Rearview Is Always Clearer Than The Windshield
Introduction
As my 35th birthday approached, I found myself reflecting on the past year—a time to take stock of what’s been accomplished. Looking back, I feel proud of the progress we’ve made. Over the last 12 months, we successfully launched the initial version of our platform and helped our in-house start-ups to improve their positions. The journey wasn’t without its challenges, but we pushed boundaries and introduced some truly innovative ideas in the field. While there’s another big release of the platform on the horizon, our current priority is clear: shifting our focus to marketing and market penetration rather than constantly rolling out new features.
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower
When we talk about innovation, what does it really mean? By definition, innovation often refers to creating something new—a product, a process, or even a way of thinking. In the world of start-ups, innovation is almost a sacred concept. If you’re not introducing something new and significantly better than what established players offer, you’re at a disadvantage before the competition even begins.
However, there’s a critical, often unspoken challenge with innovation: what if the market isn’t ready for your idea? Innovation, no matter how groundbreaking, is only valuable when it addresses real needs and delivers tangible benefits. Without this connection to value, innovation risks being premature—or worse, unnecessary.
I speak from firsthand experience. All of my personal projects and start-ups have been deeply rooted in innovation. Back in 2014, I developed embroidery generation software powered by neural networks and deep learning. In 2015, I introduced a 4G streaming mobile camera, followed by a smart firewall solution in 2016. Each of these projects was ahead of its time, pushing boundaries in markets that weren’t yet prepared to embrace them.
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently
This journey, though challenging, has been invaluable. It taught me how to design our platform to address real market needs effectively—delivering solutions that are ready to be adopted now. For instance, while we have planned innovations lined up in our backlog for the next two years, releasing them prematurely could make the product overly advanced for the current market climate. Instead, we’ve prioritized balance and timing to ensure impactful innovation aligns with real-world demand.
To address these concerns, we have adopted a modus operandi inspired by the practices of leading university R&D centers. We implement innovations early but retain them until the timing is ideal for release. Additionally, through our “solidarity package” for the platform, we align with best practices in the field. A remarkable example is Stanford University's approach to the PageRank algorithm. At the time, Larry Page and Sergey Brin were PhD students, and their thesis evolved into what became Google. In a collaborative spirit, Stanford granted Google an exclusive license in exchange for 1.5 million shares, later sold during Google's IPO. This serves as a classic example of effective partnerships between R&D centers and start-ups.
Conclusion
Every startup functions as an R&D center by nature—innovation is embedded in its DNA. Without it, startups would struggle to attract customers over their competitors. Yet, it's surprising how often startups and formal R&D centers fail to collaborate, missing opportunities for mutual growth. Leveraging existing intellectual property (IP) should be a cornerstone of the innovation ecosystem, fostering a culture of trust and shared value for both creators and adopters. As demonstrated by the partnership between Stanford and Google, such collaborations can unlock extraordinary value, driving progress across the entire ecosystem.
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