Startups are innovators. In 2022, there were over 5 million startups created. Many of these entities will fail, but others will thrive for years on massive venture capital funding that empowers them to innovate industries worldwide.
Often, startups are the ones who change the world through innovation, while mega corporations are too busy trying to please shareholders.
Source: Pixabay
If you’re wondering how startups can change the world, consider the following:
Productivity Innovations Making It Easier to Run a Business
In the last year, the focus on productivity has skyrocketed. There has been a shift in the way technology works that empowers small businesses to innovate with:
- Artificial intelligence
- Product management tools
- Collaboration tools
- Much more
Startups innovate because they’re risk-takers who focus on improving productivity in ways that large enterprises cannot. An increase in innovation also allows small startups to remain bootstrapped and enter markets that, in the past, were seen as too competitive to enter.
Create Small-Scale Products and Services
Enterprises are beholden to shareholders, and they need to show that resource investment has the potential to make a lot of money. For example, you’re unlikely to see Google create a product or service that only has the potential to have 10,000 monthly users when their products serve billions of people.
Startups are innovating through:
- Small-scale products that can help increase productivity, teach people to save money and so on. These are markets that are often neglected because they’re “too small.”
- Services that are unique and “risky,” yet they have a demand that has remained untapped.
A startup can focus on small market segments that are untapped yet make real changes in the lives of consumers.
Outside-the-Box Ways to Work
Startups are bootstrapped, and they often find new, exciting ways to work. Hiring offshore companies, offering remote positions and other forms of work allow startups to thrive. These companies “think outside the box” and innovate through it.
Airbnb Changes Short-Term Rentals
Airbnb may be a big company today, but they were a small startup that turned its users into businesses. The platform is a marketplace that allows people to rent their homes and make money.
Airbnb handles the middleman work and advertising, and they’re paid very well for this by “landlords.”
Other startups that take a similar approach include:
- Uber
- Lyft
- GrubHub
- Etc.
These startups changed the way people rent short-term rentals, book a “taxi,” and even eat or pick up their groceries. In fact, these companies impact rentals, transportation and the food industry.
Startups have the potential to:
- Help other entrepreneurs make money through multiple avenues
- Change industries that have long been stagnant, such as how Uber changed the taxi industry
Investors in startups do need to see a business plan and want to review a startup’s MVP. However, there are plenty of cutting-edge startups that are self-funded that have gone on to change the world.
Microsoft and Google were once startups, as were every major company in the world at some point.
Startups can take risks, hire young employees and tackle problems that they’re unsure if they can fix or if it will generate enough money to appease shareholders. Innovation in startups drives the world around us, even if some of these companies are acquired by bigger brands.