The Innovation Blind Spot

Our innovation economy is broken. But there’s good news: The ideas that will solve our problems are hiding in plain sight.  

While big companies in the American economy have never been more successful, entrepreneurial activity is near a 30-year low. More businesses are dying than starting every day. Investors continue to dump billions of dollars into photo-sharing apps and food-delivery services, solving problems for only a wealthy sliver of the world’s population, while challenges in health, food security, and education grow more serious. 

In The Innovation Blind Spot, entrepreneur and venture capitalist Ross Baird argues that the innovations that truly matter don’t see the light of day—for reasons entirely of our own making. A handful of people in a handful of cities are deciding, behind closed doors, which entrepreneurs get a shot to succeed. And most investors are what Baird calls “two-pocket thinkers”—artificially separating their charitable work from their day job of making a profit. 

The resulting system creates rising income inequality, stifled entrepreneurial ambition, social distrust, and political uncertainty. Our innovation problem makes all our other problems harder to solve. In this book, Baird demonstrates how and where to find better ideas by lifting up people, places, and industries that are often overlooked. What’s more, Baird ultimately outlines how to create long-term success through “one-pocket thinking”—eliminating the blind spot that separates “what we do for a living” and “what we really care about.”

“There's a myth that the innovation economy is a meritocracy, but unfortunately your background and your network still play a huge role in success. Ross makes a compelling case for how we can access the untapped potential in our innovation economy." —Donna Byrd, founding publisher of The Root and vice president of Digital Media at Univision Communications

“Every entrepreneur with a great idea should have a fundamental right to start a business. But today, far too many barriers in society prevent the best people from competing. In this book, Ross outlines compelling strategies to find the best innovations—no matter where they are.” —Wendy Guillies, president and CEO, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

“We know a lot about what it takes to generate new ideas—but so little about how to recognize the ones that are worth pursuing. The Innovation Blind Spot is here to change that. It’s a terrific read, with vivid data and memorable examples to help you stop betting on flops and spot the hits hiding right under your nose.” —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take

“In this time of seismic shifts, our businesses, our governments, and our communities need to work together for our society to succeed—and we need new ideas to get there. Baird identifies the outliers that no one's betting on, and compellingly outlines how we can bring them into the mainstream.” —Governor Deval Patrick, Bain Capital Double Impact   

“Every single city and community has the power to change the world. But to realize that power, we have to find the ideas and entrepreneurs that people aren't paying attention to. In The Innovation Blind Spot, Ross shows us how to do just that.” —Brad Feld, Foundry Group

“Most VCs are sheep—they follow the herd. Like the best entrepreneurs, the best VCs are contrarian—they don't follow, they lead. The next generation of great VCs will be those making lots of little bets on unusual founders, companies, countries, and industries where most sheep are afraid to go. Ross gives us the roadmap to get there.” —Dave McClure, 500 Startups