Gus Balbontin hasn’t had a predictable career (to say the least). After dropping out of uni at 22, Gus proceeded to hitch hike South America, set up his first business, and land his dream job at Lonely Planet where he became the Executive Director and CTO. After consulting at some of the world’s most well-known companies, including Google and Amazon, Gus went back to his entrepreneurial roots. Now, he runs the small Creative Studio and Innovation agency Roshambo, is the co-founder and partner at Atessa, and is the Entrepreneur in Residence and Executive Director of VU Innovations at Victoria University. Here’s our top seven takeaways from his keynote at 9 to Thrive Summit…
If you are curious your brain will reward you with ideas
“Some will be shit but still share them… and get rejected. Do this again, and again, and again.”
Balance the innovation with the realistic mind frame
Gus suggested having a good balance between the “crazy” ideas and “crazy innovative people“, as well as having “realistic people who can make these ideas feasibly happen”.
Innovation is comprised of three characteristics: curiosity, courage and resilience
Don’t be owned by your work systems
“Everything you do in a business is like concrete; if it isn’t adaptable, then it’s rigid and unadaptable.”
“If you don’t have the ability to follow the customer, their needs and wants, you will become the concrete.”
Whatever product or service you have today, it’s only good for today. Things get better everyday
Momentum is great for efficiency and cost-cutting but not great for invention
“Having momentum in your day-to-day actions is great for efficiency of your business but is not for keeping up with changing markets through consistently innovating your operations and product(s).”
