You're the Entrepreneur

Back when technology started inching its way into our lives, it was blamed for everything that could go wrong. It’s safe to say, much of it was undeserved. These days, technology seems to get the credit for everything that is going right. And it’s safe to say, that’s undeserved, too.

Yet, technology is everyone’s favorite disruptor, shaking up the business world from Uber to Air BnB to Amazon. Or so it often seems if you read the business pages and listen to the analysts.

Which is why I love that the Shake Shack IPO in the United States closed its first day of trading up by some 120%. And that, despite some ups and downs, is still trading at more than double its IPO price.

Now, I know that this offering didn’t have the wallop of an Alibaba or an Amazon, the kind of super-sized valuations that analysts love to wax poetic about. But while some may ignore it, you can bet that McDonald’s paid attention, even though they have nothing to fear competitively.

At first glance, you’d think the odds were against Shake Shack’s success. Unlike other fast food players, Shake Shack has been criticized for consistency issues. Well, yes, that’s what happens when ingredients are fresh and cooked to order — kind of the difference between watching a movie or live theater performance. What’s more, a meal at Shake Shack is, on average, twice that of McDonanld’s. And neither place will be remembered for their healthy menus.

But Shake Shack has disrupted with an excitement and momentum that is going global. Why? Because it answers a need, solves a problem, offers something new for an old dilemma. Because it gives people who want fast food an alternative to walking through the golden arches — a palatable, honorable, desirable alternative. Brilliant.

Its owner, Danny Meyer, created the concept in an old hot dog stand in the middle of a small neighborhood park in New York City. This is entrepreneurialism at its best — and, here’s a critical point — its innovation can’t be measured in megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes.

Innovation is the outcome of great entrepreneurialism. And entrepreneurialism comes in all sizes, shapes, ages, nationalities. Here are some facts that might surprise you… Latin America has lots of entrepreneurial spirit: Colombians have the highest rate of people with entrepreneurial intentions; Brazilians have the most positive views of entrepreneurship as a career choice. Poland and China follow as entrepreneurial enthusiasts. In the U.S., the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity over the past decade comes from 55- to 64-year-olds. And why not? Entrepreneurialism is not a lifestyle or a personality type or a single demographic. It’s a mindset.

We are so enamored by stratospheric valuations, so enchanted by the sizzle of new applications of technology that we lose sight — and judgment — that innovation is much richer, deeper and broader.

Inspired innovation can take many forms — a Shake Shack restaurant, but also a coffee bar, a retail store, a service, or a product. Not to mention, the next Uber.

Disruption can come from culture, service, work ethic, aggregation, smart use of real estate and any number of other factors. The measure of success in our times is not necessarily a gargantuan valuation, a flood of digibabble or how many apps were bought on day one.

Sometimes, it might just be how many hamburgers were consumed.

Don’t let the Digibabblers push great entrepreneurial, innovative ideas into a single box called technology. That would be too ironic. And wrong.

So our challenge is to solve problems, find solutions and create opportunities by understanding human need and want. Technology will no doubt play a role, as it always has. But in and of itself, it is just an enabler.

You are the entrepreneur. Don’t ever forget that.