Don't be afraid to reinvent the wheel
Sal Matteis
Techno-Humanist Entrepreneur & VC. Focusing on Deeptech building for a better world.
Remember the unveiling of the first iPhone at MacWorld in 2007 ?
As Steve got on the stage he built anticipation:
This is the day I have been looking forwards to for 2.5 years. Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.
He then went on to announce that it wasn't one product Apple was going to introduce but 3:
1. a widescreen iPod with touch controls
2. a revolutionary mobile phone
3. a breakthrough internet communication device
Of course it was a lie. They were in fact all features of the same device called iPhone that hundreds of millions of people carry around with them all day today.
The Big Secret was that Apple did reinvent the wheel and Steve eloquently demonstrated that the iPhone was significantly smarter and easier to use than any other phone ever made.
In one simple stroke of genius Steve demonstrated how the user interfaces of the incumbent phones were crippled by the physical keyboard.
/ / watch the iPhone 1 unveiling here / /
Iphone Sales In Million Units 2007-2015
As we grow up we are taught not to reinvent the wheel as in “not do something that’s already been done’’ because it’s inefficient use of time/money and mental resources.
This saying became popular in the 21st century as management teams in large organization were focusing on keeping chaos at bay and create a framework that would not cause immediate faults in the system.
Truth is that building disruptive / high growth companies works exactly the opposite way:
Start from the a problem you face in your day to day life and ask yourself if it is something you know it deserves to be done better. If you are passionate about it, go do it.
Some of the greatest successes (*unicorns*) of today have been built to reinvent something that already existed but was inefficient for its era and could be done better. Much better.
- Skype: reinventing telephone calling
- Whatsapp: reinventing SMS
- Instagram: reinventing photo albums
- Airbnb: reinventing accomodation
- Transferwise: reinventing money transfer
- Reddit: reinventing content curation & groups
- Uber, Tesla : reinventing transportation
- Apple: reinventing the phone + pc
When you think about the fact that the wheel itself has been reinvented many times throughout history from its early prototype you realize how inappropriate the saying is. I would be surprised if in the next 100 years we’d be seeing the same wheels we see today.
The greatest entrepreneurs are those who see what's broken and are fanatical about fixing it for the rest of us.
Maverick Architect of Media's Future—Redefining Global Strategy, Disrupting Markets, and Pioneering the Next Evolution in Sports
1 年So true Sal Matteis progress ends when we stop challenging the status quo. When you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space!
Entomologist at Home Exterminating Services
4 年Good information. Inspired, overcome, and move forward with new intentions.
UK Advisor at Axiom Space
9 年"Don't be the first mover when you can be the last iMover."
Area Manager presso Lamb Weston Meijer
9 年Really inspiring!!!
Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Expert in Digital Transformation, Musician
9 年Hi Sal, you got IT right! Disruption is transitive: there is always something to be disrupted!