Innovation That Matters

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Wise Words on Staying Motivated in 2020

Wise Words

From general business wisdom to thoughts on overcoming adversity, here are 10 ideas that may give you the spark you need in 2020.

With another New Year starting, we thought it was a fine opportunity to share some of our favourite thoughts from the top business minds and innovative thinkers we’ve spoken to in recent years.

We’ve got purposeful quotes from the likes of Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet, Ben Wiener, Managing Partner of Jumpseed Ventures, and many others who have experience bringing great ideas to life. We hope you find these words of positivity inspiring — no matter what your goals are for 2020.

From general business wisdom to thoughts on overcoming adversity, here are 10 ideas that could give you the spark you need this year.



“Make sure you keep your passion alive, and also make sure you consider all partners, even the most unlikely. The work that we need to do to develop a smarter and more sustainable economy is going to take creative and complex thinking that crosses traditional boundaries. Be brave and bring a smile to it.”

Kate Williams, CEO, 1% for the Planet


“I think passion and messaging are two of the key things you need to have nailed down in a new venture. You need to be passionate about what it is you’re setting out to do. And you have to find a way to communicate the passion behind your idea and its purpose or benefits, very quickly and effectively to the outside world so that others will catch that passion and be able to pass it on to others.”

Ben Wiener, Managing Partner, Jumpseed Ventures


“You can have a great plan, but without a good team it hardly ever succeeds. The opposite often works too: a great team can even turn a vague concept turn into gold.”

Tom van de Beek, founder of KantoorKaravaan and SustainsVille


“Make an effort not to count the obstacles in your way but to find ways to overcome them and then prepare for the next lot. As Thomas Edison said: ‘Invention is 1 per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration.’

Gadi Har-shai, founder and CEO of GreenSpense


“Have fun with it. All of the odds are stacked against you, so it’s incredibly important that you enjoy the journey. You’ll always have that, regardless of how your business does.”

Mitchelll Lee, co-founder, Penny

Edited by Katrina Lane

For more Wise Words, check out our Wise Words features.