JFDI Mentor Ben Joffe speaks on Geography and Innovation

“I want to change your ideas on Asia, Nationality and Innovation Forever”

That was the message JFDI Mentor Benjamin Joffe told the audience of 40 entrepreneurs at Hackerspace this Saturday as part of the JFDI–Innov8 2012 Bootcamp.

1. Exposure is more important than geography

You are the sum of your experiences. Experiences matter more than nationality/geography. Take Steve Jobs as an example, who had said that some of the most important experiences of his life, which influenced Apple’s development & product design, included taking a typography class at college and going to India in his youth.

2. Ideas don’t have a nationality

Things can be invented more than once. The western world traditionally teaches that Gutenberg invented movable type in 1450 AD, but his invention came 200 years after Choe_Yun-ui invented movable type in Korea and 400 years after Bi Sheng developed similar technology in China.

The digital landscape and its ability to overcome geographical boundaries creates the amazing opportunity to bridge the time gap that previously limited the spread of ideas.

3. The opportunity for micro-multinational companies

This point really hit home for Singaporean founders. Entrepreneurs based in locations with smaller markets like Singapore may have an edge in building “global” startups. The founders of Skype, Spotify and Rovio (Angry Birds) built their companies knowing that they had to think beyond their local markets to be viable.

Ben also shared his 5 C’s of Innovation (for non-Singapore based readers, the title is a play on this concept).

1. Copy: You cannot create from zero. Innovators are always inspired by the works of others.
2. Competition can spur innovation.
3. Constraints can push people to innovate.
4. Combination: an innovation is usually the result of combining two ideas in a unique way.
5. Context is important. For example, a delivery service would be designed differently in Thailand than in Singapore.

The talk ended by Ben asking the talk’s eponymous question, “Could the Next Steve Jobs be Asian?”

That’s a silly question, he said. Steve Jobs was ‘Asian’ by heritage (Syrian). What does being Asian mean anyway?

You can follow Ben at @benjaminjoffe.