It seems as if we are obsessed with success of technology start-ups that have changed the way we live our lives. We know that there is a movie about the social networking giant Facebook called The Social Network that is coming out in the near future. Now there are rumors that there might be one about Google. It makes perfect sense since this company has had such a huge impact on our lives, much more than Facebook or any other Internet websites. With that said, I have been asking myself a question. Are we getting obsessed with small-time operations that became extremely successful? This also leads to another question – why?
One of the possible reasons might be that it has become tougher to succeed in business these days than it was at the turn of the century. Could it truly be that innovation has slowed down regarding technology since the world wide web has matured? One can only wonder if that is the case.
Although I believe that the time for innovation now is just as lucrative as it was any time earlier, there are a few things to keep in perspective. It is probable that right at this moment, there is a genius somewhere in the world working on a business plan that is going to become famous. It will not be because they have copied somebody else’s idea though. It must be original and has to fulfill some type of need. One thing to learn from this is that you should keep experimenting with new things and stop following what others have already done! Remember the million dollar homepage? I cannot even describe how many copycats popped up overnight to see if they could demand a million dollars just like the original. Let me tell you that they probably did not make enough to even cover their hosting fees.
So what is it about technology startups that we cherish so dearly? Its hard to say really. Maybe because we want to celebrate their success as something or someone that has come far from the beginning. I think it gives us hope that no matter how tough the business environment gets, there is always room for the little guys to make something big!
Innovation, in my opinion, starts as a hobby. What I mean by this is that many of the people looking to create something are doing it for the wrong reasons. Its not because they truly want to develop the product or service out of interest, but because of greed of money. Most of the times such ventures go belly up soon after their inception.
Looking at the social behemoth Facebook, one can see that it’s creator was trying to really put the social experience of college on the web. He was not motivated by money but how he could provide a service to his friends and other college students. Because his plan worked and it became big, Facebook started to rake in billions of dollars! I call this the upside-down business plan. Do something that people like and everything else will fall into place, including money!
If you are planning on inventing something, its easy to see the existing needs of people. There are too many people trying to create the need for their product or service when there are endless gapes that have yet to be filled! Innovation starts by looking at the simple things around us and then coming up with a business plan that will address those needs.
Your new business could be the startup of the decade, who knows? I hope all you smart people keep working on solving problems that make living our lives so much better!