As an entrepreneur, it’s important to have a great idea. The most common word in the startup world is “innovative”.
Take startup hubs; they’re all on the lookout for innovative startups and are only interested in supporting them. When you talk to investors, they’re all searching for innovative ideas to invest in. When you attend award shows, you’ll find prizes such as “Innovative startup of the year”.
Everyone’s looking for the most innovative idea and entrepreneur! But why…? What does “innovative” mean? Can you not have success without being “innovative”?
When you take a closer look at the innovative startup society, you’ll see that most of the startups are based in the tech or/and digital industry. Many public and private startup hubs are only looking for entrepreneurs in these sectors. So, they define “innovative” by the industry and sector you work in. There are no objective terms to describe an “innovative startup”.
That’s a big issue!
Many startups don’t have an idea which meets these standards. As a young entrepreneur, you shouldn’t be thinking ‘I have to a have an “innovative” idea or I won’t make it’.
Most entrepreneurs’ ideas come to them during the course of their everyday life. They encounter a problem and they want to find a solution. There are, however, entrepreneurs who have dreamed of becoming self-employed and, for example, having their own hairdressing salon since they were a kid.
Success can’t be defined in terms of “innovative” or “not innovative”. Sometimes success comes from the most boring of ideas. Entrepreneurship isn’t about being the most innovative person. It’s all about being the person who wants it most.
As a society which wants to support entrepreneurs and people who are willing to become self-employed, we shouldn’t select ideas based on sector or industry. We should focus on the people behind them and the possibilities they offer.
There are hairdressers who earn a fortune and digital engineers who go bankrupt. By building a startup community which only supports “innovative” ideas, we close the doors to so many great entrepreneurs. We deter young startups from getting out there and telling us their idea and story because they are afraid of the lack of response.
Our own journey started with two brothers building laser guns… Not very innovative, but they made it. We should be more open-minded and provide entrepreneurs with much wider support.
