in an innovation context. The rise of venture capital has been a force for good as this model accepts that while most start- ups will ultimately fail, a small number of huge wins will drive big overall returns. It therefore views the failed founder not as a loser, but rather as having undertaken tuition on someone else’s dime (namely their last investor), and therefore less likely to make rookie mistakes. Like all developed economies, Australia is reliant on the technology industry to drive jobs growth, particularly via small innovative tech companies. Innovative founders represent our best chance of driving technology to become our leading export over the next decade and creating a happy and prosperous life for future generations. Dr Adir Shiffman is an Australian serial tech start- up founder and investor, and Executive Chairman of global athlete analytics leader Catapult Sports. He has been rated the World’s 10th Most Innova- tive Person in Sports Business.
The thrilling formation of a new idea.
Another pitfall faced by most founders is their lack of financial acumen. Without a strong grasp of finance, founders will simply not have a clear view of their current position and will not notice the cliff towards which they are headed (and there is always a cliff nearby!). Successful innovation also demands that leaders are giv- en the tools and expertise to succeed, and fi- nance is king among these. Finally, great founders accept that sometimes things will fail. In his ground-breaking book The Innovator’s Dilemma, the late Clay Christensen observed that about 95 per cent of new prod- ucts fail. Sometimes, though, the failure of an entire start-up becomes inevitable. Thankfully, several developments have begun reshaping the Australian perspective towards failure with-
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Video: In one sentence, The Innovator’s Dilem- ma is a business classic that explains the pow- er of disruption, why market leaders are often set up to fail as technologies and industries change.
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