Passionate Amateurs and Innovation
Innovation isn’t just for special people in special places anymore. Charles Leadbeater gives examples of passionate amateurs creating great products in ways that companies can learn from.
Who Invented the Mountain Bike?
Who created the first mountain bike? Was it invented by a lone genius working away in his garage? Was it the result exhaustive market research, complete with focus groups?
None of the above.
Mountain bikes were invented by groups of young bikers who were frusrated with traditional bikes. Racing bikes, with turned down handlebars, were not sturdy enough for mountain rides. Older bikes, with the big upright handlebars did not have enough gears for upshifting & downshifting along the mountain trails.
Birth of the Clunker
So the users created their own bikes. They combined the frames of the big bikes with the gears of the racing bikes to create a hybrid that suited their needs. The called their creations “clunkers”. Each clunker was hand made & unique.
Fifteen years after the first clunker, the major bicycle manufacturers realized that there was a market for this product. And the mountain bike inched its way into popular culture.
Amateurs Create $58 Billion Market
Today, thirty years after the first clunkers, mountain bikes account for 65% ($58 billion) of bike & accessory sales in the USA. Fifty eight billion dollars from a market category that did not exist. Fifty eight billion dollars from a category created by professional amateurs.
Learning From Passionate Amateurs
What can professionals learn from passionate amateurs? Tons. Passionate amateurs are the ones who envision future products before anybody else. They create the prototypes. The markets they occupy are initially small, but they can grow rapidly. Companies that understand passionate amateurs have a virtual crystal ball into the future.