazy ideas and become the people they were meant to be.