The Best Ideas Aren’t New. They’re Just Finally Possible.
Innovation isn’t about inventing from scratch. It’s about betting the tools will catch up.
In 2025, my favorite new band isn’t even real.
They sound like a psychedelic love child of Def Leppard and Pink Floyd. The vibe is nostalgic but fresh. The melodies are strangely addictive. The vocals badass. But here’s the twist: every element of their existence… songs, lyrics, vocals, album art, even band photos is generated by AI.
And I think I am their ideal avatar.
They're called Velvet Sundown, and they have over 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify (and they launched less than 30 days ago).
Here is the crazy part…
I had a feeling it was AI the first time I heard them.
I didn’t care.
I loved it.
But there’s a much bigger lesson hidden in this experience.
Velvet Sundown isn’t a gimmick. They’re a real-world business example that we can all learn from because the real innovation here isn’t the band. It’s the timing.
Meaning:
The technology finally got good enough.
The platforms opened up access.
And someone smart enough said, “What if we just used it?”
That’s what this is really about.
The Velvet Sundown Playbook
Every era has its platform shift.
The internet made PayPal viable. Wire transfers had existed for decades, but moving money online suddenly made sense.
Smartphones made Uber inevitable. Taxis were old news, but GPS, maps, and mobile payments changed the rules.
Streaming made Netflix a global phenomenon. Blockbuster had the business model at least in the US, but streaming killed the friction.
AI made Velvet Sundown possible. Rock bands never disappeared. They just got new instruments.
These aren’t stories of invention. They’re stories of familiar ideas made possible by better tools.
Velvet Sundown didn’t win because they were new.
They won because the idea finally worked.
Maybe Stop Inventing. But Definitely Start Recognizing.
Every founder wants a “big idea.” Something the world has never seen before.
But most breakthrough businesses aren’t built on brand new ideas.
They’re built on ideas that suddenly work.
The key is decoding why the suddenly happened.
The smart bet often isn’t just on originality. It’s banking on the environment.
What becomes easier when the tools improve?
What becomes inevitable when friction disappears?
What becomes obvious in hindsight, but only if you’re paying attention now?
That’s the real job of a builder.
Skate to where the tools are going.
The Pattern You Can Kinda Bet On
Here’s the pattern I see repeat:
None of the ideas are new.
But the platforms change everything.
What Founders Should Be Doing Right Now
If you’re building, investing, or operating, don’t just chase shiny objects like the next hot Ai tool you can use to make a 3-second video of you in a bunny costume jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.
Instead, consider building around these 3 beliefs:
1. Platforms unlock possibility.
When a platform improves (AI, streaming, automation), it revives old ideas. Don’t dismiss what didn’t work before. It might have just been too early.
2. The tech will improve.
Make smart bets now that get even better over time. If something feels clunky today, assume it will feel seamless soon. Bet on the systems getting better. Bet on the tools getting better. Bet on the models getting better. And ride the wave of the “getting better” infrastructure and your product will automatically get better.
3. Put new tools on top of proven ideas.
The most successful businesses don’t start from scratch. They are masters at the remix. They add new layers. They upgrade what people already understand. Cultural acceptance of an idea like Netflix, Uber, Paypal, or listening to a new Ai band on Spotify is almost more important than the logical value prop of the idea.
This is what I am calling platform-native thinking… where you’re not just building on the tools that exist, you’re betting on where they’re headed.
Bonus Insight: Automate Like a Pro
When we hit our first billion in revenue, we didn’t celebrate with champagne.
We celebrated with Zapier.
Seriously.
We saved an entire workday per week by automating 1,440 manual tasks. And here's what I learned:
Amateurs automate for efficiency. Professionals automate for accuracy.
The bots don’t sleep. And the fewer mistakes they make, the less your team has to fix.
That was so 10 years ago. But we bet on the tools getting better and built on top of them.
The same mindset applies here.
The tools don’t need to be perfect. They just need to be improving.
The Real Innovation Strategy
If you’re a founder, operator, or investor, here’s the truth:
You don’t need to invent a new idea.
You need to recognize when an old idea finally has the right conditions to win.
Ask this instead:
If this technology was 10x better, what would suddenly make sense?
That’s where you build.
That’s where you invest.
That’s where you obsess.
That’s where the next Velvet Sundown is already forming.
TL/DR to myself
The future may not reward the first idea. But there is a very high likelihood that it rewards the first person who bets on the tools getting better.
BTW, this is exactly why we launched ACQ Ventures, the elite venture arm of Acquisition.com on investing in pre-seed to series A startups within the business services SaaS and SMB technology ecosystem.
To work with us, apply directly on our site: ACQ Ventures
Thanks Sharran, very interesting take, reminds me of one of Alex’s point on looking at what will not change in terms of people’s needs and wants (demand factors - ensuring demand will never end) while looking at building a business, but on the supply side looking at what’s changing and even betting on its change (mainly on the supply side - delivery vehicle - ensuring your offer, scale and margins will only get better ) is a very interesting mental framework for founders!
That music is insanely good.