WHAT IS INNOVATION AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT? - GURPS RAI, DROPPTV CEO

As rapid technological growth continues to power major advancements across all aspects of our lives, the concept of innovation is coming under increasingly greater scrutiny. These questions are hardly surprising given that innovation is a necessary ingredient of progress and is omnipresent today; it is actively driving economics, social and political systems, education, technology, healthcare, marketing, and business. In short, we simply cannot imagine life without innovation.

What role does innovation play in entrepreneurship?

To provide but a simple answer to this rather complicated question, we may say that to build a profitable commercial venture, entrepreneurship and innovation are two essential ingredients that are intrinsically linked and cannot be separated. Although innovation comes with a much broader meaning and scope, the term 'entrepreneurship' already implies the concept of innovation. In other words, innovation is ingrained in the very idea of entrepreneurship. In today’s business landscape, two terms are very much in vogue: sustained innovation and disruptive innovation. The first of these is more relevant to established business entities that require continued innovation to hold on to or increase their market status. However, for entrepreneurs, disruptive innovation becomes much more important as entrepreneurs (start-ups or mid-level) are either trying to make headway into an already established market or looking to create an altogether new niche. Both are equally challenging, and it is innovation that can help them overcome these challenges.

But what exactly is innovation?

Innovation consists of offering something new to your current or potential customers. It is the introduction of a novelty in a given vertical. It can be an enhanced business model, new or improved manufacturing process, new and more affordable sources of supply, technology development, and new methods, services, products, etc.

From another perspective, all innovations should be geared towards providing a better user experience.

A case in point; an auto insurer starts to offer, in addition to their regular policies, a new Payment Protection Plan amid the current pandemic reality. Let us imagine that this plan is designed as a safeguard against unexpected layoffs and temporary unemployment (that have, unfortunately, become alarmingly common due to all sorts of pandemic-induced conditions). Now, if effectively marketed (which also requires innovation on the part of the company), the introduction of such a plan is apt to give the insurer an edge over competition.

The above example shows that the company is providing something new or extra to its customers. And it has been able to do so through idea generation (creative thinking) to take the necessary steps required to make the idea a reality. Innovation is this complete process from idea generation to bringing that idea to fruition.

Gurps Rai - Innovation in Entrepreneurship

Gurps Rai has already distinguished himself as a forward-thinking business leader, always eager to explore uncharted territories and novel approaches in his relatively short career. CEO of DroppTv, Gurps Rai always prefers to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation. In other words, he is someone who believes strongly in 'disruptive innovation.'

When asked about his take on the role of innovation in entrepreneurship, Gurps Rai has this to say: "In the advancing tech scenario of today that offers capabilities such as machine learning, Internet of things, and big data, entrepreneurs need to stay abreast of current ideas and inventions. That is the primary requirement. Next is to carve out an 'innovation style' of one's own, chiefly through exploring different approaches, so that one can actually transfer the acquired knowledge into innovation."

Gurps Singh Rai is a successful entrepreneur who started his career in financial services at London based First Rate FX handling foreign exchange transactions for large businesses based in the commodities market. He then successfully exited First Rate FX and became a prominent figurehead of the global Carbon Market. He was the architect of an international offset deal with sportswear giant Nike, Winrock, and the American Carbon Registry. Gurps was also the creator of the world’s most expensive piece of footwear, a $4 Million USD pair of sneakers dubbed the ‘Fire Monkeys’. Today, Gurps Rai is the CEO of the DroppTV technological eco-system built to enhance the impact of media through Ai/ML/AR and computer vision.

DroppTV is the first video platform to seamlessly integrate products and conversions into highly consumed video content. Using DroppTV’s own patented, See it. Want it. Get it.™ Ai/ML Technology, products are identified in music videos and made available for purchase all without stopping or leaving the video. Imagine it: product placement with direct ROI and analytics. DroppTV has created a culture of creative commerce: empowering artists to sell their wardrobe and merchandise directly to fans on a global scale. Authenticity is at the centre of the content on DroppTV - no ads! No pre-roll! just content and conversions. Welcome to DroppTV, the Future of Everything. DroppTV has offices in New York, Toronto, London and Riyadh.

For more information, please visit: www.dropp.tv