How to be innovative? How to an Entrepreneur?

Summary

In this talk, Joseph Bonaparte, an associate professor of finance, delves into the criticality of innovation and entrepreneurship. He draws parallels with Darwin's theory of evolution, emphasizing adaptability as key to survival in the business world. Bonaparte outlines the process of innovation, from idea generation to product improvement, and contrasts it with entrepreneurship. He highlights the importance of critical thinking, continuous education, community involvement, and historical study in fostering innovation. The talk also touches on the challenges innovators face, such as market adaptation and competition, and concludes with advice on becoming an entrepreneur, including the necessity of risk-taking and networking.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Innovation is crucial for survival and growth in business, as it allows adaptation to changes in the market.
• 📚 The term 'innovation' originates from the Latin word 'innovare', meaning to renew or make new.
• 🔍 Innovation involves creating new ideas that add value to society, which can be a new product or an improvement to an existing one.
• 💡 Examples of companies that failed due to lack of innovation include Kodak, Myspace, and Blackberry, while companies like Nvidia and Uber succeeded by embracing innovation.
• 🧠 To foster innovation, one must cultivate critical thinking, question assumptions, and continuously educate oneself.
• 🤝 Community involvement is key to identifying areas for innovation and understanding the needs and limitations of the community.
• 📈 Innovation can be a new product or an improvement to an existing product, like how smartphones and apps represent different types of innovation.
• 🏛 Studying the history of successful innovators can provide insights and inspiration for one's own innovative pursuits.
• 🚀 Entrepreneurship is the process of turning innovation into a business, while an entrepreneur is the individual who undertakes this process.
• 💼 Key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs include a willingness to take risks, strong networking skills, and the ability to secure funding for their ventures.
• 🌱 Adaptability is essential for survival, as emphasized by Charles Darwin, and this principle applies to businesses and individuals in the context of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Q & A

What is the main theme of Joseph Bonaparte's talk?

The main theme of Joseph Bonaparte's talk is the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in life, drawing parallels between survival in nature and the success of businesses and individuals in adapting to change.

According to Joseph Bonaparte, what does the term 'innovation' mean?

Innovation, as explained by Joseph Bonaparte, is derived from the Latin word 'innovare' meaning 'to renew'. It involves a new idea that adds value to society, critical for business survival amidst market changes.

What example does Joseph Bonaparte give to illustrate the failure due to lack of innovation?

Joseph Bonaparte cites Kodak as an example of a company that failed due to lack of innovation. Despite being a leader in photography, Kodak could not compete with smartphones and digital technology, leading to its decline.

How does Joseph Bonaparte differentiate between innovation and improvement?

Innovation can be a new product like the smartphone, while improvement is like an app that enhances the functionality of the smartphone. Innovation can either introduce a completely new concept or improve upon an existing product.

What are the three processes of innovation according to the transcript?

The three processes of innovation as outlined in the transcript are idea generation, refining and improvement, and pilot product development.

What does Joseph Bonaparte suggest as a method to foster critical thinking and innovation?

Joseph Bonaparte suggests questioning assumptions and engaging in critical thinking as a method to foster innovation. This involves not blindly accepting information and being willing to research and challenge what one hears.

How does community involvement play a role in innovation according to Joseph Bonaparte?

Community involvement plays a role in innovation by providing insights into the needs and limitations of a community. This engagement can spark ideas for making processes faster, easier, or more efficient, which are key aspects of innovation.

What historical figure does Joseph Bonaparte reference to emphasize the importance of adaptability?

Joseph Bonaparte references Charles Darwin to emphasize the importance of adaptability. Darwin's theory of evolution suggests that the species that survive are not the strongest or most intelligent, but the most adaptable.

What are the key differences between an entrepreneur and an innovator as explained by Joseph Bonaparte?

An innovator is someone who comes up with new ideas or improvements, while an entrepreneur is the one who takes the risk and turns those innovations into a business venture. Joseph Bonaparte uses the examples of Nikola Tesla (innovator) and Elon Musk (entrepreneur) to illustrate this difference.

What advice does Joseph Bonaparte give for someone aspiring to be an entrepreneur?

Joseph Bonaparte advises aspiring entrepreneurs to take risks, network, learn how to build a business plan, and secure funding. He emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision and the resilience to overcome past failures.

How does Joseph Bonaparte connect the concept of survival in nature with business survival?

Joseph Bonaparte connects the concept of survival in nature with business survival by stating that just as species that adapt best survive in nature, businesses that can adapt and innovate survive in the market.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Introduction to Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The speaker, Joseph Bonaparte, introduces himself as an associate professor of finance and consultant. He starts with the concept of innovation, referencing Charles Darwin's idea that adaptability is key to survival. Innovation is described as the ability to adapt and bring new ideas to life, adding value to society. He emphasizes the importance of innovation in business survival, citing examples of companies like Kodak and BlackBerry that failed to innovate, while others like Apple and Nvidia thrived by continuously evolving.

05:00

💡 Understanding the Process of Innovation

Innovation is broken down into three key processes: idea generation, refining and improving the idea, and piloting the product. The speaker stresses that innovation can either be a completely new product or an improvement to an existing one, like apps enhancing smartphones. He highlights the need for critical thinking and collaboration with others when developing ideas. Innovation, according to Bonaparte, is about improving efficiency, lowering costs, and creating more value for society.

10:02

📚 Critical Thinking and Innovation in Education

The speaker discusses how critical thinking and education are essential for fostering innovation. He encourages questioning assumptions and seeking knowledge beyond the classroom. Innovation is linked to community involvement, where one can identify gaps and create solutions. Bonaparte emphasizes the importance of self-education, suggesting that students explore diverse topics, such as AI and machine learning, to broaden their understanding of the world and its problems.

15:03

👨‍💼 The Difference Between Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Bonaparte explains the distinction between innovation and entrepreneurship, using the examples of Nikola Tesla and Elon Musk. Tesla was an inventor who developed groundbreaking ideas but lacked the business skills to commercialize them. Elon Musk, on the other hand, was an entrepreneur who turned Tesla's innovations into a successful business. Entrepreneurship involves taking risks, networking, and building business plans to bring innovations to the market, as demonstrated by Musk's success with Tesla.

Keywords

💡Innovation

Innovation refers to the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay. It's a key concept in the video, as it's discussed in the context of business survival and growth. The speaker uses examples such as Kodak and Myspace to illustrate how lack of innovation can lead to a company's downfall, while companies like Apple and Nvidia exemplify continuous innovation.

💡Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching, and running a new business, which starts as a startup, offering a product, process, or service for which people are willing to pay. In the video, the speaker distinguishes between innovation and entrepreneurship, using the examples of Nikola Tesla and Elon Musk to illustrate the difference between an inventor and an entrepreneur.

💡Adaptability

Adaptability is the ability to adjust and respond effectively to new situations or challenges. The video emphasizes the importance of adaptability in the context of survival, referencing Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, where the most adaptable species survive, not necessarily the strongest or smartest.

💡Market Structure

Market structure refers to the organization of the firms and elements in an industry. The video uses the example of Kodak to explain how changes in market structure, such as the advent of digital photography and smartphones, can lead to the failure of companies that do not adapt and innovate.

💡Disruption

Disruption in the video refers to innovations that disrupt existing industries, creating new markets and value networks through the introduction of a new product or service. The speaker mentions how companies like Uber disrupted the traditional taxi industry and how Nvidia's innovation in AI technology disrupted the market for traditional chip manufacturers like Intel.

💡Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment. The video emphasizes the importance of questioning assumptions and beliefs as a key aspect of innovation, suggesting that critical thinking is necessary for identifying opportunities for innovation and challenging the status quo.

💡Community Involvement

Community involvement is the participation of individuals or organizations in activities that improve the quality of life in the community. The speaker suggests that community involvement is a pathway to innovation, as it allows individuals to identify needs and limitations within the community that can be addressed through innovative solutions.

💡Resiliency

Resiliency is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. In the context of the video, resiliency is discussed as a necessary trait for innovators and entrepreneurs, as it involves the ability to bounce back from failures and continue to innovate and adapt.

💡Ideation

Ideation is the process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas. The video describes ideation as the first step in the innovation process, where individuals come up with creative ideas that can potentially lead to new products or services.

💡Networking

Networking is the act of connecting with others who share similar professional or personal interests. In the video, the speaker highlights the importance of networking for entrepreneurs, as it helps in building relationships that can lead to partnerships, funding, and other opportunities necessary for business growth.

💡Business Plan

A business plan is a formal statement of business goals, reasons they are attainable, and plans for reaching them. It serves as a roadmap that guides the strategic direction and implementation of a business's ideas. The video mentions the importance of a business plan in securing funding and guiding the entrepreneurial journey.

Highlights

Innovation is critical for survival in business as it allows adaptation to changes in market structures.

Innovation comes from the Latin word 'innovare', meaning 'to renew', and is defined as a new idea plus value.

Examples of companies that failed due to lack of innovation include Kodak and Blockbuster.

Innovation can be a new product or an improvement to an existing product, like apps within smartphones.

To foster innovation, one must question assumptions, engage in critical thinking, and continuously educate oneself.

Community involvement is essential for innovation as it provides insight into real-world needs and limitations.

The process of innovation involves idea generation, refining and improvement, and piloting the product.

Entrepreneurship is the process of turning innovation into a business venture.

Entrepreneurs are those who undertake the process of entrepreneurship, like Elon Musk with Tesla.

Nikola Tesla was an inventor who laid the groundwork for modern electricity and wireless communication.

Elon Musk is an entrepreneur who took Tesla from a pilot project to a leading electric vehicle company.

To be an entrepreneur, one must be willing to take risks, network effectively, and learn to secure funding.

Adaptability, as emphasized by Charles Darwin, is key to survival, not just strength or intelligence.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are distinct but related concepts, often intertwined in successful ventures.

The importance of learning from history's innovators and entrepreneurs to understand their motivations and methods.

The necessity of resilience in the face of failure for innovators and entrepreneurs to continue pushing forward.

The speaker's personal experience and insights on innovation and entrepreneurship from his work in finance and consulting.

Transcripts

hello world today we're going to talk

about talk about what is the most

important topics in life which is

innovation entrepreneurial

entrepreneurship my name is Joseph

Bonaparte I'm associate professor in

finance from University of Colorado I'm

a director for externals and I am the uh

I have Consulting two institutional

investment companies with hundreds of

billion dollars

I'm gonna start with shorts Darwin and

Innovation Charles Darwin he was a

sailor

going around the world you saw a lot of

species and he said who survives

not the strongest of this pieces nor the

most intelligence of these pieces not

the fastest or the largest I.E dinosaurs

but the most adaptable which is

innovative of the spirit says survived

the most adaptable so Innovation it has

to do with an adapting it has to do with

uh certificate

what is innovation Innovation Innovation

came from a Latin word called Nevada

but if you spell it you pronunciated

which is renewed which is a route for uh

novos or new innovation

it's a new idea plus value

if you have an idea that you are

creating if your ID has a lot of value

to society then you are innovative

so

Innovation is critical for our for

businesses because

on Survival because there is something

coming up like change of the market

structure for example Kodak uh it's a

company that's been you know for photos

and you have a film and you give it to

uh when I was a student uh something

called CD Towers I just take it with the

film and they say come and launch and

take the pictures depended and send it

to friends

a great company or Innovative but the

market structures change as a result

this company did not survive Kodak what

they're going to do on a smartphone just

to send pictures they cannot compete

with Apple

so this is a smart company George Islam

created this company was Innovative but

the market structurally changes

or changed

as a result this company cannot survive

you can do anything with that you cannot

do anything

now why space is a different story my

space Innovation lack of innovation the

problem with Myspace lack of innovation

Myspace was 15 billion dollar when

Google was much less than 15 billion

dollar uh but bankrupt this company

bankrupt because Facebook came and then

Instagram and Tick Tock and those so

lack of innovation blackbearded the same

story lack of innovation it was the

biggest smartphone company in the world

even Barack Obama President Obama in

2008 when he got elected in 2009 you

want to keep his BlackBerry uh the

the uh they told him you cannot so they

find something so Blackberry was even

President Obama I'm not that far talking

about 2009 he was using BlackBerry

Yellow Cab and Uber we all know this

story I'm not sure if you

before we used to have a Yellow Cab in

the football games and basketball you

see a lot of yellow caps

after the game before the game now Uber

taken over

that's a lack of innovation for Yellow

Cab

another example is you you have business

you're not Innovative but you still have

business like Nvidia versus Intel uh in

the 90s when I was high school uh

student High School my dream was to work

in Intel

I remember my mom always asking me look

how they saw that I said Mom I just want

to work for Intel

and the video was not existed now Nvidia

has six to seven times the size of Intel

market cap why because the Intel doesn't

reinvent and disrupt ourselves

like Nvidia used to have a 100 which was

great better than Intel ones now they

replace it with h100

they can say well we're better than

Intel why to change no they continue

because for the AI technology develop

RTX and generative AI in the video and

they continue with our Innovation so

there are some companies are not

Innovative but still in the market

General Motors Ford on other companies

who are like Intel they're not

Innovative still in the market but we

cannot see the future for them

so now we're going to talk about why we

need Innovation I give you a lot of

examples here and there but the question

is why we need Innovation adapting

for adoption as

and growing

innovation has a three process I'll

Define this process idea refining and

Improvement and pilot product so if you

are in a video

you have to come up with the idea that

means you're creative

and then second step is refining and

Improvement the product right here for

example you talk with your friends with

your business partners with neighbors

with the people you like or when you go

to the internet to see what's going on

around there and then you have a part of

the product and then you go to the

angels asking for a funding investor

engines Angel Investors

and then you stop from the that's

innovation

type of innovation the way to explain

Innovation is to use the idea of

smartphone versus app

smartphone is an innovation an app

inside the smartphone is uh Improvement

innovation has two types either it's new

product or Improvement smartphone can be

as a new product Improvement like an app

for example

uh new product key smartphone like

Samsung and Apple I think Apple prefer

something uh it's Uber and Yellow Cab

it's Uber uh an improvement or a new

idea no it's a new idea because Yellow

Cab doesn't have

um peer-to-peer uh

uh with the passenger and the driver now

with Uber we have essentialized you can

go and choose your driver

so Improvement is an idea and a bit of

idea about lowering the cost lowering

first in the process make it faster

increase the revenue make more

efficiency it's like an app inside the

phone so two type of innovation one is a

new idea a new product and one is a

proven in the product

uh

how to be Innovative this is important

I'm a professor and I have a lot of

students

uh so there are I can tell the students

who want to be who has a potential for

renovation like if students if you're in

a class

you should I question the Assumption by

the professor the suggestion by the

professor so some students so you have

to ask now some students are shy didn't

like to ask as I understand they are

Innovative on this but if you want to

have a critical thinking then you have

to start questioning everything

necklace now you cannot run the class

back back and forth questions you do

want a question or two but the critical

thinking the idea is a critical thinking

you have to have a critical thinking in

a classroom you have to ask questions

you have to question the Assumption not

to believe what what you hear

immediately people like to believe

because it's faster and cheaper uh this

happened okay that's it that's a truth

but maybe not

well if not then you have to go on

research but you don't have time and

it's not a priority you let it go but if

you do that everything in your life

you're not you don't have a critical

thinking so critical think how to be

Innovative to have a critical thinking

question everything

education education give you

when I'm saying education I'm not

talking about

mid-term and final so you do nothing big

can be study and nothing that's that's

uh that's old stuff and nobody cares

about it anymore but we do it but that's

that education when you I'm talking

about you read you enhance your

knowledge and you go to YouTube and you

read about this song the moon the Earth

the origin NASA this big war peace

um AI technology machine learning you go

and investigate myself you didn't need

to wait for your professor you have to

do to educate yourself that's education

Community involvement the simplest way

is community involvement because to be

Innovative is in community involvement

because you have to work with the

community and see what is missing ideas

that are missing uh make it faster

easier for the people so you have to

engage with them and see a limitation

that they have like for example I have a

new idea about the personal ETF

um if you want to do an ETF it's going

to cost you 100 120 000 plus 20 000.

every year that's 140 000 but I get an

idea is to make it with a zero dollar

which is uh why because financing people

investors have a lot of ideas for ETF

but it's costly nobody execute these

ideas I have a program I'm gonna launch

it soon

and if it works then I uh I get my

my jackpot

the scar of History

I mean I started this presentation with

Darwin

so you have to go and see who are the

Innovative in the world what they're

doing how they did it

and why they did it so you have to go

and be a scholar of History

that's going to be a couple months to go

and see who are Innovative why they do

it I'm writing the books you'll have a

when I finish it you can read my book

and go through all of those who are on

the video

so Innovation challenges but if you are

if you are Innovative or if you invented

something there are challenges and again

adapt and reinvent yourself you have to

convince customers about your product

again you have to adapt to their

question and reinvent their issues that

align with the new newly UK system like

idea kind of start in 2005

and the IPO of the company 2025 you have

a 20 years of you getting better better

and better so if you didn't along with

the newly okay system your product was

good in 2005 in 2015 is dead like

Facebook has started in um

when 2002 or three the IPO was in 2012

like attacking it after

developers with a Clear Vision

competition disrupt the industry so the

challenges is can you disrupt the

industry or they're going to buy you out

and put you out of business resiliency

to forget the past because all of the

people who are innovators they have a

lot of bad experiment until they get the

experiment at work you're going to keep

thinking about what you did in the past

wrong cannot be Innovative but

resiliency without Innovation you have

to be you have to forget the best and we

all do mistakes in the past and then uh

if you want to clear the person make it

clean just be be smart in the future

because when you do great in the future

all sins are forgiven

now I'm going to talk about

entrepreneurship

now these are two different topics but

people usually mix them together why

because innovator inductive

entrepreneurship but Mark Zucker Porter

invaded innovator for Facebook

he ended up to be entrepreneur because

he owned the company a Facebook new

company which is nothing no

so these are related but they're coming

together like in a very become to be

entrepreneur but there are

entrepreneursive

what is entrepreneurship

entrepreneurship is a French word came

as an interview Enterprise

which means to do something or to under

attack

uh to undertake uh three centuries after

this extension through when the French

introduced the world entrepreneur I

think that's the way they do it I I have

accent initiated from the 13th century

uh then we call it entrepreneurs and

then a business venture

so here's example for entrepreneur

versus uh innovator now now Elon Musk is

a better entrepreneur

and Nikolai that's Tesla is also an

event of an entrepreneur

but I'm gonna explain what's the

difference in when it comes to Tesla

card Nikolai Tesla it came from Eastern

Europe

I think Croatia or something like that

Eastern Europe he came to the states and

he worked with Addison Addison who

created the ballpark of the Mind

uh obviously all the same was a disaster

thanks Nikolai Tesla was fixing his

problem but then

he created his company

and Nikolai Tesla he set up the

infrastructure for electricity so the

electricity you have it at home it's his

ideas not Addison Addison has the wrong

ideas Nikolai Tesla fixed his mistakes

but people like Addison more than him

so nokolai Tesla came up with the

electrical vehicle EV and he has an idea

and he developed some idea and he

stopped now Elon Musk came and bought

the company Tesla from South Carolina

from two people have uh three people

there they have a pilot for Tesla item

must came about the pilot and he created

what we have now today uh the tuslan we

have a Tesla trucks and and everything

we have from Tesla so in this case

Nikolai is an inventor Elon Musk is the

entrepreneur

in this case now Nikolai Tesla another

thing I have to mention about him uh

Nikolai Tesla he created what we call it

today Wi-Fi he created the Tower and the

tower existed during his time and he was

thinking that we can do Wi-Fi but he

died and we destroy the tower did not go

the idea

with zero dollars he was living in a

hotel all of his life

and that's it that's the story I'm sure

like Hollywood will will write a movie

about it we'll make a movie and then you

know more about the Nikola Tesla so

that's an inventor for Ev card and Elon

Musk is an an entrepreneur

differences between entrepreneurship and

entrepreneur

as we said entrepreneurship is the

process turning and Innovation into

business entrepreneur is the person who

delivered this uh process

I'm gonna close about with how to be

an entrepreneur well you have to take

risk willing to take risk now I have a

lot of friends smart that's doing good

and they're talking about

um I take calculated risk there is no

calculated risk when you do calculated

risk that means you're not taking risk

here second risk like we put all in you

move all of your ships and that's in the

center of the table that means you're

taking all the risk networking you have

to go and not talk with people if you

have the you need to have this soft

skill communication

um then it's hard for you to uh be an

entrepreneur the reason I do Consulting

to uh institutional companies is because

I uh I network with the people with fund

managers and they ask me to email me I

meet them a couple of drinks with them

dinner lunch with them so I build a

relationship with these people

but learn how to build business plan

uh now business plan for a company like

apple Microsoft is different than in

Venture Capital different aspect if you

take my classes then I will teach you if

you take the Venture Capital class then

I'll teach you how to do business plan

secure funding it's the hardest one you

have to go and find people to believe in

you you are a brand basically until you

ask him to buy your brand

uh if you watch Shark Tank that's an

opportunity to understand what is that

uh secure funding that's all what I have

for you today

I just want to go back again and and

mention what shortest Darwin said

because this is

the the main piece

this sailor person has a lot of wisdom

he will be in my book and he said the

strongest the fastest the smartest

intellectual are not the most the

species that survive even if you're a

smart and intellectual doesn't mean

you're gonna survive only the adaptable

adapt

will survive all this millions of years

that the Earth thank you so much and I

hope you enjoyed the video uh please let

me know if you have any questions you

have my email I'm a fun person or

anytime I want to put your emails thank

you