By: Chroma

Innovation dies when you wait for the perfect plan. Instead of rolling up your sleeves and building, we get tangled in analysis, endless meetings, and nothing to show for it. The world doesn’t need more buzzwords or whiteboard sessions. It needs things that work.

What we get instead of progress is more of the same: pseudo-innovation. Over-engineered, overhyped, and underwhelming. The result? SAD lamps that don’t help seasonal depression, blue-blocking glasses that ignore the melanopic spectrum, and a thousand gadgets designed to look nice on a coffee table—and do absolutely nothing for the people using them.

The world isn’t simple. It’s messy, complex, and unpredictable—and the smartest people in history didn’t wait for a perfect model to tell them what to do. They built things. They tested hunches. They used intuition and observation to chase results, not perfection.

The Problem: Pseudo-Innovation Is Everywhere

Let’s get real. Most products today aren’t solving problems—they’re dressing up old tech with new marketing. SAD lamps are a perfect example. If you’ve ever used one and wondered why you don’t feel better, the answer is simple: most of them rely on cheap blue phosphor pump LEDs, or worse, fluorescent tubes—a harsh, narrow, light source with a ton of harsh dark blue light that messes up your sleep, wrecks your eyes, and ignores how light interacts with your biology. But they slap a pretty frame on it, drop some vague claims about “full spectrum” light, and call it progress.

Or look at blue-light blocking glasses. Years ago, Chroma made Carbonshade glasses – the first red nighttime glasses designed to block light where it actually matters for sleep. The key was understanding the melanopic response—the wavelengths of blue light that hit the eye and mess with melatonin production. Others followed, marketed louder, and watered down the tech. They made something good enough to sell instead of something that actually solved the problem.

Here’s the hard truth: pseudo-innovation is easier. It’s easier to make a pretty frame than rethink the light source. It’s easier to add a useless feature than tackle the core problem. And it’s easier to look investible than to be truly innovative.

The Chroma Way: Build the Thing, Solve the Problem

At Chroma, we don’t do “lab-coat theater.” We build what needs to exist.

The Ironforge didn’t come from a market report. It came from a simple observation: people need something practical to deliver a lot of red and near-infrared light quickly and effectively to areas of pain. Recovery shouldn’t take an hour, and relief shouldn’t require over-engineered setups. So we built a device that’s powerful, easy to use, and does the job. Not complicated. Just effective.

The same principle drives everything we do. With our Golden Glo lenses, we rethought blue-light protection by focusing on the real problem: the dark blue wavelengths that disrupt a natural circadian rhythm the most, while letting in just enough cyan and violet light to maintain natural daytime stimulation. The result? Daytime blue blocking glasses that feel more natural, look better, and actually work—because we addressed the right problem.

And we’re doing it again with the Lux Vital—the first light therapy device designed to target our “Opsins” or non-visual photoreceptor systems (OPN4, OPN3, and OPN5). Built after we finally understood the importance of these pathways that pioneers like Dr. Jack Kruse have been talking about for years, this cutting edge device delivers Opsin stimulating Cyan and Violet light, balanced with wideband red and near-infrared light in a practical, targeted way. Often the solution isn’t about doing what’s easy or following trends—it’s about doing what works.

Real Innovation Happens When You Move

If you’re waiting for the perfect model, you’ll wait forever. The world doesn’t work that way. Real innovation means taking action. It means acting on a hunch, asking good questions, and testing until you find something that works. And it means rejecting the fluff and noise that’s slowing the world down.

Chroma isn’t here to play the game of pseudo-innovation. We’re here to solve real problems. If you want to support that kind of progress, use the products we build. Not because they’re trendy. Not because they’re pretty. But because they work.

The Ironforge exists because we built it. The Golden Glo lenses exist because we built them. The ColdBed Pillow will be the coldest pillow in the world, because we’re building it. And this is just the start.

We’re not waiting for the perfect model. We’re moving forward—one problem, one solution, one product at a time.

Stop guessing. Start building.

Disclaimer: The devices discussed in this article are not intended for medical use, diagnosis, or treatment of any medical conditions. Results from using these products may vary, and individual experiences can differ. Always consult with a healthcare provider before using any new device or product, especially if you have existing health concerns. The information provided is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice.