Frustration as the best trigger for success.

After working with a number of startups and analyzing some current well-known, established companies, I have arrived at the conclusion that the most successful, long-lasting businesses are those that were initially triggered by a frustration and not by some purely economic purpose.

You need a higher purpose than just making money.

For example:

- Facebook: Zuckerberg and his partners wanted an easy and fast way to communicate with their colleagues and friends, so they began with a ‘small’ platform that was only for Harvard students’ use.

- Apple: Steve Jobs knew what he was aiming for from the beginning. He wanted well-designed and easy-to-use computers, something that was not available in the market at the time. He also wanted to remove clutter from the interface. Go essential. Be simple. Be different. And he did exactly that.

- Airbnb: Its founders wanted an option other than expensive and impersonal hotels. They wanted something human, where you are a visitor and not a tourist.

- Google: The frustration was not having access to ‘all information’. Sergey and Larry created a platform to democratize access to information.

- Uber: The taxi experience was too expensive, inconvenient, and non-personal…

And so on… the list is long…

All of these founders created the solution that they wanted for themselves.

And I can apply that to myself too. I have launched The G.I.N (The Global Innovators Network). It remains to be seen if I will be successful or not—but I launched because I was frustrated being unable to find a single source that gives a clear view of the entire global innovation ecosystem. It didn’t exist, so I am creating it. I have no monetization plans for the moment, just the will to resolve this problem.

Making money is the result, the effect, but not the purpose or the goal itself. If people need it, and it is good and easy to use, there is no reason why the money will not come.

Of course everyone wants economic success, but this should not be your first thought.

So if you have a personal frustration, and no one has resolved it yet, you have a huge opportunity to create your own solution. If you are frustrated about something, surely others are just as frustrated.

Focus on customers and their actual needs versus theories and beautiful business plans.

Focus on your frustration, THE ‘human’ frustration. It’s not about how much money you can make, but about the impact and change that you can make. And make it happen.

Be frustrated. Be inspired.

And create. Money will follow later.

Keep innovating!

Adela