Many businesses fail in their first years of life. In the United States, 20% of companies do not exceed the first year. In addition, it is estimated that 80% of companies fail before 10 years of life. Companies require tools that help them achieve success and survive the competition. That is why today we will talk about innovation, its role in entrepreneurship and the vision of Gustavo Mirabal.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

What is innovation according to Gustavo Mirabal Castro?

Innovation refers to the process of introducing changes or improvements to something existing. This seeks to create value or solve a problem in a new and creative way. In business terms, innovation relates to the development and implementation of new:

1. Ideas
2. Products
3. Services
4. Processes
5. Working methods

These new elements improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and competitiveness of a company.

Innovation can be disruptive or incremental.

Disruptive innovation refers to the introduction of an entirely new idea or technology. This idea radically changes the way a task is performed, or a problem is approached.

Incremental innovation refers to small improvements to an existing process or product. These improvements accumulate over time to produce significant change.

Innovation can also be classified into different types, such as:

• Technological innovation
• Social innovation
• Business model innovation
• Other forms of innovation.

In short, innovation is a key process for the growth and success of companies. Innovation can generate significant impacts on enterprises, the economy, society, and the environment.

Is innovation important for entrepreneurship?

Yes, innovation is crucial to entrepreneurship and the success of a startup. Entrepreneurs need to find new and creative ways to solve problems or discover market needs to create value and stand out in a competitive environment. Innovation can help entrepreneurs differentiate themselves from the competition. It also helps them attract customers by offering unique and more efficient solutions.

In addition, innovation can also help entrepreneurs improve the quality and efficiency of their processes and products. This allows entrepreneurs in turn to reduce costs and improve the profitability of the company.

Innovation can also help entrepreneurs explore new markets and business opportunities, and adapt to market changes and customer demands.

In short, innovation is essential to the success of entrepreneurship and can be a powerful tool to drive the growth and sustainability of a startup.

Success stories of innovation supporting entrepreneurship

Innovation has been key in the formation of many modern companies. Many of the most successful companies have been able to stand out in the market thanks to their ability to innovate. This has allowed them to develop unique products, services, and technologies. Here are some examples of modern companies that have been instrumental in innovation:

Airbnb:

Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia founded Airbnb in 2008. Their goal was to help travelers find affordable and unique accommodations around the world.

Using an online platform, users can rent anything from a room in someone’s home to an entire apartment for their stay.

The idea for Airbnb was innovative and disruptive in the hotel industry. The founders focused on user experience, which resulted in a very successful business. Airbnb now operates in more than 220 countries and has been valued at more than $100 billion.

Uber:

Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp founded Uber in 2009. Their goal was to solve the problem of finding a taxi in a congested city.

Uber’s platform connects passengers with private drivers who can take them to their destination efficiently and inexpensively. Uber’s key innovation was its mobile app that allowed users to:

• Request a trip
• Make payments easily and securely.

Uber allows drivers to:

• Find customers easily and consistently
• Ensure the payment of the trip safely.

Uber revolutionized the transportation industry. In addition, it has expanded its business model to include food deliveries and freight forwarding services.

SpaceX:

Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. Its goal was to reduce the costs of space travel and make space exploration more accessible.

SpaceX has been a pioneer in the aerospace industry by developing innovative technologies such as reusable rockets. This has made it possible to significantly reduce the costs of space launches.

SpaceX has achieved:

• Carry out successful missions to the International Space Station
• Has won NASA contracts to send astronauts into space
• It has become one of the most important space technology companies in the world.

Apple:

Apple is a company that has been a pioneer in product innovation. It has launched products such as the iPhone, iPad and MacBook, among others.

Apple’s innovation lies in its ability to combine design and functionality to create highly attractive and easy-to-use products.

Google:

Google is a company that has innovated in the way people find information online. Its search engine has pioneered online content search. This has allowed people to find information faster and more efficiently.

Google has innovated in other areas, such as online advertising and the development of technologies such as Android and Google Glass.

Amazon:

Amazon has been key in innovation in e-commerce. The company has created an online platform that offers an easy, secure, and convenient shopping experience. In this way it has transformed the way people buy products online.

In addition, Amazon has pioneered the innovation of technologies such as drone delivery and artificial intelligence, which have further improved the efficiency of its operations.

These are just some of the success stories of modern companies that have been fundamental in innovation, and that have managed to stand out in their respective markets thanks to their ability to innovate and develop unique products, services, and technologies.

Innovation for entrepreneurship according to Gustavo Mirabal

For Gustavo Mirabal, entrepreneurship only exists if there is innovation, not every business is entrepreneurship. For him, a business can only be classified as entrepreneurship when it seeks to solve a novel problem or uses innovation to reach new levels of productivity.

He himself has used innovation for entrepreneurship: his law firm, his financial advisory business and for the equestrian farm he managed for several years.

Gustavo Mirabal Castro believes that, without innovation, a business is destined to fail. This is because a business that does not innovate will not be able to differentiate itself from its competition.

For this reason, Gustavo Mirabal recommends to anyone who wants to start a business the training in innovation in addition to the typical training in finance, planning and business administration. Only in this way will you guarantee the success of your business.