Scaling for Good: Innovation & Differentiation

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Overview

We’re diving into innovation and differentiation. The secret to success is finding the white space. Do what’s already working . . . Just do it differently and better. Hear how Mike and his co-founders landed on drinkware as their product to sell.

Learn

How to create something of value
How the secret to success is finding the white space
The trap many entrepreneurs get stuck in
Step-by-step instructions to differentiate from competitors
Experimentation & iteration
Traps and pitfalls that people believe about creating things of value
How to focus on the things you can control

“That’s where the idea of Simple Modern, as it is today, was born. There was tons of competition, but even within that competition, there was room for differentiation and creating something of value.”

— Mike Beckham, Co-Founder and CEO, Simple Modern

Episode Transcript

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Episode Highlights

Tone setting + creating something that has value (1:00)
How Simple Modern saw the white space in an already saturated market (4:00)
Where the white space lives (6:00)
Three things to look for when trying to start something new (8:30)
Questions to ask yourself today (10:00)
Advice for entrepreneurs experiencing self doubt or intimidation by competition (13:00)
What kind of decisions Mike and the team have made strategically as they’ve looked at competitors (16:00)
Is there a time you're ever you should ever not be experimenting? (18:00)
Mike Drop Moment: In any industry, there is room for a really well run executed company. (23:00)

Powerful Quotes

“The trap is thinking that the way that you create something of value is you do something that no one else has ever done before.” -Mike

“The reality is almost 99% of new things that are created that have value are really derivative of something that already existed, they are taking something that really clearly there's already a need. And there's already solutions and they're creating a better solution, or a better way to address that need.” -Mike

“Because you're thinking about what are all the things that make this company great. But if you turn that on its head and you look at it from the opposite angle, what you'll start to see is all the things that they aren't good at, and that they don't want to do because of their strategy. And that that's where the whitespace lives.” -Mike

“I would say you have to focus on the things you can control. And you have to kind of let go of the things you can't you can't control what your competition is going to do.” -Mike

“The point is that there's always going to be customers that are underserved, there's always going to be a better way to make products.” -Mike

“I think when you're wrestling with self doubt, the easiest way to counteract that is to just instead of kind of fixating on on that, and the nervousness and the uncertainty that comes with that you focus on things you can't control, and what you can control is your own learning, you can control experimenting, and you just redirect it.” -Mike

“We always do better when we're pushed.” -Mike

“The amount that you're experimenting, is the amount that you're learning.” -Mike

“If you're not talking to your people, then you become very vulnerable to creating stuff that they don't want or creating solutions that don't really meet their needs.” -Mike

“In any industry, there is room for a really well run executed company. If you're wanting to start anything, you find robust demand, you don't fear competition, and you focus on what do customers want, where customers are underserved,the whitespace and you focus on learning and building something excellent. If you do that, there's always room for more.” -Mike

“If you can get a really solid grasp on your competitors and their strategy and what they are saying yes to, then you also can make a pretty good list of what they’re saying no to. ”

— Mike Beckham, Co-Founder and CEO of Simple Modern

3 Things to Look for When Starting Something New:

Have you identified something where there's obvious robust demand, you see people buying it today?
What are the strategies that the current companies or firms or organizations are employing?
- What are they good at?
- What are they not good at?
- What are the things that their strategies and their success make them unwilling or unable to do?
What are the skills that you bring to the table?