評(píng)論
打印
Where do great ideas come from?
靈感源自何處？
At the heart of any successful business is a great idea. Some seem so simple we wonder why nobody thought of them before. Others are so revolutionary we wonder how anybody couldn't thought of them at all.
任何成功的企業(yè)都是以偉大創(chuàng)意為核心的。有些創(chuàng)意似乎很簡(jiǎn)單，我們不禁想問(wèn)為何之前沒(méi)人想到過(guò)。有些創(chuàng)意又太具突破性，我們會(huì)為創(chuàng)業(yè)者竟能有這等奇思妙想而嘖嘖稱奇。
But those great ideas don't come on command. And that leaves lots of would-be entrepreneurs asking the same question: How did everybody else get inspiration to strike─and how can we work the same magic?
但這些偉大的創(chuàng)意并非召之即來(lái)。因此，許多想要?jiǎng)?chuàng)業(yè)的人都在問(wèn)同樣的問(wèn)題：其他創(chuàng)業(yè)者是怎樣讓靈感迸發(fā)出來(lái)的──我們?cè)鯓硬拍軇?chuàng)造同樣的奇跡呢？
To find out, we turned to the experts─the start-up mentors who discuss launching businesses at our Accelerators blog, as well as other investors, advisers and professors who have seen and heard countless success stories, and entrepreneurs who have written success stories of their own. They saw inspiration coming from all sorts of sources─everyday puzzles, driving passions and the subconscious mind.
為了找到答案，我們征詢了專家們的意見──這其中有在我們的博客Accelerators上討論如何創(chuàng)建企業(yè)的創(chuàng)業(yè)導(dǎo)師，有其他見過(guò)、聽過(guò)無(wú)數(shù)成功故事的投資者、顧問(wèn)和教授，還有親手書寫成功故事的企業(yè)家。他們談到各種各樣的靈感源泉──日常生活中的難題、強(qiáng)烈的激情，還有潛意識(shí)。
Here's what they had to say.
以下是他們的心得體會(huì)。
Look at What's Bugging You
設(shè)法解決糾纏你的問(wèn)題
Ideas for startups often begin with a problem that needs to be solved. And they don't usually come while you're sitting around sipping coffee and contemplating life. They tend to reveal themselves while you're hard at work on something else.
創(chuàng)業(yè)靈感的產(chǎn)生沒(méi)有什么神奇秘訣，也并非無(wú)章可循。本圖簡(jiǎn)述了九位著名企業(yè)家各自的創(chuàng)業(yè)靈感是如何得來(lái)的。初創(chuàng)公司的創(chuàng)意通常始于一個(gè)需要解決的問(wèn)題。這些創(chuàng)意一般不是在你坐在那兒啜飲咖啡和思考生命時(shí)迸發(fā)出來(lái)的。它們往往會(huì)在你努力解決其他問(wèn)題的時(shí)候浮現(xiàn)出來(lái)。
For instance, one company of mine, earFeeder, came about because I wanted news on music I loved and found it hard to get. So I created a service that checks your computer for the music you have stored there, then feeds you news from the Internet about those bands, along with ticket deals and other things.
比方說(shuō)，當(dāng)初建立earFeeder這家公司是因?yàn)槲蚁肓私馀c我喜愛的音樂(lè)相關(guān)的消息，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)這類消息很難找。于是我創(chuàng)立了一項(xiàng)服務(wù)，它能在你的電腦里查找你存的音樂(lè)，然后向你提供來(lái)自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的消息，有與樂(lè)隊(duì)相關(guān)的消息，還有折扣票和其他信息。
You're Never Too Old
創(chuàng)業(yè)永遠(yuǎn)都不晚
Mark Zuckerberg with Facebook, Paul Allen and Bill Gates with Microsoft, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs with Apple AAPL +1.42%─those success stories lead some people to think that coming up with big ideas is a young person's game. But the tech entrepreneurs who rose to early fame and fortune are just the outliers. The typical entrepreneur is a middle-aged professional who learns about a market need and starts a company with his own savings.
Facebook的馬克·扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)，微軟(Microsoft)的保羅·艾倫(Paul Allen)和比爾·蓋茨(Bill Gates)，還有蘋果公司(Apple)的史蒂夫·沃茲尼亞克(Steve Wozniak)和史蒂夫·喬布斯(Steve Jobs)──這些成功故事讓一些人認(rèn)為偉大的創(chuàng)意是年輕人的專利。但科技行業(yè)年紀(jì)輕輕便功成名就的創(chuàng)業(yè)者僅僅是少數(shù)。典型的創(chuàng)業(yè)者是中年專業(yè)人士，他們會(huì)了解市場(chǎng)需求，并用自己的積蓄創(chuàng)辦公司。
Research that my team completed in 2009 determined that the average age of a successful entrepreneur in high-growth industries such as computers, health care and aerospace is 40. Twice as many successful entrepreneurs are aged over 50 as under 25, and twice as many over 60 as under 20.
我的團(tuán)隊(duì)2009年完成的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在電腦、醫(yī)療和航天等高成長(zhǎng)行業(yè)，成功的創(chuàng)業(yè)者平均年齡為40歲。50歲以上的創(chuàng)業(yè)成功者人數(shù)為25歲以下創(chuàng)業(yè)成功者的兩倍，60歲以上創(chuàng)業(yè)成功者的人數(shù)為20歲以下者的兩倍。
Vivek Wadhwa
維韋克·瓦德瓦(Vivek Wadhwa)
Vice president of academics and innovation, Singularity University
奇點(diǎn)大學(xué)(Singularity University)學(xué)術(shù)和創(chuàng)新副校長(zhǎng)
Be Present in Life
專注于當(dāng)下
Start your brainstorming with problems that you are personally invested in. Building a business is hard as hell and takes the kind of relentless dedication that comes from personal passion.
從你個(gè)人關(guān)注的問(wèn)題入手，展開頭腦風(fēng)暴。創(chuàng)業(yè)是極為艱辛的，需要在個(gè)人激情的推動(dòng)下不懈努力。
The next big question is 'How?' Great ideas and innovations come from executing on your idea in a different way than everybody else is attacking it, if they're attacking it at all. A great way to do this is to look outside of your industry to see how others are solving problems. Approaches that they think are routine might be out of the ordinary for you─and inspire great ideas.
接下來(lái)的一大問(wèn)題是“該怎樣做”。要實(shí)現(xiàn)偉大的創(chuàng)意和創(chuàng)新，就要用與眾不同的方式執(zhí)行你的構(gòu)想（假設(shè)別人也在執(zhí)行他們的構(gòu)想）。有一種很棒的方法是觀察你所在行業(yè)之外的情況，看看其他人是怎樣解決問(wèn)題的。別人認(rèn)為老套的方法對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)也許不同尋常──而且能激發(fā)偉大的創(chuàng)意。
Also, most business people tend to ignore our creative side until we really need it. Making sure that your life has a balance of the arts is a great way to stay engaged creatively.
此外，大多數(shù)創(chuàng)業(yè)者往往會(huì)忽視自身創(chuàng)造性的那一面，直到真正需要時(shí)才會(huì)重視起來(lái)。要想富有創(chuàng)造力地進(jìn)行創(chuàng)業(yè)，確保多方面均衡涉獵是個(gè)好辦法。
This last tip will seem insanely obvious. However, in the world we live in, it's easier said than done: Simply be present in life.
最后這一點(diǎn)小建議似乎毫無(wú)新意，但在我們生活的這個(gè)世界可謂是說(shuō)起來(lái)容易做起來(lái)難：活在當(dāng)下。
I'm sure you can relate to how over-connected we all are. Something as simple as having a cup of coffee becomes a juggling act of replying to emails and managing schedules. It's easy to miss a potential piece to your innovation puzzle when it's right under your nose if you aren't there.
我敢肯定，你對(duì)當(dāng)今世界的過(guò)度互聯(lián)也深有體會(huì)。喝杯咖啡這么簡(jiǎn)單的事情也變得像玩拋球雜耍一樣復(fù)雜，你會(huì)一邊喝咖啡，一邊回電子郵件和管理日程表。如果你不專注于當(dāng)下，有助于解決創(chuàng)新難題的潛在線索就會(huì)很容易從你的鼻尖底下溜走。
Angela Benton
安吉拉·本頓(Angela Benton)
Founder and CEO, NewME Accelerator
NewME Accelerator創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行長(zhǎng)
Ideas Are Abundant; Drive Isn't
動(dòng)力比創(chuàng)意更重要
Perhaps the greatest factor that determines whether or not an entrepreneur will be successful isn't the business idea itself, but rather the entrepreneur's willingness to try (and keep trying) to turn the idea into reality. Great ideas are abundant, but it's what we decide to do with them that counts.
決定一名創(chuàng)業(yè)者能否成功的最重要因素也許并不是商業(yè)創(chuàng)意本身，而是創(chuàng)業(yè)者通過(guò)努力（以及不懈努力）將創(chuàng)意變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實(shí)的意愿。好的創(chuàng)意很多，但關(guān)鍵在于我們決定如何將這些創(chuàng)意付諸實(shí)踐。
Samer Kurdi
薩默爾·庫(kù)爾迪(Samer Kurdi)
Chairman of the global board, Entrepreneurs' Organization
創(chuàng)業(yè)者組織(Entrepreneurs' Organization)全球理事會(huì)主席
Let Your Subconscious Do the Work
發(fā)揮潛意識(shí)的作用
When the mind is occupied with a monotonous task, it can stimulate the subconscious into a eureka moment. That's what happened to me. The business model for my company, ClearFit, which provides an easy way for companies to find employees and predict job fit, hatched in the back of my mind while I was driving 80 miles an hour, not thinking about work at all.
當(dāng)思維被單一的任務(wù)占據(jù)時(shí)，你的潛意識(shí)會(huì)受到刺激，使靈感迸發(fā)出來(lái)。我的情況就是這樣。我的公司ClearFit（為企業(yè)提供招聘員工及預(yù)測(cè)職位吻合程度的簡(jiǎn)單途徑）的商業(yè)模式就是在我以80英里時(shí)速開車、完全不考慮工作時(shí)從潛意識(shí)里破殼而出的。
The subconscious mind runs in the background, silently affecting the outcome of many thoughts. So, take a break and smell the flowers, because while you're out doing that, your mind may very well solve the problem that you are trying to solve or spark a solution to a problem you hadn't considered before.
潛意識(shí)是在后臺(tái)運(yùn)行的，悄然影響著我們對(duì)許多問(wèn)題的思考結(jié)果。因此，不妨讓自己停下來(lái)，放松一下，因?yàn)樵谀氵@么做的時(shí)候，你的頭腦很可能會(huì)解決掉你正在嘗試解決的問(wèn)題，或者讓你想出一個(gè)之前從未考慮過(guò)的解決方案。
Ben Baldwin
本·鮑德溫(Ben Baldwin)
Co-founder and CEO, ClearFit
ClearFit聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行長(zhǎng)
Attack Practical Problems
積極解決實(shí)際問(wèn)題
Make a note whenever you encounter a service or a customer experience that frustrates you, or wish you had a product that met your needs that you can't find anywhere. Then ask yourself, is this a problem I could solve? And how much time and money would it take to test my idea?
當(dāng)你碰到讓你失望的服務(wù)或顧客體驗(yàn)，或者在哪里也找不到滿足你需求的產(chǎn)品時(shí)，請(qǐng)把它們記下來(lái)。然后問(wèn)自己，這個(gè)問(wèn)題我能不能解決？檢驗(yàn)我的設(shè)想要花費(fèi)多少時(shí)間和金錢？
That last point is crucial. As my sage Stanford professor Andy Rachleff encouraged me, 'Make sure you can fail fast and cheaply.' In business school, I had a couple of big ideas. One was improving domestic airline service─which would have cost millions and taken years. I decided to pursue another opportunity that was a lot cheaper and would show results faster─a clothing line called Bonobos.
這最后一點(diǎn)很關(guān)鍵。我尊崇的智者──斯坦福大學(xué)(Stanford)教授安迪·拉切列夫(Andy Rachleff)曾鼓勵(lì)我說(shuō)：“要確保你能快速失敗，失敗的代價(jià)要小。”在商學(xué)院時(shí)，我有幾個(gè)大的創(chuàng)業(yè)構(gòu)想。其中一個(gè)是改進(jìn)國(guó)內(nèi)航班的服務(wù)──這要耗資數(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)的金錢，要花很多年時(shí)間。于是我決定尋求另一個(gè)成本低得多、見效也更快的機(jī)會(huì)──我創(chuàng)立了一個(gè)名為Bonobos的服裝品牌。
In the end, it took me just nine months and $15,000 of startup funds to get a little traction and market feedback.
最終，我只用了九個(gè)月的時(shí)間和15,000美元的創(chuàng)業(yè)基金就取得了一些成績(jī)，并獲得了一定的市場(chǎng)反響。
