Founding founders can be very impulsive and compulsive. If a method has been proven effective in solving a problem before, it can be hard to forget about. They are intense and willing to take on great risk. Sometimes, their greatest strengths can be their greatest weaknesses.
Even if all your efforts are successful, you may find that the world isn’t as controlled as you would like. Cameron learned this the hard way when he was first diagnosed with cancer.
He says, “The one thing I hold onto most every day is that my focus is on being present.” I do what’s in front of me. It’s almost counterintuitive since we are taught visionaries. We’re taught to see around corners, anticipate the next move and to see past obstacles. If you don’t play great Chess, you won’t make a great chief executive. The truth is, if you can’t accomplish the next most important thing, then nothing else matters.
Ninety-five percent of founders’ failures today aren’t due to their ideas. However, it is in the execution of that action. Investors know that, and 99 percent of the times they refuse to listen to a pitch.
Solutions to Impossible problems: What If?
UrtheCast was Cameron Chell’s portfolio company. A startup that put video cameras into orbit on International Space Station. This provides the only real-time video feed of the planet from space.
Business Instincts Group really is a venture development lab. The core value proposition of Business Instincts Group is two-fold. Firstly, the RIPKIT. It is a software that allows companies build startups from their initial idea to completion. The software is transparent and gives everyone involved in a startup, as well as investors, direct insight into what’s occurring all the time.
The Big Thinking Process (the second part) is the final. It’s about taking on impossible tasks and asking “what if?”
It’s especially useful for taking on impossible projects. Cameron says, “After you have gone through seven to fifteen what-ifs on your project, you will end up having it boil down to natural potential, or the possibility, to build a Cameron Chell Calgary new project that was impossible five or six hours ago.”
For example, competing with Google Earth to create live feed video from space. Or, creating “no-click shopping”. Or a visual searching engine that could be used to instantly shop from your phone. This idea would be taken up by some of the largest retailers like Macy’s and Home Depot. Yes, he did make that possible.
Cameron has recently introduced cryptocurrency into big brands, including the KODAKCoin cryptocurrency for the KODAKOne market, which, under a brand licence agreement with KODAK, is creating a revolutionary, blockchain-based image right management and protection platform that effortlessly registers, manages, and enables the monetization digital assets.