Outsider Innovation Advantage

Will O'Brien believes that being an outsider to an industry can be a significant advantage when trying to innovate and disrupt it. Coming from outside the ocean technology sector, he and his co-founders were able to approach problems with fresh perspectives, ultimately creating more efficient and cost-effective solutions than established players.

Key Points:

• Outsider Innovation Advantage:

  • "None of us had ever actually really done anything in the ocean which I actually think is a massive benefit"
  • "None of us came in with these like preconceived notions for how like subsea drones should work"
  • "To really actually shake up an industry you it's probably good if you don't come from it"

• Fresh Perspective Led to Better Solutions:

  • Initially planned to use existing platforms but found current subsea drones were "crap" and prohibitively expensive
  • Their CTO designed a new type of autonomous water vehicle after examining the market
  • Their solution was "ten twenty times cheaper than like anything we could have bought"

• Innovation Process:

  • Described how their CTO "went into a cave for a few days" and emerged with a revolutionary design
  • Drew parallels to how "all the biggest problems have been solved" - through isolation and deep thinking
  • Compared the process to religious figures who "go off into the old and then they come back with like this like secret"

• Combining Different Expertise:

  • Co-founders brought experience from aerial drones and self-driving cars
  • Applied "primitives" and ideas from other fields to ocean technology
  • This cross-disciplinary approach enabled them to create something truly innovative