I like this, especially the quote >Visionary ideas derive directly from centering people at the margins But I think the conundrum is still one step further -

I like this, especially the quote >Visionary ideas derive directly from centering people at the margins But I think the conundrum is still one step further - in these instances of the rich college kids building for their marginalized selves, they had the means by which to do it. The big for-profit corporations have the means too, but their existence is credited to being for-profit, because the corporations exhibiting not-as-profitable behavior eventually shrink or disappear. So I would say innovation still comes back to who can shoulder the risk. Wealthy college students can take the risks because they can always fall back on their trust funds or nepotic jobs, but decision makers at corporations can't because their not-profitable decisions affects their continued existence at a profitable corp. That means "Data Driven Innovation" comes down not to be literally "Data Driven", but really about spinning a story with whatever data to convince corporate gatekeepers that this new feature for the marginalized isn't that risky an innovation. Unfortunately people do take it literally, which is why this piece is a great reminder about where real innovation comes from.