Think like a Disrupter | Jon Hirschtick | TEDxBabsonCollege
## Speaker Context
- Speaker role: Speaker who has worked in the CAD software market for 35 years, started three companies in CAD software (first, SolidWorks, and Onshape).
- Setting/Occasion: Speaking at an event themed around "disruption."
- Speaker's framing: To discuss what has been learned over 35 years in the CAD market about how to think like a disruptor.
- Structure announced: The discussion will be organized around three aspects of thinking about disruption: identification, needs, and execution.
## People
- John (The speaker): Professional experienced in CAD software, started three companies, provided advice based on observation at many companies (board member and advisor).
- Father (Speaker's father): Advised speaker to learn to deal with people and think about people.
- Steve Jobs: Entrepreneur mentioned as someone who had bad ideas and built great products (Apple).
- Ben Horowitz: Author whose book discusses the struggle of entrepreneurs.
- Marc Andreessen: Partner of Ben Horowitz.
## Organizations
- SolidWorks: CAD software company started in 1993 by the speaker, which disrupted the market, achieving millions of users, billions of dollars in revenue and value.
- Onshape: New company started by the speaker with the goal to disrupt the CAD market using cloud, web, and mobile technology.
- Apple: Mentioned in reference to Steve Jobs building great products.
- Google: Redefined the entire market for ads and disrupted ad-based publishing models.
- MySpace: Previous social network mentioned in comparison to Facebook.
- AltaVista: Search engine mentioned as preceding Facebook's rise in the search engine market.
## Places
- World: General location where products are designed and manufactured.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- CAD software: The specific market the speaker has worked in.
- SolidWorks: CAD software product.
- Onshape: CAD software product built on cloud, web, and mobile technology.
- Windows PC: Technology that became crucial for professional CAD.
- UNIX workstations: Workstations used by people 20 years ago compared to today.
- Mobile phones: Technology mentioned in relation to the taxi industry.
- GPS: Technology mentioned in relation to the taxi industry.
- Internet search engine: Technology that didn't matter to the newspaper business until it did.
- HTML: Technology used while experimenting for Onshape.
- JavaScript: Technology used while experimenting for Onshape.
- Rio: MP3 player that existed before the iPod.
- Facebook: Social network mentioned in comparison to MySpace.
- iPod: Device mentioned in relation to the Rio.
## Concepts & Definitions
- CAD software: Computer-aided design software.
- Disruptor/Disruption: The process of fundamentally changing a market or industry.
- Needs/Problems: What great disruption solves; they always come from people.
- Perspective view: What the speaker gains by being older, allowing one to see broader trends in technology adoption.
- Metastable states: Describes the relationship between good ideas, bad ideas, success, and failure.
## Numbers & Data
- 35 years: Duration speaker has spent trying to disrupt the CAD software market.
- Teenager: Age the speaker started working in the field.
- 1993: Year SolidWorks was started.
- 20 years: Time span during which SolidWorks rose and achieved market presence.
- Millions of users: Metric of success for SolidWorks.
- Billions of dollars: Metric of revenue and value generated by SolidWorks.
- 21 steps: Number of steps shown by a user in an old system that the speaker observed.
- 20 years: Time difference used to compare SolidWorks era to present (when SolidWorks users were adapting to distributed teams).
## Claims & Theses
- The speaker has spent 35 years trying to disrupt the CAD software market.
- SolidWorks truly disrupted the market.
- SolidWorks improved the way millions of products around the world have been designed and manufactured.
- The market was ready for a new generation of disruption after 20 years at SolidWorks.
- Problems that we solve are always people problems.
- To think like a disruptor, you have to become almost like a radar scanning system of emotions and reactions of people.
- The problems solved by great disruption all come from people.
- A disruption is often a combination of a problem plus a technology that didn't matter until it did.
- Bad ideas live in the same neighborhood as good ideas and they both live very far from mediocrity.
- Vision and hallucinations look the same until you try to build them.
- A disruptor has to shift into execution gear, which is very different than just thinking about it.
- You do not have to be the first to succeed.
- If you don't try, you won't win.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- The process of thinking like a disruptor requires focusing on three aspects: identification, needs, and execution.
- Observing user behavior (watching users using the system) can reveal underlying needs.
- Idea generation involves being curious about things that don't seem to matter to a particular problem at hand.
- Good and bad ideas are located on a spectrum away from mediocrity.
- Execution requires taking action and building, rather than just conceptualizing.
## Timeline & Events
- Before 1993: Speaker played with Windows-based PCs while working at an old CAD company.
- 1993: SolidWorks was started.
- Last 20 years: Time period experienced while at SolidWorks.
- Before Onshape development: Years spent experimenting with open source software, web browser, HTML, and JavaScript.
## Examples & Cases
- My father's advice: "John no matter what you do in life you must learn to deal with people and think about people."
- Observing CAD users with old software: Seeing that complex tasks required 21 steps or that things were deceptively difficult despite being described as affordable.
- SolidWorks users 20 years later: Encountering difficulties with license codes, installs, service packs, upgrades, and sharing data as teams distributed worldwide.
- Uber: Example of how mobile phones and GPS didn't matter to the taxi industry until they did.
- Internet search engine: Example of how this didn't matter to the newspaper business until it did.
- Google: Example of how it redefined the entire market for ads and greatly disrupted ad-based publishing models.
- Craft fair: An example of observing an artisan to learn about their process, tools, and materials.
- Steve Jobs' early work: Building "the next computer" before Apple's famous products.
- The speaker's first company: Was not a failure, but also not a huge success, and did not disrupt the world.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- Old CAD system usability vs. desired ease-of-use/affordability (Observed need for software that was easier used that was less expensive).
- Old centralized CAD model vs. distributed team needs (Led to the necessity of cloud/web/mobile technology).
- Running on UNIX workstations vs. Windows PCs (Historical technological alternative in the CAD market).
- Staying in the known CAD space vs. exploring seemingly irrelevant technologies (e.g., playing with Windows PCs or HTML/JavaScript).
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- Users sometimes don't even know they have problems; they "will just live with the problems they have."
- Some people telling the speaker that "that stuff doesn't matter in our market."
- The speaker acknowledging that going back to disrupt the same market might "may be crazy."
- The speaker admitting that the vision might look and feel the same whether it's true or a mirage ("I think visions and hallucinations look the same until you try to build them").
- Warning against thinking that lack of funding means nothing can be achieved ("I didn't have funding yet... we started").
## Methodology
- Observing users in their workflow to identify pain points.
- Becoming a "radar scanning system of emotions and reactions of people."
- Experimenting with technologies that seemed irrelevant to the core business (e.g., learning about internet speed).
- Iterative building process: Starting with a prototype and moving forward without waiting for perfect resources or permission.
## References Cited
- Ben Horowitz's book: Discusses the struggle of entrepreneurs/disruptors.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The speaker recommends that many people try to execute on their own disruptions in the world.
- The speaker offers the guarantee: "if you don't try you won't win."
- The speaker advises embracing the necessary "perseverance to get through it" during the building process.
- The speaker advises taking a step and executing, emphasizing that one does not have to be the first.
## Implications & Consequences
- If problems are not addressed, people will simply "live with the problems they have."
- Not executing on a disruptive idea means "you won't build it."
- The persistence required in building is essential for success, which is sometimes at odds with the creativity of the idea phase.
## Open Questions
- What is the exact definition or scope of a "disruptive success"?
## Verbatim Moments
- "John no matter what you do in life you must learn to deal with people and think about people."
- "a disruptor thinks about those."
- "The problems that we solve are always people problems."
- "don't be afraid to learn about things that don't matter."
- "don't be afraid of bad ideas too often where we're trying upfront - to think that oh I came up with an idea but it must be really bad."
- "I think visions and hallucinations look the same until you try to build them."
- "The vision was obvious I think if we me and my co-founders get credit it's because we decided to do something about it."
- "I can guarantee that if you don't try you won't win."