Startups, it’s time to get down off Maslow’s pyramid
In the 1940s, Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of basic human needs, sorting them into six categories — physiological, safety, belonging and love, esteem and self-fulfillment — later presented in the form of a pyramid named after him.
Seen in terms of popular startups, Maslow’s pyramid seems frivolous in 2015, as Homo sapiens turns to mobile applications to order food, share jokes and have affairs with other members of his species.
Unlike Gaurav Jain, I feel certain that Maslow would have been an excellent VC. If you want to build a billion-dollar company, would you develop a solution for the 1% of the planet, or the 99%? Silicon Valley and its appendages seem to have missed out on this point — myself included.
A few months ago, a VC friend — they exist — told me I’m frugal, referring to my tendency to optimize finances, both professional and personal, to develop my company. This simple observation made me ponder the word, then to look into the concept of frugal innovation. This is an idea that originated in India, where it’s known as Jugaad. It involves designing with less to meet the needs at the base of Maslow’s pyramid.
Simplicity and low cost are the keywords of frugal innovation
Imagine a fridge that works without electricity or a water filter that doesn’t need to be recharged. MittiCool offers these products in India as well as other useful items made of clay that only cost a few dollars.
Fortunately, we don’t have to go to the ends of the earth to meet innovators who provide solutions to the basic needs of billions. I had the opportunity to meet the brilliant Quebecois team at XpertSea, who participated in the most recent FounderFuel cohort. With their “smart seal” technology XpertSea streamlines the farming of fish and shellfish to help meet the needs of a growing population.
I’m well aware that traveling at high speed in a tube is more attractive than making clay water filters. Nonetheless, innovations that will have the most impact are those that affect the 99% of the planet. Word to entrepreneurs: it’s time to get down off the Maslow pyramid.
NB: Translated from the French version ‘Startups, il est temps de descendre de la pyramide de Maslow’
