Keynotes and Participants Speak Out About Keys to A Creative Culture at Innovate Columbus

Innovation was the theme of the day as more than 400 business executives, entrepreneurs and thought leaders joined together to participate in Innovate Columbus: The Innovation Summit, a one-day exploration and celebration of the region’s innovation ecosystem.  

Highlighting the afternoon were keynote presentations from internationally known thought leaders including David Pogue, personal technology columnist for The New York Times, Sarah Lacy, award-winning technology journalist, author and senior editor at TechCrunch.com and Anousheh Ansari, CEO, chairman and co-founder of Prodea Systems Inc. and the first female private space explorer.

During this lively panel discussion, the three keynote speakers delved into a wide array of topics touching on the definition of innovation and what Columbus can do to continue its growth as an innovation hub. 

In the view of panelist Lacy innovation is much broader than just product innovation, which is what she believes people typically think of when defining innovation.  She contends that there are very few brand new things – but that successful entrepreneurs are finding innovation through execution, delivery, process and the societal shifts that such disruptive innovation brings about. 

Pouge pointed out that it is often the smallest of decisions that an entrepreneur makes along the way that can set his or her product or service apart.  He cited for example that before Twitter, there were other sites that did what Twitter does.  But it was in making the one simple decision that Tweets should be able to be delivered via mobile, that the 140 character constraint came about that set Twitter apart and eventually allowed it to dominate the category.  

The panel recommended that Central Ohio should focus on the attributes, industries and elements that uniquely position the region as a center for innovation.  Leverage these and base the region’s growth on them, not on the attributes of Silicon Valley or any other area of the world.  

When asked “what is the next big thing,” both Ansari and Pogue pointed to areas in which Central Ohio is already establishing a leadership role – personalized medicine and healthcare IT.  With the talent, innovations and spinoffs coming out of Ohio State, such as the Center for Personalized Medicine and Healthcare Dataworks and others, the region is poised to take full advantage of these opportunities for significant growth. 

“Ideas are a commodity,” says Lacy.  “Execution is what sets innovative companies, products and regions apart.”

Innovate Columbus: The Innovation Summit was presented by TechColumbus and the Fisher College of Business as a combination of two similar events the organizations had held separately in the past. The program was underwritten by IBM and sponsored by a number of local and regional sponsors. 
For more details, visit www.innovate-columbus.org.