"Hypergrowth" is killing innovation

kush
3 replies
I have long since believed that everything associated with tech startups is inherently designed to help us be more innovative as a society. Lately, my opinion has changed. What triggered the change was the realisation that the "Growth" as a centrepoint of technology business is very 21st century. All the technology greats we know of - from HP to Microsoft to Apple - functioned under a different premise. I have elaborated this viewpoint here in this blog - (https://blog.lightcat.io/fast-st...) for those of you who prefer a more in-depth analysis than a small post. The gist however is this: Cult of Hyper Growth >> Winner Take All Markets >> Small Businesses Die >> Society with greater debt >> People having lesser creative independence. As I elaborate in the blog, In a debt ridden society, Albert (Einstein) does not work at a Swiss Patent Office - he works 3 jobs to pay his bills and EMIs and can NOT think about "light, energy and matter".

Replies

Mohamed Abdel-Maksoud
Very valid ideas. I've found long ago that the current model encourages/pushes consumers to follow a herd mentality (what you call knee-jerk reaction). I think a key to fix this is to make decisions based on the merits of the product itself and not by how much it is pushed in our faces (i.e. how much money the company throws on advertising). Of course easier said than done. PS the article while valuable has several distracting typos
kush
@m0ham3d >"make decisions based on the merits of the product itself" That's the hard bit - no matter what, people follow people. All of us are a party to it. Probably the solution doesn't lie as much in "being aware" as in crushing the idea of "growth at all costs". That's where the root is. This too is easier said than done though.