The Digital Economist
Hi, I'm Sam Birmingham. I love startups, innovation and challenging the status quo.
For the vast majority of my years, economies have grown, companies have profited and people have got richer on the back of a once-in-a-lifetime demographic shift and debt-fuelled boom. Those days are through.
Economies must evolve beyond rampant consumerism and confront the demographic headwind that had been a tailwind until the Baby Boomers began retiring. Companies must become nimble, innovate and invent new products to address customers' ever-changing needs in this digitally-disrupted world. And as people, we must focus on solving problems and learn to do more with less.
These are the challenges that excite me. They are what I want to get out of bed each morning and be a part of. This is where I share my thoughts.
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Last week, Shopify recommended twelve must watch TED talks for entrepreneurs.
Tim Harford’s was one of the few talks that I hadn’t watched before. I especially loved his closing anecdote, of Japanese mathematician Goro Shimura reflecting on his friend and fellow modularity theorist Yutaka Taniyama:
“He was not a very careful person as a mathematician – he made a lot of mistakes, but he made mistakes in a good direction. I tried to emulate him, but I realised it’s very difficult to make good mistakes.”
Two other standout quotes for aspiring start-uppers…
First, a simple lesson in customer validation from marketing boffin Seth Godin:
“What you have to do is figure out what people really want, and give it to them.”
And a snippet of inspiration from ad man Rory Sutherland, channeling G.K.Chesteron:
“We are perishing for want of wonder, not want of wonders.”
