Tuni Schartner | Innovate Newport director of entrepreneurship and innovation
We’ve all heard the stories of a chance meeting leading to the next big thing, about innovators finding inspiration in the mundane, and of the lone founder who single-handedly builds the future out of sheer determination and intuition.
Oftentimes, founders who describe these divine sparks of imagination and ingenuity are genuine in conveying the feelings of those early days. But it takes many more days before you can call yourself – or are deemed so – an overnight success.
Sparks simply don’t happen in a vacuum. And neither does innovation.
Over the years, I’ve observed that true innovation is more often the result of unexpected collaboration than it is any singular moment or act. That’s why I believe in the importance of designing environments where the unexpected is an anticipated outcome.
That’s what we’re building in Newport.
Just a stone’s throw from the Pell Bridge and a quick hop, skip or jump from the throngs of tourists who fill Thames Street and Bellevue Avenue, we’re trying to design the unintentional.
Mark Twain famously said that the secret to getting ahead is getting started. In today’s economy, who you get started with is a fundamental factor in determining your long-term success.
Being in the right place at the right time requires a certain amount of intention. Part of what we hope to achieve at Innovate Newport is to be that place where people will say they were at when that singularly brilliant idea or new kinship was sparked.