The 3 megatrends that are shaping the world (world population growth, the exponential advance of technology and hyper-connectivity) are going to trigger a great tidal wave which will move the economic and commercial center (of gravity) to the East.

3,000 million new people will emerge in the next decade, generating a new generation of consumption but with a clear feature: they´ll get the state-of-the-art technology, which will dramatically increase competition. This being so, economies, companies and institutions cannot waste more time and must get ready for challenges.

As in climate change, there will be losers and winners. Markets and wages will be polarized and the education gap will become larger. Here I collect 5 key points to build a winning project.

Entrepreneurship

Christopher Columbus was a clear example of an entrepreneur. Like many startups, he took a funding rounds, from the pre-seed to the series C, to carry out his venture to reach «the Yndias» through West. He was rejected three times by King John II of Portugal and the Catholic Monarchs, until in a new attempt he raised the support of Isabella and Ferdinand, but not before putting equity Columbus himself. If they manage to organize a crowdfunding for sure he was successful to make his four trips real.

Google and LinkedIn were also rejected in their first attempts at raising funds and now they are some of the most valued companies.

Another great unknown, but also a great entrepreneur and who got much more funding, was Zheng He. He was a Chinese military and sailor, who made seven trips 80 years before Columbus, exploring Southeast Asia to the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.

30,000 men and between 50 and 300 ships got Zheng He on his trips, versus 26 ships and 90 daredevils that accompanied Columbus.

Regardless of resources and that Christopher Columbus with less assets obtained greater profitability, fame and recognition, both explorers had common characteristics: proactive, courageous and trouble-seekers to solve challenges with disruptive solutions. Reach and discover new geographical areas through alternative maritime routes and counting with the technology of the time period, was not without difficulties and for sure more than one take them to be mad.

Entrepreneurship, which means a great personal sacrifice, needs those ingredients.

 

Botton Line

Neither uncertainty nor volatility. The main concern of a CEO or a manager is the botton line. Maximizing revenue by increasing sales with a control policy of reducing costs are their main focus. Obviously, it must be aligned with corporate sustainability.

 

Disruptive business model

The business model is fundamental, where the value proposal must be totally clear, the customer segment defined and the channels established. There are several methodologies for its configuration, where the lean model is one of the best.

If the value proposition fails, you have to pivot quickly and it costs as little as possible to validate the model ASAP. Do not be afraid to fail, but you must fail quickly and at minimum cost.

The model must embrace technology as the central backbone. Historically throughout all industrial revolutions, the growth experienced was thanks to technology.

 

 Innovation

Economies, companies and institutions must incorporate innovation in their DNA without further delay in order to create something new and different that allows them to compete.

Innovating not only involves generating new products or services, but also innovating in the design of your business models.

To innovate, the culture of creativity must be perfectly established, otherwise innovation will never happen.

 

Leadership

Without leadership and, specifically, without leadership in innovation, you cannot succeed. The establishment of an innovative culture as I mentioned before is basic, but the definition of business values ​​will be its pillars.

Knowing the needs of others and solving them will be one of the key points of leadership.

 

These 5 building blocks are what distinguish a winning project from a loser. Each and every one of the elements are necessary. You may have a disruptive idea and the necessary funding but, if you do not have team, methodology and leadership, you will not achieve the success of the project.