Cashing in on Disruption: The Art of Ruining What Works
When Meaningful Contribution Is Out of Scope
The Problem with Disruption for Disruption's Sake
Disruption. The golden calf of the startup ecosystem. It’s the word that fuels pitch decks, TED talks, and LinkedIn bios. And sure, disruption has its place. It’s the adrenaline shot that can jolt an industry mired in inefficiency, obsolescence, or outright harm. But the uncomfortable truth is that not all disruption is good disruption. Somewhere along the way, "disruption" stopped being a tool for fixing broken systems and became a sledgehammer to tear down anything, even what works.
When did it become fashionable to disrupt livelihoods, communities, and systems that, while imperfect, are functional? The gig economy was hailed as a disruption of traditional labor, but did it really create something better? Or did it just erode stability for workers while funneling wealth upward? Education startups promise to “reinvent” learning, but for whom? Those already underserved, or those who can afford the latest app and hardware needed to run it?
Disruption for its own sake is lazy. It assumes that breaking is better than building, that new is inherently better than proven, and that speed matters more than thoughtfulness. And worst of all, it assumes the people whose lives are affected are collateral damage in the relentless pursuit of change.
What if, instead of disrupting, founders focused on contributing? What if the goal was not to tear down but to strengthen, to enhance rather than obliterate? What if the obsession with being “the next big thing” shifted to becoming “the next sustainable thing”? And I'm not even talking about ecology here...
This isn’t a call to preserve the status quo. Far from it. Complex systems need to evolve. But evolution isn’t destruction; it’s adaptation. Evolving social systems need to be grounded in empathy and understanding. To have a lasting impact, you need to question not just how to grow but why you’re growing and who benefits from that growth.
Disruption that destabilizes what works in favor of what dazzles isn’t innovation. It’s opportunism, even parasitic, and it erodes trust. Founders, especially those with the privilege of resources and influence, have a responsibility to do more than impress investors; they have a responsibility to the societies they profit from.
So the next time you’re chasing disruption, ask yourself:
Am I solving a real problem, or just creating noise?
Am I lifting people up, or tearing apart their foundation?
Am I building a legacy of contribution, or just another empty promise?
Because disruption is easy. Contribution is hard. And the world doesn’t need more startups creating chaos. It needs leaders willing to create meaning.
Now, imagine a world where startups become catalysts for progress without leaving a trail of wreckage. That’s a future worth investing in. That’s a future worth building.