Yesterday, November 8th, we spent 3.5 hours in a super intensive workshop with Phillip M. Sparks on innovation management and creation of tech solutions with empathy.

Phillp is the founder and AIDE for the evolution of ideas towards innovation at WHEELS of Humanity, based in the United Emirates, and currently the area of his activity broaded in Moldova, where he builds iCanDo52.

In the workshop, Phillip came up with valuable examples and personal experiences about the startup’s path to success, from the perspective of innovation and empathy.

This is how we learned that:

• Completely new ideas do not exist. Every discovery was inspired by what already exists, i.e. nature. At the same time, any innovation comes from a necessity. Addressing the needs and making a strong case for the proposed values creates empathy. Why?

Because 56% of startups fail due to marketing problems, i.e. they don’t research the market and target clients enough and offer them a product that is not marketable.

• Empathy in startups does not only refer to its team, because in fact the team also includes investors, venture funds you work with or stakeholders and suppliers. Why?

Because 18% of startups fail due to team issues. The whole team, as mentioned above, needs to feel their contribution and the significance of the work they do, in addition to the feeling of belonging to a group and certanty.

In the end, it’s all about the value your developed service offers to your founders, team, and customers. A TEAM is Trusted Empathy Around Me.