Your Innovation Department is a Zoo

Big companies put entrepreneurs in zoos called innovation labs. They host hackathons. Run workshops. Create committees.

Nothing happens. Usually.

As Nassim Taleb explains in “Skin in the Game,” real innovation comes from individuals who bear both risk and reward. Give them minimal resources and maximum freedom. Let them own 20-30% of what they build. Real equity, not options.

One person with AI tools can now do what entire departments used to do. What took teams a month now takes hours. Test, learn, iterate. Five and a half versions before lunch. Direct customer feedback by dinner.

No meetings about meetings. No innovation theater. Just building.

These entrepreneurs are everywhere. Some sit fustrated in your meetings. Others just failed at their startup. Many are still in school, building side projects at night. They’re rarely the obvious choice.

Give them a sandbox with no corporate IT restrictions. Their own tools. Their own rules. No security theater or mandatory trainings. Pure focus. Give them a modest salary and equity. Get out of their way. Let them be makers.

They’ll build your next billion-dollar product while your innovation department is still planning their next workshop.