The Innovation Stack

[CEO]

Jim McKelvey:

Inovation is not a single event. It’s a series of real-world problems solved in brand-new ways. And, in my view at least, true entrepreneurs are those who can stack those ideas and create something no one has ever done – and something no one else can copy.

I’ll show you how it worked for me, and I’ll introduce you to a couple of other problem solvers, too – people and companies you may have heard of, but whose stories you might not know. And who knows? Maybe, along the way, you really will find the inspiration you need to create the next big thing.

Jim McKelvey

www.jimmckelvey.com

 

[JohnnyDoe]

How come that the richest men in the world have not invented anything new and are selling products that plenty of competitors sell?

 

[CEO]

How come that the richest men in the world have not invented anything new and are selling products that plenty of competitors sell?

He is a middle man, probably that's what he means, Alibaba, Amazon and so on..

 

[JohnnyDoe]

He is a middle man, probably that's what he means, Alibaba, Amazon and so on..

No, the richest men in the world are not middlemen. They are very capable salesmen.

What makes a business successful is sales, not the product.​

A brilliant product sitting in a warehouse is just a paperweight. Without sales, a business is nothing more than a hobby with overhead. As Peter Drucker put it bluntly: “The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.” Customers don’t appear because you built something beautiful, they appear because you sold them on why it matters.

Steve Jobs, who knew a thing or two about shiny objects, famously said: “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” Apple didn’t conquer the world because the iPod was objectively the best MP3 player (which it wasn’t, technically). It succeeded because Apple sold a story: “1,000 songs in your pocket.”

History is littered with superior products that failed because nobody managed to sell them. Betamax had better quality than VHS, but VHS won because it had better licensing deals and marketing. Meanwhile, countless mediocre products have thrived because their creators mastered distribution and persuasion.

As Mark Cuban said, “Sales cure all. There’s never been a company that succeeded without sales.” You can iterate the product forever, but until someone pays, all what you have is a prototype.

Most wannabe entrepreneurs waste time and resources on useless and expensive things such as hiring people, creating documents, perfecting what they think (rightfully or not) is already a great product. Instead of focusing on sales, arrogantly thinking that the product will sell by itself, they fantasize on making tons of money and prepare for what will never happen.
This is the recipe for guaranteed failure.

If you’re the owner and founder but not a salesman, and refuse to become one, then forget your entrepreneurial fantasies. You’d be better off getting a regular job, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

 

[CEO]

No, the richest men in the world are not middlemen. They are very capable salesmen.

What makes a business successful is sales, not the product.​

A brilliant product sitting in a warehouse is just a paperweight. Without sales, a business is nothing more than a hobby with overhead. As Peter Drucker put it bluntly: “The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.” Customers don’t appear because you built something beautiful, they appear because you sold them on why it matters.

Steve Jobs, who knew a thing or two about shiny objects, famously said: “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” Apple didn’t conquer the world because the iPod was objectively the best MP3 player (which it wasn’t, technically). It succeeded because Apple sold a story: “1,000 songs in your pocket.”

History is littered with superior products that failed because nobody managed to sell them. Betamax had better quality than VHS, but VHS won because it had better licensing deals and marketing. Meanwhile, countless mediocre products have thrived because their creators mastered distribution and persuasion.

As Mark Cuban said, “Sales cure all. There’s never been a company that succeeded without sales.” You can iterate the product forever, but until someone pays, all what you have is a prototype.

Most wannabe entrepreneurs waste time and resources on useless and expensive things such as hiring people, creating documents, perfecting what they think (rightfully or not) is already a great product. Instead of focusing on sales, arrogantly thinking that the product will sell by itself, they fantasize on making tons of money and prepare for what will never happen.
This is the recipe for guaranteed failure.

If you’re the owner and founder but not a salesman, and refuse to become one, then forget your entrepreneurial fantasies. You’d be better off getting a regular job, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

I totally agree that sales and marketing both are the most important skills in any company and without having a good team it's impossible to win but I have a different perspective, I believe the CEO must have strategic, creative, visionary, mind to build the right team and make sure everyone is in the right position, develop new strategies, find better solutions to big problems.
I agree if you mean by salesman a human that understand human psychology, not necessarily call clients and pitch them a new product.

Peace

 

[JohnnyDoe]

I totally agree that sales and marketing both are the most important skills in any company and without having a good team it's impossible to win but I have a different perspective, I believe the CEO must have strategic, creative, visionary, mind to build the right team and make sure everyone is in the right position, develop new strategies, find better solutions to big problems.
I agree if you mean by salesman a human that understand human psychology, not necessarily call clients and pitch them a new product.

Peace

Until the business is big enough (say >$10m revenues) there is no real division of roles, no CEO or other titles with an actual meaning.
The owner must be the first and best salesman, which also means pitching prospects.
Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and every owner of a successful company were selling their products in person, door to door, in the early phase. They were not thinking of "solutions to big problems", being "creative", "strategy", studying psychology etc. They were just selling hard, every day.
When the company grows, the owner will train the first salespeople in person.
If you think of hiring a team because you are unable or unwilling to sell your product, forget entrepreneurship. If you think your role in your startup is that of a "CEO", forget entrepreneurship.

 

[CEO]

Until the business is big enough (say >$10m revenues) there is no real division of roles, no CEO or other titles with an actual meaning.

I mean by ceo a business owner not the complex administrative position in Corp.

The owner must be the first and best salesman, which also means pitching prospects.
Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and every owner of a successful company were selling their products in person, door to door, in the early phase.

I think this is right in the 90th, now we have new solutions, I don't mean sales isn't good, I just mean creative mind build solutions, I believe in the soft sales not the agresive.
I saw a lot of examples of tech founders that have 0 sales skills built a team or met a Co-founder that have the right skill they succeed.
Al era is here too.

They were not thinking of "solutions to big problems", being "creative", "strategy", studying psychology etc. They were just selling hard, every day.

They didn't think, they apply it every day. Like sales most of the great sales players have a natural ability to convince, persuade, manipulate people, no academic certification.

When the company grows, the owner will train the first salespeople in person.

What if the owner has no idea what sales is!? Example. founder coming from the engineering field.
I don't like Steve Jobs but he said. It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to to, We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.

If you think of hiring a team because you are unable or unwilling to sell your product, forget entrepreneurship.

OMG dear brother, I personally hired and had skilled co-founder to help me solve what I can't or don't have time to learn it.
Finance is less important than sales? We can sell but we don't know our numbers.

If you think your role in your startup is that of a "CEO", forget entrepreneurship.

Twitter has a tons of non sales convert into a business owners with right team around.
Business founder innovate is the number one, and also can sell it.

Conclusion.

Loved the conversation, sales is must-have skill, innovation also for building good solution, but even you don't have both hire skilled people to help you succeed.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

hire skilled people

with what money if you can’t sell? 🤣

 

[CEO]

with what money if you can’t sell? 🤣

If you don't have the product, what are going to sell!?
I can find best sellers and closers but can't find a person that will share with me innovative idea. Will never do. They obliged you to sign NDA.

Most of the founders comes from 9-5 with savings.
Skilled people accept % after sales, co-founders has money, crowdfunding, VC, angel investors. Etc.. I know that you know all I mentioned can be used.
What do I have to sell if I don't have even the innovative idea, human consciousness has changed, it requires trust and authority.

My point of view. as a tech and sec person I see the fuel is innovative solution, you as a finance/law background see the money as a fuel.

Innovative solutions + sales = strong business.

The "chicken or the egg" paradox is a philosophical dilemma asking which came first, since chickens hatch from eggs and eggs are laid by chickens.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

If you don’t have sales, your “innovative solution” is just a diary entry. Investors back momentum, not just potential. Employees don’t work for visionary speeches, they work for payroll. And payroll comes from sales, not from your TED talk daydreams.
You don’t even need “innovation” to get rich: you can become a billionaire selling the dullest, oldest stuff imaginable: Walmart moved toothpaste and socks, waste management companies sell trash collection, construction firms pour concrete. Nothing sexy. Just hard, nonstop selling.
You can keep worshipping “innovation”, but if you can't close deals it’s just masturbation on a PowerPoint.

 

[CEO]

If you don’t have sales, your “innovative solution” is just a diary entry. Investors back momentum, not just potential. Employees don’t work for visionary speeches, they work for payroll. And payroll comes from sales, not from your TED talk daydreams.
You don’t even need “innovation” to get rich: you can become a billionaire selling the dullest, oldest stuff imaginable: Walmart moved toothpaste and socks, waste management companies sell trash collection, construction firms pour concrete. Nothing sexy. Just hard, nonstop selling.
You can keep worshipping “innovation”, but if you can't close deals it’s just masturbation on a PowerPoint.

Yes. Agree with the current statement :

Innovation and sales are distinct but complementary business functions, with innovation focusing on creating new ideas, products, or processes to drive long-term growth and competitive advantage, and sales focusing on the transaction of selling those products or services to customers to generate revenue. While innovation aims to meet future needs and disrupt markets, sales addresses current customer demands by converting leads into paying customers through creative and effective methods, often leveraging innovative sales techniques.

So I do believe marketing and sales are important but if only if you have a product or service, otherwise you will be a middle man selling other's people things.

Marketing and sales, CRO, email marketing agencies, the only goal is to sell SOMETHING I CALLED IT INNOVATION if all companies have it in-house, how it's possible these agencies still exists?

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Yes. Agree with the current statement :

Innovation and sales are distinct but complementary business functions, with innovation focusing on creating new ideas, products, or processes to drive long-term growth and competitive advantage, and sales focusing on the transaction of selling those products or services to customers to generate revenue. While innovation aims to meet future needs and disrupt markets, sales addresses current customer demands by converting leads into paying customers through creative and effective methods, often leveraging innovative sales techniques.

When you are an established business (>$10m revenues), not a small startup.

 

[CEO]

When you are an established business (>$10m revenues), not a small startup.

Example. I have a new organic skincare formula will cure a kind of illness, I don't know nothing about sales, I am biotechnology engineer. The innovative idea is done no need to have 10m to call myself innovative founder. Now I have to hire growth marketing and sales company to help me launch and scale my unique custom manufactured product, patent, trademarked brand.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Example. I have a new organic skincare formula will cure a kind of illness, I don't know nothing about sales, I am biotechnology engineer. The innovative idea is done no need to have 10m to call myself innovative founder. Now I have to hire growth marketing and sales company to help me launch and scale my unique custom manufactured product, patent, trademarked brand.

You will fail as a business because you are unable to sell.

 

[CEO]

You will fail as a business because you are unable to sell.

😂
There is no metric can give 100% guarantee that this business will fail because the founder isn't a salesman.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

😂
There is no metric can give 100% guarantee that this business will fail because the founder isn't a salesman.

100% guaranteed, because every business is only about selling. You can become a good and valuable employee, a consultant, whatever but you cannot start and successfully develop a business if you can’t sell.

 

[CEO]

100% guaranteed, because every business is only about selling. You can become a good and valuable employee, a consultant, whatever but you cannot start and successfully develop a business if you can’t sell.

I am sure we can't gonna stop the conversation. 😅
I don't underestimate any role in the business, it's like a body, we can't remove the heart or brain or liver.

What I said innovative product is the thing I have to sell, me or my co-founder or my hell sales rep, otherwise I am going to sell other's products and be an affiliate or middle man.

Innovation : solution
Marketing : attention
Sales : revenue

 

[JohnnyDoe]

You can run a business with chaos everywhere: no accounting, no innovation, no office, no employees. But without sales, you don’t even have a business.

 

[Columbus]

Example. I have a new organic skincare formula will cure a kind of illness, I don't know nothing about sales, I am biotechnology engineer. The innovative idea is done no need to have 10m to call myself innovative founder. Now I have to hire growth marketing and sales company to help me launch and scale my unique custom manufactured product, patent, trademarked brand.

In the best case you will be a co-founder that is very educated in biotechnology. Or a high paid employee (which is not bad either)

For example me, I am software engineer, I tried developing 2 startups (the innovative product as you say), in a few months I realized that I need to get my name out there, market and sell myself and the product. And I couldn’t do it. I am not a sales person.

Then I recalled all the founders of profitable companies that I worked for. All of them were selling, having lots of meetings, trying various marketing tactics. They were not developing the product, they only were giving succinct directions. Which to me sounded stupid at that time. A lot of them weren’t even tech persons.

Lots of people realize that sales is the most important thing the hard way (like me) - them trying to develop a product themselves and then realising that you have to sell.

Rhetorical question: why do scammers are so successful? The don’t even have a real product.
Answer: because they can sell.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

I realized that I need to get my name out there, market and sell myself and the product.

This is a powerful truth: you not only sell the product, but also, and foremost, yourself.

The first few seconds of any interaction are critical. People decide almost instantly whether to give you credibility. 4 seconds is all what it takes to form a strong impression!
Sell yourself first is an annoying cliché, but it’s true. You can have the best product in the universe, but if the person across from you thinks you’re full of it, they won’t care. Rapport and credibility make the difference between “send me a quote” and “lose my number.”

But there's more. While the first 4 seconds are vital, the last impression is what people carry away. The first impression gets you in the game, the last impression seals the deal.

Selling is hard. It's physically and mentally demanding. It's not for everyone, but it can be learnt.