What's the big idea?

Everyone in the world of start ups or technology knows about the pivot. The strongest companies are able to change tack in the face of a challenge because they have a strong vision of the outcomes that they want to make on the world and are flexible around the how. The most resilient businesses learn from their environment and are able to move with the currents of life in times of change. 

I find it funny that the typical lifecycle graph is linear, showing that when a product’s growth begins to decline there can be another shoot up in the graph. I believe this is because humans think linearly. But life is cyclical, not linear. A pivot shows there’s been a cycle, learnings have been made, and a new cycle begins. Like life, it’s a constant shift between birth, death and rebirth.

I see a product lifecycle chart as circular. You have the chance of either dying and letting things come to an end or rising from the flames like a phoenix, building on what you have learned and built before to build something that’s an even better fit for the market you are serving. 

Inspiration at the NZ SME&E Festival

It’s now been four and a bit months since I’ve left the security of full time employment. At the four month mark in my new venture of World Changing Business I had another big realisation, my first tack. 

I realised my pivot at the fertile thinking ground of the NZ SME & Entrepreneurs Events . The eclectic speakers, ample supply of Ārepa and community of risk takers acted as the doula for ‘the big idea’.

I signed up for the festival on a whim. Being a new small business with a big vision I thought, why not? 

The night before the festival I was deciding which ferry into town I should get before realising I needed to get to Manukau (there are no ferries from Whangaparāoa to Manukau). 

Undeterred, I made the 93 minute trek the next morning with no expectations. I walked in 15 minutes late to the first keynote, coffee in hand. It was the start of a fun and insightful day. 

There were talks on storytelling, creativity, sales processes. My favourite was hearing about an incredible company in Dunedin called Animation Research Limited founded by Sir Ian Taylor .

Sir Ian Taylor’s keynote was my highlight of the festival because of how counter his story and experience was to most of the workshops and keynotes. 

His company never had a business plan, nor made a profit until 2019. What they had was a clear vision of what they wanted to create and smart people to make it happen. I felt seen. 

But I also felt awkward whenever anybody at the event asked me what World Changing Business was about. 

I knew the change I wanted to make in the world. I want to help change the way we approach business so the natural result is good for the world, not just shareholders. 

I knew this required a complete shift in how we do things. But I didn’t know exactly how I’d do it. 

I’ve been experimenting with developing and delivering trainings on systems thinking to help broaden peoples awareness and see the interconnected nature of things, with the assumption once people see it they have to care. 

But that’s one big assumption. 

I was taken back to recent memory where I was sitting under a tree near Silo Park speaking with a successful businessman in the space of doing business for good. 

After explaining what I was up to he asked me, 'why should businesses care?'

I didn’t know the answer then, and had no idea it would be answered in the next 36 hours. 

The last session before drinks was with Richard Liew , the founder of NZ Entrepreneur and the #nzstartup program. Richard was speaking about ‘the power of an idea’ and spoke about the challenges with having that big idea, getting attached to it, not validating it and investing a lot before you're able to find out that it just isn't viable. He demonstrated his own entrepreneurial spirit with a slide showing his timeline of ventures, a visual proof point that he’s the guy to write the course for newbies to the startup world. 

At the end of the session paper copies of a lean canvas were handed out. I begrudgingly took one as a) I don't like paper and b) being a product person I thought ‘I already know this’.

But I did keep it in my bag. And on the long drive home (much shorter without traffic) I opened up my trusty Otter.ai app and spoke my answer for all of the sections on that empty Lean Canvas, sitting within safe viewing distance on the centre console. 

I created my Lean Canvas but I didn't feel very convinced. 

When I got home I expected to be exhausted after 10 hours at a festival and nearly two and a half in my car with the commute but I wasn't. I thank the Ārepa. 

Ārepa is a drink for 'people with brains', developed by neuroscientists to improve brain health. At the time, I just knew it was free and who doesn’t love free things?

I laid in bed completely calm yet alert and thinking about cycles. Annoyingly, the image wouldn't leave my head. So I got my notes app out, wrote down what was on my mind and willed myself to sleep.

The next day I was ready for more keynotes and Ārepa. I love free things, especially ones that seem to make my brain spark in new ways.

I had enjoyed the second day, and was getting ready to leave a little early to beat the traffic. That was until Cassie Roma got up to speak. 

Cassie leads a brand agency and was speaking about the power of empowerment and the power of storytelling. 

I don’t remember everything she said but I remember how she made me feel. 

One thing I do remember. She said, does the world need another SAAS integrator? Maybe, if it solves a real need and has a great story. 

Like that 🫰 all the puzzle pieces fell into place. I was looking back over the two days and insights from each and every keynote landed hard. I finally knew what I was going to do. I saw my world changing business. 

I know now that what I'm doing is software and I can't express the sense of relief that I have now that I know this. I can do software. Software is my comfort zone. I f#$king love working with smart people with diverse skills towards a common goal and using technology to solve hard problems. And I can’t wait to see what that looks like when we add principles of healthy living systems into the mix.

Pricing courses and consulting services has been tripping me up, yet the idea of raising investment to get this idea off the ground is not scary at all. Because this isn't about me, this is about solving a real world problem in a regenerative way. 

I'm not going to spill the beans just yet, but I will say I am excited and I’ll definitely be using my free access to #nzstartup and lean on my amazing network to help shape this idea.

What I will leave you with is a recommendation to check out the film Whetū Mārama: Bright Star. 

I didn’t know when I was watching Sir Ian Taylor on stage talking about the three wahine who on the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s arrival to Aotearoa retraced Kupe’s journey using only the stars, moon, sun and ocean currents, that less than two weeks later I would be watching a documentary about the people who made their journey possible.

I see parallels in how Ian Taylor has run his business and wayfinding and am inspired by it. 

While stocks last

And lastly, if you are interested in learning about systems thinking with me and you can clear your afternoon on Tuesday, I highly recommend attending ‘A systems thinking experience’. I believe it will be the last one I run for a while as I build my pitch and team. 

Thanks for reading, I can't wait to share more as this journey unfolds.