Tech Talk: When Innovation Meets Real Life

Despite having degrees in business, I’ve only read one business book since starting my own company - and that was right at the beginning. The Mom Test. (I’ll come back to that later.) Because once you're actually in it - building something real, something that matters to people’s everyday lives - the textbook stuff doesn’t always help. In fact, the theory of what should happen, and how, often feels disconnected from the reality of building a business. Much like social care, the startup world has its own language. It’s full of jargon — and not all of it is helpful. Words like innovation, interoperability, disruption, pivot. But what do they actually mean?

Let’s start with innovation. Me and that word don’t have the best history. Twenty-five years ago, I was once passed over for a job because I didn’t include the word “innovation” in my application, never mind that I had all of the desirable criteria. Now, innovation is a word we throw into decks and funding pitches like confetti. It appears in every sector as a headline. But real innovation delivers change. It doesn’t have to be about tech, but it does have to be backed by culture and bravery. It takes leadership. It makes us uncomfortable. But it should always lead to improvement - whether in organisations, systems, processes, or where we want to make our impact through technology - in people’s lives.

Then there’s interoperability. Try saying that when you’re a bag of nerves, standing in front of a crowd with a dry mouth. It often comes up as a challenge, and I’ll admit, I used to feel inferior when I was asked. I’m not from a tech background. But really, it just means: Can your tech talk to my tech? My answer is usually: “Yes, but… can your 20-year-old legacy system hold a conversation?”

Disruption is another. And don’t get me wrong, change is disruptive. It’s uncomfortable. But it’s also necessary. A good friend of mine often says he’s here to make “good trouble.” And he’s right. People’s lives depend on our ability to disrupt the status quo. To challenge systems, processes, and services that simply aren’t working - for people.

Then there’s pivot. Startup programmes love this word. I’ve seen it in many application forms and heard it in many pitch events. Founders talk about their pivot like it’s a grand strategic move. And good for them! But for me, real-life pivots? They’re quieter. They happen through conversations. Through listening. Through sitting with someone’s story and realising: Oh… this isn’t what they actually need. That’s exactly what happened with inCharge. I started with an idea: a one-stop shop for managing a direct payment or personal budget. But the Minimum Viable Product we’re testing now with real families? It doesn’t manage money at all. Because what people needed most wasn’t another budgeting tool. They needed help managing people, their small team of care and support staff. They needed help organising relationships that they rely on, every single day, to live their lives. That was the pivot. Quiet. Human. Real.

So, I began translating those shiny startup words into something that actually made sense in real life. Here’s what I’ve learned:

🧠 In startup land, it’s innovation.

💡 In real life, it’s change.

📊 There, it’s data and tools.

💬 Here, it’s information and trust.

🔄 They say pivot.

👂 I say: listen and evolve.

⚠️ They say fail fast.

🎯 I say: do it once, do it well.

💼 They say customer segments.

❤️ I say: people’s lives.

And that book I mentioned, The Mom Test? It taught me one thing: Talk to people. Ask better questions. Listen deeply. Real insights don’t come from buzzwords or books. They come from being in the room or at the end of the phone, paying attention, and letting real life shape the way forward.