"You could really, in a very fundamental sense, talk about redrawing the border around a brain," Hodak says, "possibly to include four hemispheres, or a device, or a whole group of people."

Young's age and background – things that might seem like disadvantages when it comes to more established industries – have become his secret weapons. When he walks into a room of executives twice or three times his age, he says, there's initial skepticism. "Who the hell is this young guy and how does he know what he's talking about?"