Innovation unleashed: the disruptor’s mindset

Make a mental list of the most successful businesses you can think of. What do they have in common? Chances are they have a strong purpose and vision, competent and inspiring leaders and state-of-the-art technology. They are also likely to share another major similarity: being a recognised disruptor.

Amazon, Apple and Google are among the well-known companies that have used disruption to chart their course to success. But there are many others besides. So, what does it take to be a successful business disruptor? These three strategies stand out:

Be bold

Disruptive businesses are bold. Take the example of artificial intelligence lab OpenAI, which unleashed revolutionary chatbot ChatGPT on the world in November 2022. OpenAI made ChatGPT freely accessible and within a couple of months the chatbot had reached 100 million monthly active users, making it the fastest-growing consumer app in history, according to a study by UBS. With this bold approach, OpenAI brought generative artificial intelligence into the mainstream, while simultaneously establishing itself as one of the most influential – and valuable – organisations on the planet. By September 2024, the lab’s estimated valuation was a staggering $150 billion.

Casual footwear brand Crocs is another bold business. Even their own inventors thought that the foam-based shoes were ugly when they first came up with the idea. But they ploughed ahead with manufacturing them. Fortunately, the sheer practicality of the shoes made them an instant hit with customers who liked their loose, comfortable fit and the fact they could be easily cleaned. What’s more, the shoes’ quirky appearance turned out to be marketing gold. In fact, the brand capitalised on Crocs’ apparent ugliness in an advertising campaign that used the strapline, “Ugly Can Be Beautiful”.

Innovate with marketing

Disruptive businesses can be very innovative when it comes to their marketing. A24, which is best known as the film studio behind arthouse hit Everything Everywhere All at Once, stands out for how it engages with film goers and critics. In 2015, it set up an account on the dating app Tinder for Ava, the lead female character in its science fiction thriller, Ex Machina.

This was done to encourage attendees at a Texan music and film festival to go and see the movie. Chatbot technology enabled Tinder users who matched with Ava on the app to converse with her using text messages. Ava also directed people to an Instagram page promoting the film. This clever strategy didn’t just generate a lot of excitement about the movie, it also secured free headlines for the A24 brand.

During its first three years in existence, meal kit provider HelloFresh poured more than $30 million into marketing as it sought to achieve high levels of brand recognition among consumers. In fact, it continues to invest very heavily in marketing. Some of its more innovative marketing approaches include developing influencer marketing videos, sponsoring podcasts and sharing photos of meals prepared by customers on social media platforms using specific HelloFresh-branded hashtags.

Tackle big problems

Disruptive businesses often tackle the biggest problems facing society today, including the existential challenge of climate change. A good example is electric car maker Tesla, which has completely disrupted the automotive market. Tesla wants to build a world “powered by solar energy, running on batteries and transported by electric vehicles”. Its ambitions don’t stop there, however. It is also trying to save human lives by making car travel safer through automation. To do this, it is developing an autonomous car that can drive itself completely without human intervention.

Another example of a disruptive business that is tackling big problems is music streaming platform Spotify. Spotify was founded in 2006 to address the growing problem of piracy within the music industry. Its co-founders, Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, believed that if music lovers could access a large library of music for a modest monthly fee, they would be less likely to engage in file sharing. Their faith in the concept was proved right and Spotify turned out to be a huge success. In September 2024, it had a market capitalisation of more than $76 billion.

What else makes a disruptor?

While disruptors can be commonly associated with these three key business strategies, other factors also help to set them apart. For example, they tend to be community builders who are highly customer-focused and relentlessly pursue innovation. They also have capable leaders and a strong sense of purpose. That said, the qualities of a successful disruptor will inevitably vary by industry and market context. Ultimately, the business model of two disruptors is ever the same.