The Neuroscience-Inspired Framework for Reimagining Industries

At Share Ventures, we stand at the forefront of ideating and creating new businesses by leveraging frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence. Our approach to venture building is deeply rooted in the scientific framework of reimagination, enabling us to connect seemingly disparate problems and domains. This process allows us to unlock human potential, drive innovation, and create sustainable value across multiple ventures.

What is Reimagination?

Reimagination involves completely shifting the frame and overhauling something that people think works by looking at it through many different lenses. This concept is informed by the work of neuropsychologist at UCLA, Dr. Bob Bilder, an advisor to Share Ventures. Reimagination has been my modus operandi throughout my career - reimagining advertising and media with NextMedium, wellness with bLife, movie-going with MoviePass, and the entrepreneurial model itself with Share Ventures. We also draw on insights from sociology and I/O psychology to guide our methodology.

Creative thinking is predicted to grow in demand by 73% by 2027.

The ability to reimagine and think creatively is becoming increasingly important in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs 2023 report, creative thinking is predicted to grow in demand by 73% by 2027, making it the second most important skill after analytical thinking.[i] This highlights the growing need for creativity and the power of reimagination in the modern job market.

Additionally, there are psychological benefits of environments that nurture and support creativity. According to a study by Adobe Foundation and National Alliance on Mental Illness, engaging in creative activities has been shown to improve mental health. For instance, 61% of people reported reduced feelings of stress or anxiety when engaging in creative activities, and 63% noted an improved sense of confidence. [ii]?

A survey of more than 16,500 employees by Gallup found that only 29% of workers strongly agree that their workplace expects them to think of new approaches.

However, there's a big gap between recognizing the importance of creativity and fostering it in professional settings. A survey of more than 16,500 employees by Gallup found that only 29% of workers strongly agree that their workplace expects them to think of new approaches. [iii] At Share Ventures, creativity is our expectation fostered through the process of reimagination.?

The Neuroscience Behind Reimagination

Reimagination involves balancing elements of novelty and utility, which correspond to cognitive flexibility and cognitive stability in brain terms[i]. Here are four key brain processes involved in reimagination.

1. Purposefully Stimulating Distant Brain Regions

Reimagination requires enhanced connectivity across distant brain regions to enable novel combinations. The brain's default mode network (DMN), active during mind-wandering and self-referential thought, and the executive control network (ECN), which manages focus and goal-directed behavior, must collaborate in new and complex ways. This allows for the integration of diverse ideas and perspectives.[ii]?

2. Breaking Away from Routine Thinking

To explore uncharted territory, the brain must inhibit conventional thought patterns. This involves suppressing dominant but familiar connections, making way for more innovative and less obvious pathways. It’s akin to questioning the very structure of what is normal.[iii]?

3. Trial and Error

Reimagination is an iterative process, involving the exploration of a vast space of potential combinations, constantly testing and refining those that have positive early signals. This iterative approach is crucial for moving from novel ideas to truly disruptive technologies.[iv]?

4. Flexible Thinking

Cognitive flexibility, the ability to shift thinking and adapt to new information, and fluid intelligence, the capacity to solve new problems, are crucial for reimagination. These cognitive processes enable individuals to break free from established patterns and explore new possibilities.[v]

How to Activate Different Brain Regions

A specific set of brain regions can be activated under given situations. For example, remembering past experiences, thinking about future events, and considering the thoughts and perspectives of others activate multiple regions of the brain as shown in figure. These fMRI scans from Buckner et al. (2008), "The Brain's Default Network," illustrate the activation of the brain's DMN during various cognitive tasks that involve mental simulation.?

Remembering Personal Experiences (A)

Reimagination often involves reflecting on past experiences to generate new ideas. The activation of the DMN during autobiographical memory tasks shows that recalling specific past events engages regions of the brain involved in self-referential thought and memory retrieval, which are crucial for generating novel ideas based on personal experiences.

This reflexivity is important in serial entrepreneurship. While many from the industry shy away from “failure” there are powerful learnings from recalling past events, including the unsuccessful ones, that fuel growth opportunities. Researchers, such as Dr. Jessica Santana, are now studying how embracing failure can have positive entrepreneurial outcomes. At Share Ventures, we follow the early signals and use our armor of resilience to work through setbacks.?

Imagining the Future (B)

Reimagination requires the ability to envision future possibilities. The activation of the DMN when imagining specific future events indicates that the brain uses similar neural mechanisms for thinking about future scenarios as it does for recalling past events. This ability to project into the future is essential for creating innovative solutions and envisioning new ventures.

Our vision is to be a leading venture studio and fund that drives significant advancements in brain health, body wellness, wealth management, and purposeful living. We believe that by anticipating future needs and challenges, we can build companies and invest in ventures that will have a profound and positive impact on society. This forward-thinking approach is embedded in our strategy where we prioritize companies that not only address current issues but also have the potential to solve future problems.

Understanding Others' Perspectives (C)

Understanding others' perspectives is a key component of reimagination. The activation of the DMN during tasks that require thinking about another person's beliefs or perspectives highlights the importance of empathy and social cognition in the creative process. By considering different viewpoints, individuals can generate more diverse and inclusive ideas. At Share Ventures, this principle is deeply embedded in our culture and operations. We believe that empathy and understanding are drivers of innovation and success.?

By actively seeking to understand the perspectives of our stakeholders—whether they are investors, entrepreneurs, or end-users—we are able to make more informed and impactful decisions. This approach helps us identify unique opportunities and challenges that might otherwise be overlooked.

Considering Right and Wrong (D)

Reimagination often involves challenging conventional norms and making decisions that may have ethical implications. The activation of the DMN during moral decision-making tasks suggests that engaging in ethical reasoning and considering the broader impact of decisions are integral to the reimagination process. This aligns with the goal of creating sustainable and socially responsible innovations.

At Share Ventures, moral considerations are central to our decision-making as we build frontier technologies that have the potential to significantly impact society. By prioritizing ethical standards, we aim to mitigate risks such as bias, privacy violations, and unintended consequences. These ethics also align with our core values of integrity and impact, reinforcing our commitment to enhancing human performance in a manner that benefits society as a whole.?

Inclusive and Collaborative Methodology

Good ideas stem from the bridging of seemingly disparate networks or groups.

Reimagination doesn’t occur solely in the brain of an individual however exceptional. We recognize the importance of social perspectives in ideation. Good ideas stem from the bridging of seemingly disparate networks or groups. People who can span these structural holes, as sociologist Ronald Burt denotes, have a vision advantage[ix]. That is why our model is inclusive, de-risking early-stage company building and unlocking diverse, experienced talent. We work with top engineers, designers, product managers, marketers, and operators with varied backgrounds and perspectives. Our collaborative approach values the power of bridging social networks and vantage points to generate creative solutioning together.[x]

The Share Ventures Studio Model

The venture studio model is unique in its ability to generate "sustainable innovation"—our term for creating efficiencies and de-risking across multiple early-stage ventures. We have built systems and methodologies that act as force multipliers, creating, capturing, and reusing the value generated in all our processes. We use tools to perfect the science of company building, harnessing data to guide our efforts in discovering, ideating, testing, and building.[xi]

According to research from the Global Startup Studio Network, startups emerging from venture studios have a 30% higher success rate compared to traditional startups. [xii] This is attributed to the structured approach, resource, and idea sharing that is at the center of the venture studio model and part of our process at Share Ventures.

Conclusion

At Share Ventures, we are redefining the process of ideating and creating new businesses through a scientifically grounded framework of reimagination. By connecting diverse problems and domains and leveraging frontier technologies like AI, we unlock human potential and drive sustainable innovation. Our inclusive and collaborative approach, coupled with our deep understanding of the neurological underpinnings of reimagination, supports the creation of businesses that can effectively bridge the gap between novelty and utility.

This neuroscience-inspired framework represents a paradigm shift in how we approach innovation and entrepreneurship. By harnessing the power of the human brain's natural ability to make connections and reimagine possibilities, we are able to generate ideas that are not only novel but also practically applicable and commercially viable.

Our approach goes beyond traditional brainstorming or ideation techniques. It is rooted in a deep understanding of cognitive processes, creativity, and problem-solving mechanisms. This scientific foundation allows us to systematically cultivate environments and methodologies that optimize creative thinking and innovative solution generation. Our framework's emphasis on cross-pollination between diverse fields and industries opens up immense opportunities for disruptive innovation. By breaking down silos and encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration, we foster a rich ecosystem where ideas can flourish and evolve in unexpected ways.

As we look to the future, the potential applications of our reimagination framework are vast and far-reaching. From addressing global challenges like climate change and healthcare accessibility to revolutionizing industries such as education, transportation, and energy, our approach has the power to drive meaningful change on a global scale.

Share Ventures' neuroscience-inspired framework for reimagining industries represents a powerful tool for driving innovation and creating businesses that are both groundbreaking and sustainable. By bridging scientific understanding with creative thinking and technological capacity, we are not just imagining the future – we are actively shaping it. As we continue to refine and expand our approach, we invite forward-thinking innovators and organizations to join us in reimagining what’s next.?

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Endnotes

[i] Masterson, V. (2023). Future of jobs 2023: These are the most in-demand skills now - and beyond. World Economic Forum.https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/05/future-of-jobs-2023-skills/?

[ii] Adobe. (2023). Adobe Foundation and NAMI release new study showing the powerful connection between creativity and mental health. Adobe Blog. https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2023/06/20/adobe-foundation-nami-new-study-connecting-creativity-mental-health?

[iii] Gallup. (2019). Fostering creativity at work: How managers can push or crush innovation. Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/245498/fostering-creativity-work-managers-push-crush-innovation.aspx

[iv] UCLA Design Media Arts. “Dr. Robert Bilder: Brain. Health. And Creativity.” Available:? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovNRXgpMMYw

[v] Buckner, R. L., Andrews-Hanna, J. R., & Schacter, D. L. (2008). The brain's default network: Anatomy, function, and relevance to disease. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124(1), 1-38. Spreng, R. N., Sepulcre, J., Turner, G. R., Stevens, W. D., & Schacter, D. L. (2013). Intrinsic architecture underlying the relations among the default, dorsal attention, and frontoparietal control networks of the human brain. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 25(1), 74-86.

[vi] Chrysikou, E. G., & Thompson-Schill, S. L. (2011). Dissociable brain states linked to common and creative object use. Cognitive Neuroscience, 2(1), 1-6. Benedek, M., Jauk, E., Fink, A., Koschutnig, K., Reishofer, G., & Neubauer, A. C. (2014). To create or to recall? Neural mechanisms underlying the generation of creative new ideas. NeuroImage, 88, 125-133.

[vii] Dietrich, A. (2004). The cognitive neuroscience of creativity. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 11(6), 1011-1026. Sawyer, R. K. (2011). The cognitive neuroscience of creativity: A critical review. Creativity Research Journal, 23(2), 137-154.

[viii] Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135-168.

[ix] Burt, R. S. (2004). Structural holes and good ideas. American Journal of Sociology, 110(2), 349-399.

[x] Uzzi, B., & Spiro, J. (2005). Collaboration and creativity: The small world problem. American Journal of Sociology, 111(2), 447-504. Reagans, R., & McEvily, B. (2003). Network structure and knowledge transfer: The effects of cohesion and range. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(2), 240-267.

[xi] Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. Crown Business. Blank, S. (2013). The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win. K & S Ranch.

[xii] Lawrence, J., Fulton, K., Narowski, P., & Hurwitz, J. (2019). The Rise of Startup Studios. Global Startup Studio Network. Edited by Zasowski, N., Riley, P., Stanley, B., & Hurwitz, J.