Being an innovative Entrepreneur isn’t about being a master technician or a groundbreaking philosopher. It’s not about having the skill to build intricate machines and products from scratch or designing high-fashion runways. True innovation in entrepreneurship is rooted in vision and grit.

When you have vision, you imagine a future others haven’t seen yet even if you don't have the technical competence to build it. Because you've seen the future with your minds eye, You’re able to recognize the pieces of that future when they appear, even if they exist in unrelated places. A technician might create a recipe, but only a visionary sees that recipe as a tool to solve hunger across an entire continent. A scientist could produce light by passing electricity through a filament, but it takes a visionary to see the potential to illuminate the world. A brilliant engineer might build a personal computer that outperforms a massive mainframe, but they may not foresee a future with a computer on every desk.

People often berate famous founders and entrepreneurs, saying they didn’t invent the core idea behind their success or create its earliest products - and that’s often true. Some Inventors test ideas and create groundbreaking products. Others are entrepreneurs who harness the world’s collective knowledge to create solutions.

Years ago, someone I admired tried to diminish my work by saying, “You haven’t created anything original.” I smiled, understanding that those who’ve made the largest impact often build upon ideas that already existed, taking them to unprecedented heights.

Think of Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Thomas Edison, Reed Hasting etc. They didn’t operate mostly in the realm of discovery; they operated with a burning vision to solve widespread problems—not to be first, but to be the solution. Visionaries think in large numbers; they design solutions to benefit many, not just a few.

So let’s dream big. After all, what’s a vision worth if it only touches a handful of people?

See you in Mars…