What makes someone a true disruptor?

Sharing Experience: Kevin Ward, Conatus

I’ve had the term ‘disruptor’ said about me in terms of providing services akin to those of a bank manager, but outside the bank. However, I wouldn’t personally see that as being disruptive; it’s simply offering an alternative and complementary service to aid those looking for lending or treasury services. So, when should the term really be used?

Changing the marketplace

If we think about the world of business, an obvious example of a disruptor could be Elon Musk. He didn’t just talk about the automotive world doing something different, he actually went out and made it happen. Though initially met with scepticism, I would argue that Tesla inspired many motor manufacturers to either look at electric properly or accelerate their own electric programmes.

That could be a good example of a genuine disruptor because he not only provided a new product to the marketplace, he made others review what they were doing in that marketplace and adjust to ensure they could compete.

Is there really a gap in the market?

The converse is someone who feels they have found a gap in a marketplace; they’re excited – they’ve identified an opportunity that seems obvious, but no one else is doing it. In filling that gap, they can disrupt everything while riding that wave of change. Except…maybe that gap is there because people have tried to fill it and found that it doesn’t work or need filling.

I met with a lovely chap who, in his words, wanted to disrupt the agricultural machinery market. His plan was to produce a British made rotavator. It would cost c£1,000 and people could be proud to buy British, while making a wonderful addition to their garden machinery inventory. 

Upon further discussion, it became clear that the option he was looking to replace was a machine made in the Far East that retailed at c£500. On further investigation, it was also highlighted that less than 100 of those machines were sold per year as retail sales, the rest were sold to hire companies.  That final point is key – most of the machines used were being hired; very few individuals felt the need to buy their own, and if they did, the machines tended to have a very long lifespan.

His idea was lovely, and he was truly passionate about it. But on reflection, he recognised that while people might like the idea of his product, it wasn’t going to disrupt or change the market. To achieve that, he would need to invent a new way of rotovating with a product that was effective but cheap enough for people to want to buy it for that once a year use – quite the challenge.

So, the lesson is: definitely try to come up with new and improved products and services to change how people think and buy, but also keep in mind to thoroughly check your ideas. 

You could always ask AI what it thinks…