Hi There!

I hope your Friday is going well. Welcome back to another episode of Ask Ash, where I interview WatchMojo Founder & CEO Ashkan Karbasfrooshan and ask him questions about various topics, ranging from covering the news to giving career advice to students & entrepreneurs.

This week, Ash returned to his alma mater, Concordia University to talk about Innovator’s Dilemma. Having the ability to change and adapt is something that many industries and companies have struggled with. I asked Ash today about speaking to his alma mater, and if he sees things slowing down, or if he expects to see an increase in change.

You recently spoke at your alma mater about innovation. The past two decades have seen a ton of change and disruption, are things slowing down and stabilizing or do you expect an acceleration of change and disruption?

Innovator’s dilemma isn’t limited to traditional companies. In 2021, we are seeing four forces of change come together and create a tsunami. Those are:

Technology

The PC, Web, Mobile, IoT, and metaverse revolutions each represent a layer of change. Each one amplifies the previous one. We are moving towards a heightened state of 24/7/365 connectivity in parallel “real life” and “virtual” worlds, and that creates a tidal wave of innovation. 

Demographics

We are about to see the biggest shift of wealth from Baby Boomers to Generation X, but mainly, millennials. Money talks and this is a tectonic shift that will lead to new consumers with incredible disposable income, a cohort which hitherto has favored experiences to possessions… but as they get older – and richer – will also spend on assets and objects like those before them.

Global

In a world where so many learn about culture and norms via the Internet, which has no borders, what happens to local ways of doing things? More importantly, you now have access to billions of consumers? That means that even the smallest of innovations could have an unparalleled impact. 

Socio-economic

The BLM and Time’s Up/Metoo movements were the tip of the iceberg. The underdogs and outsiders are taking over the world, they have control. This is also now manifesting itself in the WTF revolution. In the world of media and technology, no one is immune to it:

Hollywood as we know it is over… all this stuff about the creator economy is part hype, but fundamentally, the gates are crashing and storytellers are in the driver’s seat.

Wall Street is becoming more democratic. Robinhood’s value will gyrate but at its core, it is about the democratization of investing, which bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will accelerate. This will all eat away at the old models of finance and will create new opportunities.

Silicon Valley is becoming decentralized. San Francisco is a mess and the cost of living has become untenable, Covid opened the eyes of many that you don’t all need to live in the Bay Area. 

Madison Avenue is undergoing a reckoning as it was “the last bastion of unaccountability in corporate America.” 

For these reasons, I assure you that the future is going to be all about constant change. The cycle of what is successful, or cool, or hip, or viable, will be far shorter. Whether you like it or not, it’s Innovate or Die.

Lastly, if you want to submit questions to Ash directly, you can do so by clicking the link here: https://watchmojo.com/suggest/AskMojo%20-%20WatchMojo’s%20founder%20Ash