Launching the next big thing is something a lot of entrepreneurs strive for, but creating something completely new isn’t always easy. In fact, according to Mark Twain, there is no such thing as a new idea. In his words, we simply take a “lot of old ideas and put them in a sort of mental kaleidoscope”.
Twain might not have been an entrepreneur, but he had a profound outlook on many things in life. That particular quote might cut like a knife if you’re a business owner wanting to reinvent the wheel and wow consumers with a brand-new product. However, we like to see it as a settling thought. If we assume that you can’t come up with something totally unique, you can spend more time focusing on how to put your own spin on popular trends.
Create Something New from Something Old
This is where we can take inspiration from the casino industry. Developers and operators are constantly moulding popular ideas into something new. A great example of this is Paddy Power Slingo games such as Capital Gains. Originally, Capital Gains was an online slot. Released in 2020, it features five reels, 243 paylines and a 2,000x jackpot. This game has been used as the foundation for Slingo Capital Gains. Slingo is a portmanteau of slots and bingo, and the games are the manifestation of this.
When it comes to Slingo Capital Gains, you choose your stake and spin five reels. These reels contain numbers, and if any of them match what’s printed on your bingo card, they get marked off. Complete three or more lines unlocks prizes. Throw some bonus features into the mix, and you’ve got a mashup of two popular games (bingo and slots) in a unique product. This is the epitome of Mark Twain’s quote. Slingo isn’t a new idea. It’s a combination of old ideas turned into something new. This is the lesson you need to learn if you’re an entrepreneur.
Have the Vision to Make Exiting Ideas Your Own
You don’t have to kill yourself trying to invent something new. You might stumble on a completely novel idea, but the chances are low. You should play the odds and work with what’s already out there. Indeed, we can look outside of the casino world for more examples of what Twain would call kaleidoscope thinking. The iPod wasn’t a new idea. MP3 players were popular before the first iPod was released in 2001.
However, what Steve Jobs and his team at Apple did was add more storage capacity, improve the battery life, and make the device stylish enough that people wanted to show it off. From there, digital displays were added before touchscreen technology was introduced. That led us to the age of the iPhone, which, again, is a combination of two ideas: mobile phones and the iPod. So, even though the iPhone was revolutionary in many ways, it wasn’t a completely new product.
It was the result of two popular products and the vision of Steve Jobs. That’s the important lesson here. To be successful in business, you need to spot trends and have a vision. Kaleidoscope thinking isn’t a substitute for innovation, it’s the driving force for it. Therefore, if you want to give your business a boost, don’t be afraid to take existing ideas and make them your own.
