Hybrid Start Ups: Where Innovation Meets The Real World

In less than two hours after posting yesterday on Hybrid Start Ups I received over 35 emails from artists, independent tee shirt fashion lines, and various promoters of the plus sized movement.

I have only been blogging for a month now along with the fact that I have been on Linkedin and Twitter the same amount of time, 35 responses in an awesome amount of responses.

I call myself an "innovation cockroach" because I cannot innovate but I can analyze innovation and trends and figure out real quick how we can benefit from it; how it will allow us to sell more tee shirts and make more money!


Referring back to the article, Take The Red Pill: The Rise Of The Hybrid Startup, I wholeheartedly agree with the following:

"...hybrid businesses have little or no competition: technology companies want nothing to do with the real world, and real-world companies struggle to develop competitive technology.

This divide prevents us from making things fundamentally better, or cheaper. The divide between the virtual and the real also prevents the basic ideology of Silicon Valley from reaching other professions. The Valley’s emphasis on empowering consumers and employees—on innovation, transparency, even idealism —isn’t just good for building software, it’s a universal good. There are thousands of bankers, realtors, doctors and lawyers who would love to practice their craft, but in a company run like Google. Our culture can be Silicon Valley’s second gift to the business world."

When I sat down and decided to reinvent my company I not only went out and studied what other successful companies had done but I also studied how these companies did it; an antiquated organization cannot innovate.

Success is not only an idea, its a culture; I have seen great ideas and promising companies come and go over the years; in fact I can name off at least 10 household names in the world of screen printed tees, all of which are history today and all for the same reason;  they could not adapt to change.  In fact, most of them hastened their own demise by assuming that once their sales peaked and started to drop that what they needed was more of the same designs!  Thus, they ended up competing with themselves in a shrinking market.

The best way to "know" your market is to let your consumers speak and decide!  The best way to to "know" your company is to let your employees speak and decide!