--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cool innovation might happen in startups…" description: "\"Cool innovation might happen in startups, but they often lack the resources or the deep expertise in the problems they want to address.\" — Hilary Mason" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/hilary-mason-12652_cool_cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups_76875.jpg" --- # Cool innovation might happen in startups, but they often… ![“Cool innovation might happen in startups, but they often lack the resources or the deep expertise in the problems they want to address.” quote by Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/hilary-mason-12652_cool_cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups_76875.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/hilary-mason-12652_cool_cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups_76875.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/hilary-mason-12652_cool_cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups_76875.jpg) > “Cool innovation might happen in startups, but they often lack the resources or the deep expertise in the problems they want to address.” [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Startups can generate novel ideas quickly, yet they frequently miss the depth of expertise and capital needed to solve complex problems effectively. **In simple terms:** Startups innovate fast but lack depth and resources. Key Takeaway Innovation needs both creativity and deep capability. Themes innovation resource constraints expertise startup dynamics problem solving Mood optimistic cautious Type observation advice When to use this quote - early-stage venture planning - seeking venture capital - building a technical team - scaling a prototype - addressing a market need Key Concepts entrepreneurship technology development skill gaps Practical Applications - strategic partnership with research institutions - hiring domain experts Questions to Reflect On - How can a startup acquire deep expertise without large resources? - What strategies balance speed and depth? A Different Perspective Some startups succeed by leveraging external expertise and agile funding, disproving the notion they always lack depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Entrepreneurship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneurship/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [Startups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/startups/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [I don't mean to offend anybody, but I think that we get a lot of scientists now who are bent into a system, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-wilson/i-don-t-mean-to-offend-anybody-but-i-think-that-we-get-a-lot-of/) [Taylor Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-wilson/) > [Progress and innovation happen when you set unrealistic goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/progress-and-innovation-happen-when-you-set-unrealistic-goals/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [“It is not. The aspiring leader has been set up to fail. He just doesn't recognize it yet. The first few months go well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-trimble/it-is-not-the-aspiring-leader-has-been-set-up-to-fail-he-just-doesn-t/) Chris Trimble > [I would love to see all open-source innovation happen on top of Windows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/i-would-love-to-see-all-open-source-innovation-happen-on-top-of/) [Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/) > [In order for innovation to happen, a bunch of things that aren't happening on closed platforms need to occur. Valve wouldn't exist today without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabe-newell/in-order-for-innovation-to-happen-a-bunch-of-things-that-aren-t-2/) [Gabe Newell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabe-newell/) > [In order for innovation to happen, a bunch of things that aren't happening on closed platforms need to occur. Valve wouldn't exist today without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabe-newell/in-order-for-innovation-to-happen-a-bunch-of-things-that-aren-t/) [Gabe Newell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabe-newell/) > [“Chase the needs, and you are halfway to entrepreneurship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagadish-varadharajan/chase-the-needs-and-you-are-halfway-to-entrepreneurship/) Jagadish Varadharajan > [It's hard to tell with these Internet startups if they're really interested in building companies or if they're just interested in the money. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-hard-to-tell-with-these-internet-startups-if-they-re-really/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“Zen is not some fancy, special art of living. Our teaching is just to live, always in reality, in its exact sense. To make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/zen-is-not-some-fancy-special-art-of-living-our-teaching-is-just-to/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [My attitude is there are at least hundreds of interesting startups that are going to get going in every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cohen/my-attitude-is-there-are-at-least-hundreds-of-interesting-startups/) [David Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cohen/) > [The thing that kills startups at some level, is the founders giving up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/the-thing-that-kills-startups-at-some-level-is-the-founders-giving-up/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [One thing I tell startups all the time is that the best way to grow is to make their product better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/one-thing-i-tell-startups-all-the-time-is-that-the-best-way-to-grow/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [“Amidst all the hype and hoopla around this business, I wanted to emphasize the challenge—it is seductive but the failure rate is very high.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahendra-ramsinghani/amidst-all-the-hype-and-hoopla-around-this-business-i-wanted-to/) Mahendra Ramsinghani > [“A lot of the machines that Google is built on—commodity is the polite word for them—they're regular PCs and so they're not always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-livingston/a-lot-of-the-machines-that-google-is-built-on-commodity-is-the-polite/) [Jessica Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-livingston/) > [Most startups are not just built for the person who is using them. When you do that, every now and then you get really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-shear/most-startups-are-not-just-built-for-the-person-who-is-using-them/) [Emmett Shear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-shear/) ## More by Hilary Mason > [It's really fun and challenging to build things that have never been built before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/it-s-really-fun-and-challenging-to-build-things-that-have-never-been/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [My job is to analyze our data set to understand it and build products on it. I look at raw data, do the math…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/my-job-is-to-analyze-our-data-set-to-understand-it-and-build-products/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [After graduate school, I joined Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island as an assistant professor, but I continued to program in addition to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/after-graduate-school-i-joined-johnson-wales-university-in-rhode/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [Science is the practice of failing repeatedly but learning as you go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/science-is-the-practice-of-failing-repeatedly-but-learning-as-you-go/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [The sender and subject line are actually the most important parts of an e-mail because people tend to put more important information in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/the-sender-and-subject-line-are-actually-the-most-important-parts-of/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [Data is a tool for enhancing intuition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/data-is-a-tool-for-enhancing-intuition/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [It's rare that you can solve a technology problem with more technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/it-s-rare-that-you-can-solve-a-technology-problem-with-more-technology/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [When you start at Bitly, you go through this emotional cycle, where first you go, 'Oh my God, this data is amazing.' But then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/when-you-start-at-bitly-you-go-through-this-emotional-cycle-where/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [People share things that make them look good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/people-share-things-that-make-them-look-good/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [I believe technology should give us superpowers. Everyone should have the opportunity to learn to think, analyze, and create with technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/i-believe-technology-should-give-us-superpowers-everyone-should-have/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [Companies that rely on licensing a proprietary dataset should expect to be outpaced by competitors using modern data collection techniques and more frequent updates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/companies-that-rely-on-licensing-a-proprietary-dataset-should-expect/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [The core advantage of data is that it tells you something about the world that you didn't know before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/the-core-advantage-of-data-is-that-it-tells-you-something-about-the/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [Often, people think that individual data is the most valuable thing they can collect. But it's not useful to know what I am doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/often-people-think-that-individual-data-is-the-most-valuable-thing/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [I'm very lucky to work at bitly, with a data set that allows us to explore human social behavior at the scale of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/i-m-very-lucky-to-work-at-bitly-with-a-data-set-that-allows-us-to/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [Even smaller companies are putting resources behind their analytics teams in the same way they put resources behind engineering and product teams. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/even-smaller-companies-are-putting-resources-behind-their-analytics/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) [Explore all 54 Hilary Mason quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) ## More Cool quotes > [Hats off to starting a franchise younger than we all did in 'Twilight' and keeping your cool. The 'Harry Potter' men and women had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellan-lutz/hats-off-to-starting-a-franchise-younger-than-we-all-did-in-twilight/) [Kellan Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellan-lutz/) > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [Vo5C0y Muchos Gracias for your article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serivce/vo5c0y-muchos-gracias-for-your-article-really-looking-forward-to-read/) Serivce > [What a cool job to be part of - whether it's doing lighting or acting or serving food on set. You're part of telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/what-a-cool-job-to-be-part-of-whether-it-s-doing-lighting-or-acting/) [Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/) > [Jail is definitely not cool. Education is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ja-rule/jail-is-definitely-not-cool-education-is/) [Ja Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ja-rule/) > [It's been really fun to see with each album when I change to see the fans of the show emulate my style and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/it-s-been-really-fun-to-see-with-each-album-when-i-change-to-see-the/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [My family environment wasn't cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keyshia-cole/my-family-environment-wasn-t-cool/) [Keyshia Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keyshia-cole/) > [It would be really cool to have my dad here to witness this, to see his grandchildren, to see this woman that I chose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-k-brown/it-would-be-really-cool-to-have-my-dad-here-to-witness-this-to-see/) [Sterling K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-k-brown/) > [To us, being the bad guys is cool, because we always root for the bad guys in the movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hanneman/to-us-being-the-bad-guys-is-cool-because-we-always-root-for-the-bad/) [Jeff Hanneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hanneman/) > [On my podcast, I got to interview Will Ferrell, Sam Hunt, Colin Cowherd - all these different names - and it was just really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-darnold/on-my-podcast-i-got-to-interview-will-ferrell-sam-hunt-colin-cowherd/) [Sam Darnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-darnold/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I had always been scared of the unknown, and I think it had a lot to do with a lack of self-confidence (and wearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-levy/i-had-always-been-scared-of-the-unknown-and-i-think-it-had-a-lot-to/) [Dan Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-levy/) > [There are a lot of movies about misfits that are quite cool, that kind of glamorize it on some level. I think there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-hall/there-are-a-lot-of-movies-about-misfits-that-are-quite-cool-that-kind/) [Rebecca Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-hall/) > [Rather be dead than cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/rather-be-dead-than-cool/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) Browse all 4,681 Cool quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cool innovation might happen in startups, but they often lack the resources or the deep expertise in the problems they want to address.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hilary Mason" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups-but-they-often-lack-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cool" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups-but-they-often-lack-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/hilary-mason-12652_cool_cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups_76875.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/hilary-mason-12652_cool_cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups_76875.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/hilary-mason-12652_cool_cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups_76875.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cool innovation might happen in startups, but they often lack the resources or the deep expertise in the…” — Hilary Mason", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hilary Mason", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Cool innovation might happen in startups,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups-but-they-often-lack-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups-but-they-often-lack-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```