Imitation is Innovation

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A recent article in Times of India claims that imitation is innovation and refers to a quote by artist Pablo Picasso.  Further the article states that many successful Indian start-ups are based on similar ideas from the US or Europe which have then been customised to fit the Indian market.

 

”Good artists copy, great artists steal, said Pablo Picasso, one of the 20th century’s most influential artists, implying that a good artist merely reproduces a subject while a great one takes possession of it and turns it into something new. It’s a maxim that many Indian startups, who have adapted ideas for services from the US and other countries, seem to live by.”

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Imitation-is-innovation/articleshow/48907419.cms

 

#KTH #ME2603 #Entrepreneurship

Steam

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In the  lecture today, Serdar spoke about how Spotify fought piracy and peer-to-peer downloads. I came to think about a different company called Valve and their service Steam. Steam uses the same ideas as Spotify but for PC games. They saw that piracy was a problem and found a solution by first creating an easier platform for finding games and then creating an easier payment method with Steam wallet.

Gabe Newell, the co-founder of Valve explains his views about piracy by saying

“In general, we think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem. For example, if a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24 x 7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to your country 3 months after the US release, and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate’s service is more valuable.”

This is very interesting because it contradicts what the developers of games are doing against piracy.

Source:

Interview: http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/interviews/0012301-interview-gabe-newell.html

Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/

 

How big is your niche?

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Hey everyone,

I was thinking about a good idea for my elevator pitch when I encountered this problem. How can you now how big your niche is and if the niche is big enough to support your idea and make it succesful? Because you have to find a problem in your daily life which you can solve with your solution. But what if you are an exception or that it is just a problem in your own country? I think it’s sometimes hard to know if you will have enough customers, because in the case that there are a few people with the same problem in every country, you have enough customers, but how will you get to all those different people around the world?

I’m curious what you think about this and if you are also struggeling with it. I hope to hear your opinions.

Regards,

Tim Buzink

Female Entrepreneurs

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Hey Guys!

Really liked the blogpost by Celine Tevy Ly ” WHAT ABOUT FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS ?” which inspired be to look around and see what kind of big and famous tech-female entrepreneurs we have. Found this video on Ted talks about Dame Stephanie Shirley. I have never heard of her before but in the 1960s, she founded a pioneering all-woman software company in the UK, which was recently valued at $3 billion, making 70 people on her team millionaires. In the video she explains why she went by “Steve,” how she upended the expectations of the time, and shares some sure-fire ways to identify ambitious women.

HTTPS://WWW.TED.COM/TALKS/DAME_STEPHANIE_SHIRLEY_WHY_DO_AMBITIOUS_WOMEN_HAVE_FLAT_HEADS/TRANSCRIPT?LANGUAGE=EN

So you have an idea. Now what?

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There is a common misconception, probably inherited from movies and some particular cynical views of capitalism, namely that you should keep your ideas for yourself. Otherwise someone can steal your idea!

In my opinion (which is inherited from the opinions from people in the know), the reality does not conform to that.

To start a project/company takes energy. To start a project takes time. People wont quit what they’re doing and invest resources into some idea they heard somewhere.
Angel investors  (private investors who invests from their own pocket) are interesting to look at. The existance of Angel investors supports my claim in a way. Angel investors are experienced and rich, yet they don’t take ideas from a youths. They give money to the youths to capitalize on their time, energy and commitment.
Indeed Angel investors agrees. Here’s a fictional quote that sums up what I’ve heard from Angel investors (just because I like quotes and it looks cool):

The year is 2015! Do you really think your idea is unique? In this day and age, ideas are worth nothing. It’s all about the execution! I invest in the person, not in the idea.

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So what is the next step?

The next step is to tell it to the world

Go to events and pitch your idea to as many as you can! This is what I did yesterday at SUP46, indeed it was super valuable.

I found a programmer who got so intrigued by the “It’s a mix of LinkedIn and WhatApp” pitch that we pivoted the idea for 20 minutes from a programmers point of view!
I also found 3-4 iOS developers who may or may not be interested in joining my team.

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The idea in your head will never improve as long as it remains in your head only. Do yourself a favor and share it today in class! You will get two invalueable things: Feedback and contacts!