You Do Not Need to be an Expert to Innovate

I just shared this LinkedIn post by D.Jacobs with a leader in the American and Colorado Hemp Industry who seemed reluctant to believe that my invention is the Holy Grail that my EU Hemp Adviser claims it to be.

update added: 1/3/16 The next day after sending this in an email he did reply back and I have been referred to 2 additional Midwest Hemp companies.

To All the Inventors out there who are searching for believers and founders of your great products please remember: 

You Don't Need to be an Expert to Innovate in Your Field

In all four of the companies I founded, I was far from being an expert when I began: in fact, I had never spent a formal day in that field before I had the idea for the company. In all cases, it helped me. Here's a step-by-step guide to why:

1. Innovation is About Solving Big Programs. Across the board, great innovations are also solutions to big problems that many people have tried to solve, but that have left those same people scrambling for answers.

2. Big Problems Aren't Often Solved By Existing Experts. Oftentimes, the old guard in an industry has been doing things one way for so long that they've put on blinders that prevent them from seeing new possibilities.

3. Existing Experts Can Be Part of the Problem. Especially in bleeding industries, experts can be more concerned with maintaining the status quo that won them their expert status... rather than innovating.

4. It Takes a New Pair of Eyes to Spot the Pain. My brother finally helped me see that purple parachute pants in the mid-90s weren't a good idea. Similarly, in business it's often the guy on the outside that sees the problem.

5. Experts Won't Risk Their Expert Status to Find a Solution. That job goes to someone whose risk-reward ratio is different; someone who stands to gain more than they might lose by innovating.

That someone is often a newbie - a person looking at the problem with a fresh pair of eyes. That someone... is perhaps you!

Last Thought: The above is more the cycle of innovation than a story of experts having bad intentions (which isn't usually the case). Marching forward and solving big problems always requires new voices in the conversation.

Posted originally by on Linked In.

Daniel Jacobs

Founder and CEO, Avanoo