Innovation is an important part of modern entrepreneurship and therefore a popular topic in Proakatemia, but here on my trip to Chile, it’s been especially highlighted. Here innovation has been made a central part of the studies and I at least feel that the students here are expected to become not only entrepreneurs but innovative entrepreneurs. This is why I wanted to write an essay and critically reflect on the importance and position of this topic in relation to business. 

Iterranova, ELE’s first team company completed their first project a couple of weeks ago. The project in question was a rifa, meaning a raffle or arpajaiset in Finnish. They made an ad that showed the prices which ranged from pisco bottles and gift cards to a counseling session with a sexual coach. They sold about 120 tickets and made 120.000 pesos (about 110€), all the prices were donations so the project didn’t have any actual expenses. To me at least, this sounds like a pretty successful first project just to start building some initial capital. But the reaction from the coaches was not really an all positive one. No one said anything straight up negative at least not directly to the students, but there was a lot of mumbling about how this was not really what they expected. I heard multiple comments about “Well no they are not using money but they are using time, and that is also an important recourse” or “Oh yes that is a very student thing to do here, not very innovative.” Both points are for sure true, but this was their first money making project. I don’t think any company in Proakatemia either has done anything very innovative as their first project. 

None of this is to say that the students here would not be excited and interested about innovation, they most definitely are. Startups especially are a popular topic here and many students even mentioned wanting to be involved in a startup in their learning contract. In his book “The Lean Startup” (2011), Eric Ries emphasizes the importance of innovation in entrepreneurship. He argues that successful entrepreneurs need to be able to create products or services that are innovative, valuable, and unique. I personally can agree this to be true, if success means making a lot of money. But does it to all people? And what is a lot? 

Something that has also come up multiple times here is that the students and coaches are surprised at how “normal” a lot of the projects in Proakatemia are. Many of them seemed shocked when they learned that on sales days we were selling candles and that last year one of the products was tea. But I think the reality is that many of the most successful projects from Proakatemia have been quite traditional. Innovation is of course important to the world but what I would argue is needed even more of are traditional businesses. There is a Chilean unicorn startup called NotCo, they produce and develop very meatlike plant-based alternatives using artificial intelligence. Although learning this when arriving here was a very pleasant surprise for me – since it means the variety of vegan food available here is big, it still doesn’t make me see a company like this as more important than a farmer or someone who produces traditional food products. 

In a learning environment and when creating future businesses it is important to create opportunities and encourage students to do big things and go as far as they can and want to. But I would argue that there can be a point of too much emphasis on innovation. Especially when working with big teams where people have different kinds of goals. What we don’t want is to create an environment where someone might feel that their project or future business is less than someone else’s just because it doesn’t aim to be innovative. There is a lot of room and need still for traditional businesses as well and that’s something we should keep in mind.